Wellbeing

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St Peter Apostle Primary School Hoppers Crossing

At St Peter Apostle we work to ensure we know the whole child. We pride ourselves on our wellbeing and care for each member of our community. We actively work to build a positive school environment where each child can feel included, safe, supported and valued. We believe that the development of our students’ spiritual, emotional, social and physical wellbeing is fundamental to their learning success.

The Wellbeing team at St Peter’s oversees the provision of;

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) prevention and intervention programs
Student, Parent and Teacher Codes of Conduct
Support for students with diverse learning needs
Speech and language programs
Psychology Assessment and Counselling
Child Safety
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) – Students with disabilities support and learning adjustment
Referrals to the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) Learning Diversity and Student Wellbeing units
Support for parents and students as well as liaising with external agencies.

SEL lessons are embedded in the weekly learning and teaching program, with explicit teaching of PBL expectations, Respectful Relationships SEL Topic 1-6 and Topics 7-8 through a Catholic lens.

Wellbeing Hub

Our Friendship Club in the Wellbeing Hub is open for half of both our lunch and afternoon break to support students with their social learning and development.

Students are supported by staff during Friendship Club to learn, develop and practise the skills needed to make and maintain friendships. They are encouraged to meet and work alongside their peers in turn taking games, imaginative play, collaborative games or independent play while sharing space and resources.

The Wellbeing Hub is also available during classroom learning time to support regulation.

The Wellbeing Team

Deputy Principal (Wellbeing & Diversity) - Tara

Wellbeing Leader - Emili

Learning Diversity Leader (Junior school) - Teah

Learning Diversity Leader (Senior school) - Pattie

Mental Health in Primary Schools - Kirsten

School Psychologist

School Speech Therapist

PBL

St Peter Apostle Primary School promotes a holistic approach to student wellbeing. We ensure our school’s vision and mission “Learn, Relate and Live in the light of the Catholic faith” supports and frames our Positive Behaviour for Learning and Trauma-informed approach to all areas of our teaching and learning as well as our daily interactions with one another.

The PBL framework uses a multi-tiered system of support aimed at proactively supporting all students. Data-based decision-making is an integral component of PBL, allowing identification of support needs and the ability to monitor and evaluate interventions. PBL draws together evidence-based programs such as Respectful Relationships, Berry Street Trauma-informed Practices and Bounce Back to increase academic achievement, improve safety, decrease challenging behaviours and establish a positive school environment.

Our Positive Behaviour for Learning pillars are:

Be Proud, Be Kind, Be Responsible and Be Safe

Our Catholic school adheres to and promotes the 11 Victorian Child Safety Standards (Ministerial Order 1359) in an effort to provide a safe and inclusive environment that contributes to positive learning outcomes and the physical, spiritual, emotional and mental wellbeing of students, staff and the broader community. We acknowledge and show respect for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and peoples past and present in our school community by providing opportunities for connection and learning.

Respectful Relationships

At St Peter’s, we are committed to honouring the diversity within our community by embedding a culture of respect, equality and inclusiveness. The Respectful Relationships teaching and learning program is mapped against the Victorian Curriculum and is approved and supported by Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools (MACS). Respectful Relationships is an evidence-based, whole school approach to building a school culture of positive attitudes and behaviours based on equality.

Staff Professional Learning

We are fortunate to be in a position to draw on elements of many approaches – the best approaches, the approaches shown through research to enhance learning outcomes, build resilience and foster independence including elements of the Berry Street Education Model such as morning circles.

Our staff is committed to a culture of rigorous, ongoing professional development in order to ensure that our teaching is of the highest standard, this includes Wellbeing Leader being actively involved in fortnightly planning focusing on the next steps needed to support students.

Learning Diversity

St Peter Apostle Catholic Primary School celebrates the uniqueness and dignity of each person, and builds respectful, collaborative relationships between children, teachers, families and the broader community. Educators create deliberate educational opportunities which enable every child to experience God’s love and care and develop a positive sense of achievement through success and growth.

Within the framework of this commitment St Peter Apostle embraces and celebrates diversity and difference, welcoming all members of the community as equals. Educators make choices to ensure that their teaching is inclusive, they foster an environment that embraces the education of all students regardless of their cultural background, socio-economic status, learning needs, exceptional ability or disability, and create educational communities that celebrate diversity and combat discrimination.

At St Peter Apostle we strive to create an inclusive environment where all children and families feel welcomed. We work in partnership with families and support agencies to provide a coordinated approach to meet the individual needs of all children, including those with additional needs, learning disabilities, highly able students, social/emotional needs and children with welfare needs.

We understand that children learn in different ways and not at the same pace. We build relationships with students and gather data to establish their strengths, areas for support, skills and interests in order to establish learning pathways which support active engagement for all children.

We provide specific staffing, resources and programs to meet the individual needs of all children and their families including:

Learning Diversity Leaders
Learning Support Officers
Speech Pathologist
Psychologist
Program Support Meetings
Personalised Learning Plans
Intervention Programs
Acceleration Programs
Social & Emotional Learning
Friendship Club