The concept of Positive Education is underpinned by five core elements of psychological well-being, as grouped by Dr Martin Seligman.

The corresponding acronym that represents each of the five core elements is PERMA.

By ensuring our school provides for growth in each of the five elements, we believe we can make a positive difference to our ability to thrive.

The “E” in the PERMA acronym stands for “engagement”.

Being fully-engaged in the activities in our lives is important for us to learn, grow and nurture our well-being. It is important in our lives to be able to find activities that need our full engagement.

We all need something in our lives that entirely absorbs us into the present moment, creating a “flow” of blissful immersion into the task or activity.

This type of “flow” of engagement is important to stretch our intelligence, skills, and emotional capabilities.

Each person is different and we all find enjoyment in different things whether it’s playing an instrument, playing a sport, dancing, working on an interesting project at work or even just a hobby.

At Scone Grammar School we are committed to providing our school community with a broad range of opportunities to be fully-engaged in life.

While we remain committed to teaching the explicit skills of well-being weekly in dedicated well-being lessons across P-12, focusing on increasing student engagement is not just confined to a set curriculum, it is an element of well-being which is applied across all subject matters, and in all our contexts; early learning, primary, secondary, and in our staff rooms and through our extra-curricular opportunities for students.

By focusing upon increasing student engagement in all areas of school life, we believe that academic learning and well-being are becoming truly integrated.

One example of where a deepened focus on engagement has met extra-curricular opportunity to produce flourishing experiences here at Scone Grammar is through our Cricket Development Squad, where students engage in structured training sessions and competitive games which are fortified with the explicit teaching of strength-based personal skills such as teamwork, perseverance, honesty and diligence in a positive environment.

Pupils experience noticeable gains in technical skill and increased engagement, which we believe flows into classroom and lifelong learning and success.

A broad range of extra-curricular opportunities spanning the arts, sports and special interest groups employ this approach for the benefit of our students.