‘In regard to student voice at our School, I think it plays a crucial role in shaping the community and ensuring that our perspectives are heard. Personally, I feel that having a say in the School’s decisions and actions makes us feel valued and empowered as students. When speaking to friends at other schools, it's evident that our school is rare, in ways of which students have such an active role in decision-making, and it really makes us feel like we’re contributing to something bigger than ourselves. Additionally, being able to provide input into key school initiatives fosters a sense of responsibility and leadership that we’ll carry beyond school. Asha (Yr 12)
St Michael’s Grammar School’s commitment to amplifying student voice is embedded in our Strategic Direction: Towards 2030.
This begins in the Junior School and is reinforced by peer mentoring programs and engagement with students in the Senior School where we have jointly developed a range of forums:
Student Representative Council:
Comprising 70 students from Years 5-11, each year the SRC works on two significant initiatives; one that will enhance student wellbeing and one that enhances student learning.
Prefect Team
Co-Captains and Vice-Captains meet fortnightly with the Head of the School and the Deputy Head, Head of Senior School to discuss student issues.
Portfolio System
Prefects make a whole-school contribution through participation in portfolios (areas of central importance to the School) setting goals for action supported by staff mentors and meeting regularly with relevant staff.
Representation on School Committees:
Portfolio leaders are members of School committees including Environment and Sustainability, Facilities Management, Wellbeing, Uniforms, Peer Mentoring and Student Learning.
Students have:

• Helped build a better academic culture by articulating student experiences of academic learning.
• Played an important role in sustainability initiatives resulting in a significant increase in recycling rates, from 13% in 2023 to 32% by the end of 2024.
• Initiated and played a central role in in a review of Uniforms resulting in a redesign.
• Participated in focus groups and consultations about campus redevelopment, and
• Shaped the review of classrooms to optimise the learning environment, including participating in the selection of the supplier for classroom furniture.
Our students are also committed to having a positive impact on the broader community. They:
• Lead the Merry Month of May, an annual event raising funds for, and awareness of, community organisations selected by students.
• Participate in a transformative Social Justice Program with two other schools to address the evolving needs of the St Kilda community and which aims to extend beyond traditional fundraising methods and drive sustainable change.
• SRC representatives attended the Port Phillip Youth Summit in 2024 to contribute to government decisions on access to public transport, sports facilities and mental health support.

The School values diversity and SRC representatives are elected by their peers at every year level. Prefects on the Wellbeing Committee advise about inclusivity issues and the student led, and very active, Equality Club is also a forum for consulting students about diversity issues.

St Michael’s is committed to nurturing confident, forthright young people who can work in synergy to solve the challenges of today and tomorrow. This commitment is embedded in our Strategic Direction: Towards 2030.
‘We will know and value our students, recognising and supporting their individual strengths, voice and agency…’
This is reinforced by the inclusion of a specific goal:
‘Develop mechanisms for student voice, participatory decision-making and feedback on their experience of classroom learning at the School.’
As all goals in the Strategic Direction are regularly reviewed and the Board receives reports about progress toward each goal.
Developing a formal set of channels for student participation in decision-making has ensured that the student voice is heard and that they are integral and pro-active in the introduction of new initiatives or in the review of current practice. It has also led to the common practice of staff seeking the views of students on a full range of issues outside those channels.

Maximising student voice has had a significant impact on School culture, been a catalyst for change and led to improved learning outcomes.
School culture
By championing Student voice, we have demonstrated a commitment to our values of Dignity, Respect, Care and Compassion and developed a greater level of trust between students and staff.
In the 2024 Independent Schools Victoria Year 12 Exit Survey and Student Satisfaction Survey, St Michael’s rating for School Ethos exceeded both the ISV Benchmark and the mean for similar schools.
School improvements
The involvement of students in the decision-making process has led to improved outcomes across the School. This is evidenced by the following examples.
• Representatives of the student-led Environmental Action Club meet with the Director of Business to discuss ways in which the School can adopt more sustainable practices. Initially this led to a switch to renewable energy and the installation of solar panels. Students then lobbied for the removal of disposable cutlery and the phasing out of disposable coffee cups from the café before turning their attention to waste management and recycling. This in turn resulted in a review of our waste management system. Portfolio leaders were members of the Committee that subsequently introduced the new waste management system. Students participated in the waste audit, produced a video to explain the changes to students and acted as ambassadors for the new system.

• Students advocated for the introduction of a gender neutral and more practical uniform, leading to a School-wide survey, a review and changes to key elements of the uniform. Students provided feedback on design, fabric and comfort and identified barriers to the implementation of the new items.

• The importance of students co-designing, collaborating, communicating and developing critical literacy and digital citizenship with autonomy was at the core of a new strategy around device management, and the use of AI, as tools for learning. Students subsequently co-presented with a staff member at the Integrating AI in Education Conference held in 2024 in a session, titled ‘Co-design to inform the use of AI in teaching, learning and caring’.

• Students lead the School in contributing to the broader community through activities such as the annual Merry Month of May (MMOM) and regular Community Action Days. The MMOM is a student-led activity which each year raises funds for community organisations selected by the students. A critical element of the activity is raising awareness about the chosen organisations. As part of this, representatives of the organisations are invited to speak at the School to present at Assemblies hosted and managed by students.
• In addition to the formal channels, student-led clubs such as the Equality Club, Community Action Club, and Environmental Club play an important role in the life of the School. For instance, the Equality Club is focused on inclusivity issues including the celebration of activities such as Neurodiversity week, NAIDOC week, and serves as a forum for consulting students about diversity issues. It has been a catalyst for our partnership with the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda.
Improved learning outcomes
Through our Teaching, Learning and Caring Framework we aim to develop our students as:

• Creative and flexible problem-solvers
• Independent, ethical thinkers
• Leaders in their fields of endeavour
• Collaborative, efficacious and contributing citizens

We encourage students to exhibit these characteristics as members of the School community and to actively shape their learning environment. This gives them confidence, increases their engagement and gives a sense of ownership, leading to better learning outcomes.

At St Michael’s, our students are genuine partners in determining the direction of the School.
We seek to support our students to cultivate the ‘best version of themselves’ and live a meaningful life. In line with our core values, we want to grow our students’ capacities for love and compassion, creativity and curiosity, work and resilience, and integrity and wisdom. To be authentic about our aim to nurture confident, forthright young people who can work in synergy to solve the challenges of today and tomorrow we recognise that ‘today’ means their current environment, including the School itself.
Including a specific goal in the Strategic Direction has demonstrated to students that the School is sincere in ensuring they have a voice. This has given them great confidence in conveying their views and advocating for change. Our students are empowered and have collaboratively developed mechanisms to ensure that they have an ongoing voice in formal decision-making forums, avenues to share their opinions, recommendations and concerns, and the agency to act.
In amplifying student voice and agency as an integral aspect of the holistic education we provide, we are equipping our students to be contributing citizens, now and for the future.