Student Wellbeing

PRIDE

KINDNESS

CURIOSITY

"We make a difference"

Leading Care for Student Wellbeing and Engagement

It’s estimated that around one in seven Australian kids experience mental health issues and about half of all serious mental health issues in adulthood begin before the age of 14.

At Wandong Primary School, we recognise the need for tertiary supports to enhance students social and emotional wellbeing in some circumstances. We are committed to ensuring that student mental health and wellbeing is at the forefront of everything we do. To ensure necessary wellbeing-based supports can be activated for children when needed, we have a multidisciplinary team of professionals all working together to cater for the needs of our most vulnerable students.

Early Detection and Prevention Model of Mental Health and Wellbeing Intervention

Wandong Primary School is committed to Leading Care for Student Wellbeing and Engagement. Using an Early Detection and Prevention Model for student Mental Health and Wellbeing. Along with paired support from the school’s Teaching and Learning team, we strive to ensure each child can strive for excellence.

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support

Introducing, modelling and reinforcing positive social behaviour is an important component of all student’s education. Teaching behavioural expectations and rewarding students for following them is a much more positive approach than waiting for misbehaviour to occur before responding.

In 2021, we commenced our journey in developing this whole school approach to positive behaviour. School Wide Positive Behaviour Support is a system of tools and strategies for defining, teaching, acknowledging appropriate behaviour, and correcting inappropriate behaviour in a supportive nature. It is a framework for creating individualised school systems that enhance student outcomes and academic success. It is preventative, and switches focus from negative behaviours and exchanges, to positive expectations and interactions – leading to the promotion of social proficiency and academic success.

We recognise that learning social skills and socially acceptable behaviours is a process, which everybody moves through at different stages. Learning appropriate social skills is seen in the same light as learning how to read, write or complete a mathematical task. Some students need more assistance in some areas and less in others.

At Wandong Primary school, our values are reflected in our everyday learning and displayed and taught in all areas of the school. Our School Values are Pride, Kindness and Curiosity.

When SWPBS is implemented well, teachers and students have more time to focus on relationships and classroom instruction. Students and staff benefit from:

increased respectful and positive behaviour
increased time focused on instruction
improved social-emotional wellbeing
positive and respectful relationships among students and staff
increased adoption of evidence-based instructional practices
a predictable learning environment with improved perceptions of safety and increased attendance

The following will occur at Wandong Primary school across the whole school to ensure that SWPB is consistently implemented:

Students are explicitly taught the school expected behaviours as shown in our Matrix of Expected Behaviour
Staff demonstrate and model the expected behaviours
Staff and students can articulate the difference between major and minor behaviours
Staff acknowledge and reward students who show the expected behaviours with house points or a Value Postcard.
Staff pre-correct (remind students of expected behaviours beforehand)
Staff re-teach expected behaviours if a student makes a mistake in a positively framed way
Selected students are further acknowledged with a principal award of excellence for showing exemplary behaviour throughout the term
House points are calculated at the end of each term with the winning house being rewarded.
Student behaviour data is analysed on a daily basis and utilised to teach future social and emotional learning skills.

Social and Emotional Wellbeing

Positive social and emotional development is critically important. This development influences a child’s self-confidence, empathy, the ability to develop meaningful and lasting friendships and partnerships, and a sense of importance and value to those around him/her.

At Wandong Primary School we teach the Respectful Relationships Curriculum in conjunction with School Wide Positive Behaviours. This curriculum and specific learning foci are determined through the ongoing analysis of student behaviour data. By focusing on a preventative and proactive approach, we plan specific lessons each week to target the relative needs of our students and aim to enhance their social and emotional skills and build their capacity to make and maintain respectful relationships with their peers.

We strongly believe in differentiating the learning to target the individualised needs of each student in this learning area. We acknowledge emotional regulation as being a major challenge for some students, warranting the need for learning based intervention to support the development of these skills.

Attendance

Primary School Attendance

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day – missing school puts them behind.

School is better when your child is there

Why it’s important

We all want our students to get a great education, and the building blocks for a great education begin with students coming to school each and every day.

If students miss school regularly, they miss out on learning the fundamental skills that will set them up for success in the later years of school.

There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind, and can affect their educational outcomes.

Each missed day is associated with progressively lower achievement in numeracy, writing and reading.

Getting in early

Attendance patterns are established early – a child regularly missing days in kindergarten or in the early years of school will often continue to miss classes in the later years, and receive lower test scores than their classmates.

It’s vital that students go to school every day – even in the early years of primary school.

RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS

Social and Emotional Learning & Respectful Relationships

What is Respectful Relationships?

The Royal Commission into Family Violence identified the critical role that schools have in creating a culture of respect, aiming to change Australia’s story of family violence for future generations. In 2016, Respectful Relationships education became a core component of the Victorian Curriculum.

The purpose of the Respectful Relationships Program is to support schools in promoting and modelling respect, positive attitudes and behaviours – and to teach our young people how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.

Through the implementation of the Respectful Relationships education program, schools will give students opportunities for social and emotional learning in self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationships, ethics, values, social norms, stereotypes, human rights, risk and responsible decision-making.

For further information about the Respectful Relationships Curriculum, please see: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/respectfulrelationships.aspx?Redirect=1

Respectful Relationships and Social and Emotional Learning at Wandong Primary School:

Positive social and emotional development is critically important. This development influences a child’s self-confidence, empathy, the ability to develop meaningful and lasting friendships and partnerships, and a sense of importance and value to those around him/her.

At Wandong Primary School we teach the Respectful Relationships Curriculum in conjunction with School Wide Positive Behaviours. By focussing on a preventative and proactive approach, we plan specific lessons each week to target the relative needs of our students and aim to enhance their social and emotional skills and build their capacity to make and maintain respectful relationships with their peers.

Marrung Strategy

Marrung – Aboriginal Education Plan at Wandong Primary School

The Marrung Vision:

Victoria will be a State where the rich and thriving culture, knowledge and experience of our First Nations peoples are celebrated by all Victorians; where our universal service systems are inclusive, responsive and respectful of Koorie people at every stage of their learning and development journey; and where every Koorie person achieves their potential, succeeds in life, and feels strong in their cultural identity.

At Wandong Primary School, we are committed to supporting the Marrung Vision by:

Marrung Aboriginal Education Plan on Department Website: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/aboriginal/Marrung_Aboriginal_Education_Plan_2016-2026.pdf