WE WELCOME YOUR QUESTIONS
Here are some common questions from parents and caregivers. We’re always happy to respond to your concerns.
Is PHPS a SunSmart school?
Our SunSmart policy encourages a responsible attitude towards UV ray protection.
We require all students to wear:
- a broad-brimmed or legionnaire style hat during terms 1 and 4 or whenever the UV index is predicted to be above 3.
tops and t-shirts that cover the shoulders and chest. - Basketball caps, singlets, and tops with shoestring straps do not meet our SunSmart standards, so please don’t allow your child to wear these to school.
If a child isn’t wearing SunSmart clothing during outdoor lessons and recesses, we will move them into the shade. When the heat is severe, we action our hot day timetable and allow students to remain inside.
Sunscreen
Our School Council provides perfume-free, non-allergenic Cancer Council sunscreen throughout the school. To use the sunscreen, your child must have your written permission and be able to independently apply the product. Educators do not apply sunscreen to students.
What does PHPS do to make children feel safe?
Every child has the right to feel safe in our school. We use many strategies to create the safest possible environment for our students, including:
- rigorous attendance monitoring
- consistent behaviour management practices and follow-up
- occupational health and safety management
- a strong focus on social and emotional learning.
We closely follow the Victorian Government Child Safe Standards, by:
- developing a culture of child safety through policy development
- applying a Child Safe code of conduct
- emphasising student agency (voice and choice in learning)
- managing risk
- following clear procedures for dealing with any disclosures from children or the community.
Please read our Statement of Commitment Child safe Policy, Parent and child codes of conduct, and the Victorian Child Safe Standards.
How does the school encourage children to be physically active?
We want children to value life-long physical activity. Our physical education program is designed to help students acquire and apply skills, build resilience and self-confidence, and contribute positively to a team—all important life skills.
Sometimes we’ll get active together—such as during our walkathon, swimming lessons, athletics programs, cross country, and junior school sports day. And we always encourage active travel to school by providing bike racks inside the school and promoting walk and ride to school days.
Please note, if your child rides to school, they will need to secure their bike or scooter with a lock. We don’t take responsibility for theft of, or damage to, bicycles and other equipment brought onto the school grounds.
Do PHPS students wear a uniform?
We don’t require our students to wear a school uniform. We sell plain uniform items: navy wide-brimmed hats (compulsory during terms 1 and 4), light blue tops, navy shorts, navy track pants and PHPS backpacks at our school office for your convenience.
Do students use computers?
We know computers are an important learning tool, so our educators use them and other digital technologies to give real-world context to student work.
We also engage children in problem solving work, such as coding, robotics, blogging, virtual reality, and 3D printing.
We have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program which allows students to bring an Apple Macbook computer to school for educational purposes.
Learn more at Policies and Student experience.