Student Wellbeing
A Tribes Culture
“Every school should be a model home, a complete community actively developing future compassionate citizens capable of creating, leading and contributing to the kind of democratic communities – in which we all long to live”
www.tribes.com
Strong, positive relationships are the foundation for student wellbeing and proactive learning. At Upwey High School we take a whole school approach to developing an inclusive learning community where students are well known for their individual talents and strengths. The way we use our facilities and build our timetable recognises this and provides structures and supports that are appropriate for each stage of adolescent development. Our learning spaces in Years 7-9 are designed around a home space (Learning Common) and a significant teacher model. Students are grouped in homegroups across Years 7-9 for almost all their classes allowing them to have a sense of stability and support. Each home group has two significant teachers who teach them for about 50% of their classes in a week. This ensures that both teachers and students have the time to develop positive relationships and to get to know each other well. As students reach Year 10 and begin to explore their potential, they maintain their home space but are grouped according to the subjects they elect to take.
We are a school that is focused on developing strong learning communities in each classroom. We achieve this through the Tribes Learning Communities model which focuses on teachers explicitly developing routines and procedures that create an inclusive community where individuals can proactively influence each other in terms of their learning. This approach helps us to not only teach, but to live our values of respect, kindness, and aspiration.
Our approach to dealing with conflict is based on restorative practice as this aligns with our belief that positive, strong, and healthy relationships are vital in underpinning learning and personal development. Our routines and procedures are based on our values and as such are well defined and implemented consistently. We expect that our students are ready for learning each day and are willing to take advantage of the wellbeing supports in place.
Wellbeing Team
Our Student Wellbeing team offer triage support for students who are dealing with difficult issues. Students may self- refer to the team by dropping in and making an appointment or sending an email. Team Leaders may also refer students who they believe may require additional support at any given time. A referral will provide students with a small number of sessions where students can talk through issues or alternatively be supported by a team member to explore ongoing services in the community.
Yvette and Kerry also work with the teaching teams to develop and provide whole school or whole year level education programs related to student wellbeing. Examples of these are the Resilience Project at Year 9, Cyber Safety Programs, Positive Study and Resilience in VCE, Youth Mental Health First Aid for adolescents and Consent Education.
Yvette Sangster
Head of Wellbeing
Kerry O’Leary
Mental Health Practioner
Youth Mental Health First Aid
We have devoted significant resources to training many of our teachers and Education Support Staff in youth mental health with approximately one-third of our staff being trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid. In the next 12 months, we hope to have even more staff trained and some of our Year 10 students. This training teaches adults, and young people what to look out for in terms of mental health issues with teenagers and provides basic training in supporting young people to get assistance if they need it.
Lunchtime Clubs
We believe that everyone has a tribe, or a family group and these tribes may form outside of class. To support this, we offer lunchtime clubs so like-minded students can gather together to explore areas of interest. These include: the Computer Games Club, the Board Games Club, Model Airplanes, Dungeons and Dragons, and the Rainbow Alliance. For more information on clubs at Upwey High School see the Co-curricular page.