Tuntable Falls Community School

We are a parent-run independent school in a rainforest setting at the base of the Nightcap World Heritage-listed National Park. Close to the bustling diversity of Nimbin village, our children learn and play in a safe, creative, and natural environment. Established over 30 years ago, we offer an innovative and creative high-quality teaching program compliant with the NSW Board of Studies. Sustainable values, unique experiences, and integrated learning in a peaceful rainforest environment.

The school was established in 1981 by families living in the Turntable Cooperative Community, who wanted an education consistent with their values:

• Environmental sustainability
• Integration between family, community, and school
• Valuing each child's gifts and learning style

The considered alternative at the time; these values continue to be at the core of our philosophy. Turntable Falls Primary School believes in an educational approach where the children learn that the environment is inseparable from themselves: they are the environment, and the environment is them! Following on from there, we believe that the most critical subject in the curriculum is LIFE and that learning by pleasure is the motivating force. Our education objective is to 'grow green children' equipped with passion, knowledge, and the tools to build a sustainable future. With these objectives in mind, we build into our programs:

• Engagement with the environment. In their real-world, children spend time outdoors to experience life and, with all life's lessons, it has to teach. It is an education rooted in nature: to understand, appreciate, and love nature, and in so doing, helping to develop a deep sense of connectedness and attitude of caring to the environment. The school garden – funded by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation – plays a vital role in our outdoor education program.
• Exposure to local communities. The children living in one of Australia's most innovative and creative rural areas are exposed to the local, rich, diverse, and broad community of the local area. The children are given opportunities to explore and experience our community's wealth and assets, the natural environment, its human inhabitants, and their outstanding initiatives through excursions and visits to places and people. The children explore and discover: meeting elders and visiting alternative and sustainable projects, helping and participating in community projects, and experiencing history in the making.
• Linking the Environment and Local Communities to our curriculum enables the children to link their real-life experiences to an authentic learning program's expected academic outcomes.

We believe that this program addresses the following:

• Freedom of movement
• Sense of deep time
• Reverie
• Play
• Self will
• Independence
• A sense of autonomy
• Provides a holistic curriculum based on all aspects of environmental and innovative education
• Hands-on experiences to motivate children about their environment
• Student-centered learning that inspires creative, innovative thinking, and learning.