Learning and support

Learning

Find out more about what your child will learn at our school.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is responsible for the curriculum, Kindergarten to Year 12, for all NSW schools.

For the high school years, NESA develops syllabuses for all subjects in 8 key learning areas:

creative arts
English
human society and its environment (HSIE)
languages
mathematics
personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE)
science
technological and applied studies (TAS).

NSW schools also offer special religious education and special education in ethics via approved providers, where available.

Like all NSW schools, we have developed teaching and learning programs to suit our local context and the needs of our students.

To learn more about the curriculum in NSW, visit:

NSW Department of Education – key learning areas
NESA’s Parent Guide – Schooling in NSW which provides information about learning stages, key learning areas and syllabuses
NSW Department of Education policy – Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12.

Stages of learning

There are 6 stages of learning from Kindergarten to Year 12. High school covers Stages 4 to 6.

Stage 4 includes Years 7 and 8.
Stage 5 includes Years 9 and 10.
Stage 6 includes Years 11 and 12.

Wellbeing

We are committed to ensuring a safe and happy environment for your child.

Following the incident on 17 September at Southern Cross University – Lismore Campus, we would like to share Headspace’s mental health support resource (PDF 100.52KB) for students, teachers and school staff.

We support your child’s health and safety through a range of strategies including:

the behaviour code for students, which outlines the standards of behaviour expected in all NSW public schools
anti-racism education
anti-bullying programs
conflict resolution and mediation training
peer support
road safety education
the Healthy School Canteen Strategy.

For more information, visit the student wellbeing section of the department’s website.

Like all NSW public schools, we promote the healthy development of students through:

school programs and practices that protect and promote health and safety
supporting individual students who need help with health issues
providing first aid and temporary care of students who become unwell or who have an accident at school.
Chifley Senior Campus Anti Bullying Plan 2026
Chifley Senior Campus Behaviour Code

Student wellbeing

Like all NSW public schools, we provide safe learning and teaching environments to encourage healthy, happy, successful and productive students.

The department is committed to creating quality learning opportunities for children and young people. These opportunities support wellbeing through positive and respectful relationships and fostering a sense of belonging to the school and community.

The Wellbeing Framework for Schools helps schools support the cognitive, physical, social, emotional and spiritual development of students and allows them to connect, succeed and thrive throughout their education.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

At our school, we use Positive Behaviour for Learning – a whole-school approach for creating a positive, safe and supportive school climate where students can learn and develop. Our whole school community works together to establish expected behaviours and teach them to all students.

School Counselling Service

School counselling staff are members of the school learning and support team.

A teacher may recommend the service by referring a student to the school’s learning and support team. As a parent or carer, you may refer your child directly to the school counselling service. Students can also self-refer to the service.

The school counselling service can:

support students who are worrying about school work, friends, getting in trouble at school or feeling down
help parents and carers make decisions about your child’s education
assess a student’s learning and behaviour
help teachers and students identify and address disabilities that may affect learning
liaise with other agencies regarding student wellbeing.

School counselling is confidential.

For more information about learning and support teams and the school counselling service, please contact your school.

Additional learning support

At Chifley College Senior Campus, our highly experienced Academic Engagement Team plays a vital role in supporting students who need extension and remediation to access the curriculum and meet their educational goals. This includes meeting the specific needs of children with disability and additional learning and support needs.

Please click on the link to view our Academic Engagement Team information.

Supporting Our Students

All NSW public school students have a right to an inclusive learning environment and to feel happy and safe at school.

Aboriginal student support

We are committed to closing the achievement gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. We know that we need to learn about, nurture and value the cultural identity of our Aboriginal students to help them be successful learners.

We welcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family members, parents and carers, as well as community members to our school so that we can get to know each other, learn about the local Aboriginal community and develop shared goals and plans for Aboriginal students.

The Aboriginal Education Policy confirms the NSW Department of Education’s commitment to improvement in educational outcomes and wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Multicultural education

Our school welcomes students, families and community members from all cultural backgrounds. We appreciate difference and diversity and aim to provide a culturally inclusive and responsive environment that benefits all students.

Our teaching and learning programs develop intercultural understanding, promote positive relationships and enable all students to participate as active Australian and global citizens. Our school fosters student wellbeing and community harmony by implementing anti-racism and anti-discrimination strategies that encourage engagement by parents and carers from all backgrounds.

The Multicultural Education Policy outlines the NSW Department of Education’s commitment to providing opportunities that enable all students to achieve equitable education and social outcomes and participate successfully in our culturally diverse society.

The Anti-Racism Policy confirms the department’s commitment to rejecting all forms of racial discrimination in NSW public schools and eliminating expressions of racism in its learning and working environments.

For more information refer to:

Supporting English language learners

Learning English is essential for success at school and effective participation in Australian society. We can provide specialist support to help students learning English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D).

For more information refer to: EAL/D education.

Supporting refugee students

Schools offer safety, support and security to help refugee students adjust to life in Australia and participate successfully in education. Targeted support strategies are provided to assist refugee students in NSW public schools.

For more information refer to: Supporting refugee students.

Learning support

The school’s learning and support team plays a key role in ensuring we meet the specific needs of students with additional learning and support needs, including disability.

The team:

supports teachers in identifying and responding to the additional learning needs of students
facilitates and coordinates a whole-school approach to improving the learning outcomes of every student
coordinates planning processes and resourcing for students with additional learning and support needs
designs and implements the support required to build teacher capacity so that all students access quality learning
develops collaborative partnerships with the school, parents and carers, as well as other professionals and the wider school community.

For more information on programs and services to help students with additional learning and support needs visit Disability, learning and support.

Anti-bullying

Bullying of any kind is not acceptable in NSW schools.

The NSW anti-bullying website brings together information and resources for teachers, students, parents and carers. It helps to identify, prevent and respond effectively to student bullying, including online bullying. It provides information about online safety and what you can do if your child has been bullied, witnessed bullying or been involved in bullying.

For more information on anti-bullying strategies for NSW public schools refer to the department’s Bullying of Students – Prevention and Response Policy.

For information on racial bullying and anti-racism education for NSW public schools refer to:

Our teachers use a variety of strategies to assess student learning.

Student leadership

Student leadership helps young people find their voices, participate in decision-making, and understand their rights and responsibilities as active citizens. It helps students have a real impact on their learning and school environment and prepares them to participate meaningfully in their community.

Students can be leaders in the classroom, through their actions in the playground, through their support for others, or their involvement in academic, sporting, cultural or local community events or projects.

For more information about opportunities in NSW public schools visit Student voice and leadership.