Weekday boarding: The perfect solution for time-stressed families

Boarding school enrolments have rebounded sharply in recent years, reversing two decades of decline.

Australia now has almost 200 residential schools serving tens of thousands of students throughout the school term and on a weekly basis.

While boarding is a necessity for many families in regional and remote Australia, city-based students now represent one-third of boarders at NSW schools.

Experts point to several reasons for the surging interest in boarding. Cultural trends, from the well-loved Harry Potter series of books and films to a spate of popular television shows set in boarding schools, have recast these schools’ image from austere to awesome. Today, living at school, surrounded by friends, is, for many students, an appealing prospect.

Societal changes have made boarding schools increasingly attractive for parents too, as more often than not nowadays, they both work full time in demanding careers. 

Between long hours and long commutes, parents are busier than ever and boarding schools are moving to meet the needs of modern families. 

A growing number now offer flexible boarding to alleviate the burden on time-pressed parents. Options can include:

  • Casual boarding — a temporary situation for just a few days or weeks — particularly helpful for parents whose work involves travel 
  • Extended day boarding — students participate in after-school sport and study, then have dinner together before returning home in the evening 
  • Weekday boarding — students live at school during the week with weekends at home

Flexible boarding has advantages for students too. It affords them more time and space to concentrate on their studies and extracurricular interests while still enjoying lots of family time. 

Living at school, at least part of the time, can also help families avoid schedule clashes between siblings, making it easier to accommodate sporting commitments, rehearsals, intra-school debating and similarly time-intensive activities. 

As academic commitments accrue in the senior years, weekday boarding can be an excellent way to support students’ academic success and maximise their opportunities, says Richard Stokes, executive director of the Australian Boarding Schools’ Association.

“One of the things that is contributing to more urban boarders is the fact that in our big cities – Melbourne and Sydney and, to a lesser extent, Brisbane – families are really struggling with travel. For a child actively involved in a school’s extracurricular program, parents might question why their child might spend an hour or more on public transport, travelling to and from school when, in fact, they could live at the school and use that time wisely.”

Convenience aside, boarding is beneficial in many other ways too. Daily life in residence is highly structured with a level of supervision that few parents have the time or energy to replicate. 

Monitored study periods ensure that students complete their homework and boarders can easily access extra tutoring when needed, making them less likely to fall behind. 

Technology use is tightly regulated. Rules vary, but generally, there are strict policies on internet access in terms of both time and content. Mobile phones are off-limits during study periods and most schools require devices to be handed in at bedtime. 

For many parents, this aspect alone is worth the price of admission. Research shows children’s technology use is a source of conflict in two-thirds of Australian families and more than 80% of parents think digital devices are negatively impacting their children, mentally and physically.

Boarding can be an effective antidote to technology overload. A University of South Australia study, conducted at Adelaide’s Westminster School, found boarders sleep an average of 40 minutes more per night than their day student peers.

Speaking to the Australian, lead researcher Alex Reardon attributed the sleep differential to restricted technology use at night and the consistent routine of boarding house life.

“We know in the literature that kids who have set routines, who have good sleep hygiene, tend to sleep better and have better mental health outcomes,” he says. “Boarding is inherently really good at routine. It turns out boarders are sleeping really well, they’re sleeping longer than day students.”

But perhaps the greatest reason for boarding’s renewed popularity is that the schools themselves have changed to better reflect contemporary lifestyles.

Old-fashioned dormitory-style, cramped sleeping quarters have given way to larger rooms with fewer occupants and a greater emphasis on student privacy. 

Enhanced pastoral care ensures that every student receives individual attention and support. 

And, most significantly, for hungry, growing adolescents, the stereotype of meagre rations is completely outmoded. Today’s boarding schools prioritise healthy food, serving nutritious, tasty meals that cater to students’ dietary preferences and requirements.

The boarding experience has evolved dramatically in recent years and a new generation is eagerly reaping the benefits.

 

References:

Boarding Schools, Independent Schools Australia
https://isa.edu.au/our-sector/diversity/boarding-schools/

Boarding schools no longer need “Harry Potter effect” to inspire children, leading headmaster says — Camilla Turner, the Telegraph UK, April 29, 2017
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/04/29/boarding-schools-no-longer-need-harry-potter-effect-inspire/

Why flexible boarding options are becoming more popular — Rosanne Barrett, the Australian, September 10, 2021
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/special-reports/why-flexible-boarding-options-are-becoming-more-popular/news-story/ee02146a03add38fb43e883c7647a776

Boarding schools appealing to the city as much as the country — Emily Parkinson, Australian Financial Review, May 16, 2016
https://www.afr.com/companies/boarding-schools-appealing-to-the-city-as-much-as-the-country-20160504-golmnt

Children more distracted by digital devices in the home, parents say — Ben Knight, UNSW News, April 28, 2021
https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2021/04/children-more-distracted-by-digital-devices-in-the-home–parents

Boarding school students sleep more than day student peers. The positive effects of bedtime routine and restricting technology use at night — Alex Reardon, K Lushington, A Agostini, SLEEP Advances, November 2022
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365248688_O025_Boarding_school_students_sleep_better_than_day-student_peers_The_positive_effects_of_bedtime_routine_and_restricting_technology_use_at_night

Boosting mental health in their sleep — Rosanne Barrett, the Australian, September 10, 2021
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/special-reports/boosting-mental-health-in-their-sleep/news-story/4e4ff85d1fac3d0313401315f1248cc0

Putting a dollar value on a good school

It is often said that schools have little impact on individual student outcomes. Despite the perpetually high rankings of some schools and occasional dramatic turn-arounds of others, we keep hearing that all things being equal, all schools are equal.

Academic accomplishment is supposedly a matter of a child’s socio-economic background, how many books are in the home, the parents’ education level, and so on. In other words, high achieving parents produce high-achieving children regardless of the educational environment. Rarely is a school’s outperformance acknowledged as the work of the staff.

But parents intuitively know that a good school can make a huge difference. Probably because we all went to school ourselves. Usually more than one. And we all remember the most effective teachers, the school counsellor who truly understood kids, the principal who ran a tight ship — or not. We know how we were shaped by the schools we attended and we know what we want a school to do for our children.

Our faith in the power of a good school is not misplaced. US research shows that proficient teachers lift more than test scores. They also lift lifetime earnings.

A US National Bureau of Economic Research analysis of more than 1 million individual tax records, sorted by school district, found that teachers who improved academic results also had a long-term positive influence on their students.

Data showed that just one year of skillful teaching produced students who were more likely to finish school, attend university, and earn higher salaries relative to their cohort. Ten years after graduation, those students were earning 1.3% more in annual income, which, in this sample, was projected to add $US39,000 to their lifetime earnings.

The cumulative effect of a series of talented teachers on individual incomes was outside the scope of this study. But it seems self-evident that the more students achieve, the greater the benefit to their career prospects and future earning capacity.

Education experts explain the ongoing effect of transformative teaching as being about more than knowledge acquisition. To help students significantly improve their grades, teachers have to instil a range of non-cognitive skills in their students, such as self-discipline, perseverance and resilience, which also help children to achieve greater success in adulthood.

High-performing teachers can’t operate in isolation though. They need school leadership that supports them to efficiently manage classroom behaviour so they can nurture those vital non-cognitive skills. They need skilled ancillary staff to maintain high levels of student wellbeing and the time and resources to attend to individual learning needs of students.

It’s a team effort and the results speak for themselves. Good schools lay the foundation for children to grow into successful adults — and it all starts with great teaching.

References:

Measuring the Impacts of Teachers II: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood —  Raj Chetty, John N. Friedman & Jonah E. Rockoff, US National Bureau of Economic Research, 2014
https://www.nber.org/papers/w19424

 

Silver linings: How PLC Sydney made the most of remote learning

PLC Sydney Principal Dr Paul Burgis chats with Junior School students.

The coronavirus induced transition to remote learning presented a huge range of challenges to schools and families, with many parents fearing that their children would be disadvantaged by the disruption.

But at PLC Sydney, it was far from a bad experience. In fact, “it was a great win”, says Principal Dr Paul Burgis, thanks to swift action and a lot of hard work.

PLC Sydney Principal Dr Paul Burgis.

By the time NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the closure of schools as part of the non-essential services lockdown, PLC Sydney had already taken classes online.

“We started on the Thursday before the premier made it official on the Monday,” says Dr Burgis.

“We decided when the curve really took off that we would try to avoid having a case and look after our staff [who] were particularly vulnerable because of adult-to-adult transmission.”

Using Zoom video conferencing software for lessons and Google Classroom for homework and assignments, the school of almost 1400 students didn’t skip a beat. Even the technology cooperated, with PLC Sydney encountering far fewer problems than anticipated.

The hardest part was keeping students engaged with learning, especially in the early years.

“For years 3-12, it worked really well. We were primarily concerned for the young ones,” Dr Burgis says, “they need more assistance.”

To provide that, PLC Sydney employed a “multi-modal framework” with lots of activity-based learning and problem solving tasks, supplemented by explanations and individual follow-up, he says.

“Power Up Wednesdays” allocated a day every week to creative, physical and wellbeing projects to help students cope with the emotional burden of isolation. A competition to “Walk Around the World” saw the girls collectively take enough steps around their homes to get to Florence, Italy; while the “Portrait in Isolation” project challenged students and staff to express their feelings in a self-portrait. The evocative results are now on exhibition at the school.

Year 9 student Emylene Kuoch’s self-portrait for PLC Sydney’s Portraits in Isolation exhibition.

“We also did a living history project, where students wrote their experience of working at home to pass on to future generations. One of the museums in Sydney thought it was a great project and they’re going to do something with it,” he adds.

“I’ve been really impressed by how calmly the girls have gone about things. Across the whole school the students have been fantastic. We haven’t had any increase in wellbeing issues; if anything slightly less.

“I want to pay tribute to the teachers for that. The comment from the students was that the teachers were really there for them.”

Positive outcomes from remote learning can be felt throughout the school, Dr Burgis says. Zoom has worked so well that they’ll be incorporating it permanently for classes at PLC Sydney’s Jindabyne-based Winter School. Boarders stranded overseas and in country NSW have been able to return to school virtually, and taking P&F meetings online has tripled attendance.

Year 12 student Helena Law’s self-portrait for PLC Sydney’s Portraits in Isolation exhibition.

Parent information sessions have gone digital too. Dr Burgis describes PLC Sydney’s inaugural webinar for 130 prospective parents as logistically challenging but ultimately successful.

“I presented, one of our vice-captains spoke and we did a virtual tour of the college. Our executive were all on standby to chat. Parents typed in questions and I answered as many as I could and the executive were all typing away answers.

“We got quite a few enrolments so I think we did okay.”

As constructive as these past few weeks have been though, nothing can replace the social aspects of school, Dr Burgis says.

“Students really missed their peers. After a while, working from home becomes a bit like Groundhog Day, every day follows the same pattern. Face to face we read the nuances and enjoy the physical company of others.”

Remote learning has many advantages but it’s exhausting in the long term and requires heavy lifting from teachers, students and parents to make it work, he acknowledges.

“I’ve really appreciated how the staff, teachers and executive have come together really well to make sure the learning worked. That’s been tiring though. This is normally a long weekend with a professional development day but we’ve given the staff an extra day off. They’ve been working hard and they’ve just done a huge professional development task on the job.

“We’ve been really grateful for the support of the community and because of that it’s worked well.”