Welcome to Daylesford Dharma School

Compassion in Education.
Live to be kind. Learn to be wise.

Set within 22 acres on the outskirts of Daylesford, our model of educational excellence places student wellbeing at the heart of their learning. We foster this genuine engagement and personal growth in our students by placing their development at the centre of our Awareness Program activities, led by experienced and compassionate teachers.  

This approach is underpinned  by the Australian Curriculum General Capabilities which focuses on developing knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions and how these apply at school and within the community. 

Our students’ social, emotional and moral intelligences are cultivated  through inquiry into how we can live with kindness, wisdom and interdependence, guided by Buddhist philosophy. 

Our students are immersed in an academic program that follows the Australian Curriculum and so our teachers place a strong emphasis on explicit teaching and monitoring of the core literacy and numeracy achievements of our students.  This year our NAPLAN data revealed;

• 100% of our Year 3 students scored ‘Above’ the National Minimum Standard in all Literacy areas
• 100% of our Year 5 students scored ‘Above’ the National Minimum Standard in all Literacy areas and Numeracy. 
• All our Year 3 and Year 5 students performed ‘Above’ or ‘At’ the NAPLAN National Minimum Standards across the five testing areas of Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation and Numeracy. 

We have a strong commitment to experiential learning with a focus on nature observation and connection. We run a place based learning program and a keystone Bush School curriculum that ensures that nature based learning helps develop our students’ problem solving, resilience, environmental and indigenous knowledge, and key educational outcomes. In 2022 the North Central Catchment Management Authority recognised our 8 years as a River Detectives school with a Recognition Award for outstanding contribution to natural resource management. 

Most importantly, our education program is accessible to all. You do not need to identify as being Buddhist for your child to benefit from the critical thinking and inquiry skills that a philosophical education instils in children. We aim to be accessible to all families in our community and our school fees are low and are able to be negotiated  through our volunteering program and through bursaries. 

At our school you will meet a friendly learning community who support each other to experience a sense of belonging. 

We encourage you to check out our enrolments page, and please contact us to book a school tour or  to learn more.