Arthur Hamilton Award 2025
The winner of the Arthur Hamilton Award 2025 is Jervis Bay School.
The Country as Teacher Project began over three and a half years ago. It was inspired and led by the school principal, Lana Read and local cultural man Matt Simms, who consulted with community Elders and local knowledge holders to develop and implement a Country as Teacher curriculum framework which is now delivered alongside and with equal value as the Australian National Curriculum.
Country as Teacher is a Kinder to grade 6 curriculum framework for connecting with, learning from, and caring for Country. It honours the ancient knowledges of the original custodians of the land and re-places Country as Teacher within their contemporary schooling system. Jervis Bay School and their staff recognise that when humans develop a deep connection with Country, the connection leads to an obligation to care for her; this is an outcome they want for all their students.
This is a two-way curriculum, which aims to balance the education of Jervis Bay’s young people, by building on the knowledge of the past, and embracing ancient ways of being, knowing and doing and allowing Country to be the teacher.
The framework is divided into 6 sections with 20 Learning areas which community have co-constructed. They specifically outline what community think students should know and be able to demonstrate by the time they leave primary school. Alongside these are On-Country experiences that provide opportunities for this learning to occur.
Students are all working towards demonstrating their learning against the school’s Year 6 Graduate profile with deadly results.
• Improved literacy and numeracy outcomes are already evident.
• Attendance rates have improved with nearly 50% of students at 90% attendance or above and a further 25% sitting between 85-90%.
• Student engagement levels are excellent as is the deep connection to Country and to each other as a ‘school family’.
• Students demonstrate great pride in their culture and identity along with their knowledge of ancestral ways of knowing, being and doing. They learn language, share their stories and dance their songlines with pride.
To quote Jervis Bay School’s nomination “Magic happens when children are so deeply connected to culture and Country. The school is peaceful and calm, and the children are proud and strong.”
