At Evelyn Scott School, our learners refer to staff members by their first names. This was a deliberate choice that the ESS Leadership Team made back in 2020. This decision was made after considering the type of school culture we wanted to create. We all aim to develop and foster strong relationships with our students based on mutual respect.
The ACT Future of Education Strategy talks about building strong communities for learning and at Evelyn Scott School we wanted to do that right from the beginning of our school's journey. We know from current research that learning and wellbeing are inextricably linked and if a child or young person feels like they belong and connected to their school then they will be able to engage in learning more effectively. Removing the old-fashioned barrier of referring to teachers using their surnames and either Miss, Mrs or Mr goes a long way to building these connections and developing a modern workplace.
We believe that adults earn their respect through their actions and not through their title and we believe that this decision has had, and will continue to have, a positive impact on our learners.
Many schools in the ACT operate under a first name basis and more are moving towards this inclusive practice. Importantly, it ensures all staff feel included regardless of their marital status or their gender.
Importantly, we are a connected and contemporary P-10 school and all of our children and young people work together. All ACT public colleges use first names as a norm and most preschools do too. It made good common sense to have our primary and high school learners use first names too so that we avoid confusion and continue to develop that sense of respectful connection across our entire school.