Student and Staff Wellbeing: Programs at Larrakeyah Primary
Beyond classroom learning our school has a strong focus on supporting and developing the wellbeing of all members of our community.
Wellbeing includes both the emotional and physical state of a person, and there is evidence that resilience can be developed within students by helping them to develop a range of strategies to overcome challenges they may face now and in later life.
Running wellbeing programs helps our students develop key life skills, understand their emotions and empathise with others, and foster a positive and healthy environment for academic excellence.
Earlier this year, we outlined two key wellness initiatives at Larrakeyah Primary; the Peer Support Program and YouHue App.
Today, we’ll share the rationale and achievement standards expected from participating in those programs as well as a new partnership with Real Schools Academy to support the wellbeing of our teachers.
Achievement Standards for School Wellbeing Programs
Peer Support Program
The Peers Support Program theme for 2021 has been “Moving Forward”. From Foundation Year through Year 6, students engage and facilitate discussion and activities within peer groups to develop their skills in:
- Planning
- Resilience
- Coping
- Communication
The aim of the program is to help students:
- identify personal qualities and strengths
- acknowledge their achievements
- identify the people who provide support
- develop a range of coping strategies
- develop resilience
Adjusting for the range of ages and year levels represented within each peer group, our teachers observe and facilitate each group so that:
- By the end of Foundation Year, students recognise how they are growing and changing. They identify and describe the different emotions people experience.
- By the end of Year 2, students describe changes that occur as they grow older. They recognise how strengths and achievements contribute to identities. They identify how emotional responses impact on others’ feelings.
- By the end of Year 4, students recognise strategies for managing change. They identify influences that strengthen identities. They investigate how emotional responses vary and understand how to interact positively with others in a variety of situations. Students
- By the end of Year 6, students investigate developmental changes and transitions. They explain the influence of people and places on identities. They recognise the influence of emotions on behaviours and discuss factors that influence how people interact.
YouHue App
The YouHue App helps students to identify, understand and track their emotions over time. Allowing students to express their emotions, when they feel them, and encouraging them to communicate their feelings enables our teachers and support staff to adjust and address issues in real time.
In its introductory year, we implemented the “Getting to know YouHue” program to aid students and teachers to adopt and get the most from the app.
Key achievement milestones for different year levels were used to guide the program over 2021.
- By the end of Foundation Year, students recognise how they are growing and changing. They identify and describe the different emotions people experience.
- By the end of Year 2, students describe changes that occur as they grow older. They recognise how strengths and achievements contribute to identities. They identify how emotional responses impact on others’ feelings.
- By the end of Year 4, students recognise strategies for managing change. They identify influences that strengthen identities. They investigate how emotional responses vary and understand how to interact positively with others in a variety of situations.
- By the end of Year 6, students investigate developmental changes and transitions. They explain the influence of people and places on identities. They recognise the influence of emotions on behaviours and discuss factors that influence how people interact. They describe their own and others’ contributions to health, physical activity, safety and wellbeing.
Teacher Wellbeing Partnership
Our teachers give their all to plan and deliver compelling lessons, manage the classroom environment, and be there to support student learning at every stage. It’s a demanding and important role.
The Real Schools Teacher Partnership helps our teachers to put away time to maintain their own wellbeing in a structured 12 month program.
The partnership goes beyond the traditional “professional development day” approach and instead provides a framework to help teachers develop over a full year and across 5 domains of wellness; their physical self, connected self, learning self, mindful self, and purposeful self.
The goal of the program is to move away from a reactive approach and stop seeing wellbeing as something “we do”, and instead embed wellbeing as a part of who we are as individuals and the whole school community.
Wellbeing at Larrakeyah Primary
When we make wellbeing a part of our school community, and endeavour to develop skills in students and staff, we are supporting higher academic performance, better relationships, and a healthier and positive school community.
