A Culture of Wellbeing

At Ridley, we believe the primary aim of education is the cultivation of human flourishing.

As such, wellbeing is at the heart of our school’s approach to learning. Young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world, and we believe it is both our privilege and responsibility to ensure Ridleians are equipped with the habits and strategies they’ll need to overcome life’s unexpected twists and turns; to build fulfilment, purpose, and achievement in their lives.

Ridley College is a leader in positive education and wellbeing education. We want our students to ‘feel good and do good’ and our educators intentionally teach the habits of mind, body, and spirit so that students are primed for learning and success - now and long after graduation.

A schoolwide ‘culture of wellbeing’ is nurtured by all faculty and staff and supported by a number of key positions, including our Director of Wellbeing, our team of social-emotional counsellors, our faculty advisors, and our boarding pastoral care team.

At Ridley, we define 'flourishing' as PERMA-V, the human development theory developed by Dr. Martin Seligman. Each of the letters represent pillars of wellbeing that are foundational to everything we do at Ridley.

At Ridley, using the PERMA-V model, we celebrate and emphasize positive emotions; we ask our students to engage with their work and the world around them; we ask them to work on developing deep and meaningful relationships, to find meaning and purpose in their lives, and to achieve goals through cultivating and applying strengths and talents. Why? Because Ridley’s central mission, is to help our students discover what it takes to lead a flourishing life, not just in this community but in communities all over the world, far beyond our gates.

We believe that to flourish is to find fulfillment in our lives.

PROMOTING VITALITY

In the PERMA-V model, ‘V’ stands for ‘vitality,’ which encourages students to become educated, value and manage their nutrition, sleep and stress inside their active lifestyle. Each component of vitality contributes to finding balance and are essential to our students' wellbeing.

As part of our commitment to wellbeing, we strive to ensure each student is active every day. Our approach, based on the LTAD model, sees children develop fundamental movement skills that supports them in becoming active for life.

FLOURISHING AT RIDLEY

A number of achievements and a selection of other offerings demonstrate Ridley’s commitment to wellbeing:

CHARTER MEMBER OF IPEN

Prominence and partnerships with International Positive Education Network (IPEN), International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) and the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science (CWS)