Good Practice 17

Students of refugee backgrounds have applied for leadership roles as a result of a student leadership program inspired by the Refugee Education Support Program (RESP)at St Francis Xavier College’s Berwick campus.

The school is a Catholic coeducational secondary school with more than 3,000 students across three campuses: Berwick (Years 7–9), Officer (Years 7–9) and Beaconsfield (Years 10–12). Twenty Berwick students completed the leadership program, which was developed after a RESP team’s review of the school’s organisation, ethos and environment.

The program involved weekly group activities that focused on verbal and non-verbal communication, personal development and other leadership skills. After the program, several students applied for leadership roles such as school captain.