MACS Catholic school communities place the highest priority on the care, wellbeing and protection of children and young people. Founded in Christ and sustained by faith, we seek to fulfil our mission of enabling each student to come into the fullness of their own humanity. This includes paying attention to the inherent dignity of children and young people, and their fundamental right to be respected, nurtured and safeguarded by all.

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At Our Lady of Lourdes School, we believe that students who build strong social and emotional skills are happier, form better relationships with their peers, are more resilient in the face of stress and perform better academically.

 

We believe that a sense of wellbeing is central to students’ ability to learn and that a supportive, safe and nurturing environment contributes to the development of their sense of worth, enthusiasm for learning and
optimism for the future.

 

We endeavour to do this by:

● teaching students skills such as empathy, self-regulation and effective communication

● supporting students to develop resilience and coping strategies for dealing with stress and challenges
● implementing evidence-based programs to improve student wellbeing
● engaging with families to address individual student needs
● assisting students to develop the skills necessary for healthy relationships
● increasing student awareness and involvement in community and social justice issues.

 

At Our Lady of Lourdes School, we have programs and strategies which support the mental health and wellbeing of our students:

 

Restorative Practice

Restorative practice is a whole-school approach to teaching and learning that encourages behavior that is supportive and respectful. It recognises that various factors influence behaviour and aims to address these underlying factors through empathy, relationship-building, communication, social and emotional learning, and finding respectful ways to hold each other accountable. An important component of Restorative Practices is the focus on restorative problem-solving conversations, which are structured conversations that address incidents of conflict or harm. 

 

Positive Behaviours for Learning

To create a safe, predictable learning environment for all, students from Prep-6 contribute to developing a positive behaviours for learning (PBL) matrix. The matrix provides students with three school-wide behaviour expectations for all members of the school community to follow - being Respectful, Safe and Active Learners. Students are then explicitly taught the expectations, when and where they should be used and what each expectation looks like and sounds like.

 

Whilst we have high expectations for positive behaviours for learning, we also have clear guidelines for addressing unacceptable behaviour. Consequences for behaviour are proportionate to the nature of the behaviour and time is dedicated to identifying and addressing the causes and triggers of the behaviour. 

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Be You

Be You supports mental health and wellbeing from early childhood through to age 18. It provides educators and learning communities with evidence-based online training, along with a variety of tools and resources to help put learning into practice. Be You empowers educators to build essential mental health skills and knowledge, while also offering a practical model for creating a whole-community approach to mental health and wellbeing.

Rights, Responsibilities and Respectful RelationshipsWe promote a whole-school approach to Rights, Responsibilities, and Respectful Relationships, where both children and adults are encouraged to model respectful relationships and gender equality practices throughout the school community.

 

Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHIPS)

We are participating in the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Mental Health in Primary Schools program to enhance the entire school’s understanding of mental health and wellbeing (including identification, promotion, and prevention). The program will support staff in better identifying and assisting students with mental health needs, establish clear referral pathways for students requiring assessment and intervention, and help monitor and evaluate student progress.

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Other whole-school initiatives

• ‘Way To Go’ – a fortnightly focus on social skills with certificates given at assembly to acknowledge students who have displayed a particular social skill

• Social Groups – Prep - Year 6 multi-age get togethers to develop and practise social skills

• Student Representative Council (SRC) Meetings- providing opportunities for students from Prep – 6 to 'have a voice'

• Circle Time/ Class Meetings – providing a secure, supportive forum where all students have the opportunity to have a say and share their feelings in an environment of trust

• Resilient Youth Positivity Leadership and Activated Youth (PLAY) program