At St Catherine’s School, we believe that the academic success of our students is closely connected to their social, emotional and psychological wellbeing. We know that children learn best and thrive in classrooms where they feel seen, supported and valued for who they are.  Our approach to pastoral care is built on the understanding that student wellbeing and belonging is the cornerstone of a successful education.

This semester, one of my key priorities has been to get to know all the Prep to Year 6 students and families in Barbreck and begin to build positive and trusting relationships. To support me in overseeing the pastoral care, I have been meeting individually with every classroom teacher to discuss the academic, social, and emotional needs of each student in our care. These meetings have not only allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of student needs, but they are also an important part of our proactive approach to wellbeing. They enable open dialogue with teachers around potential issues, support strategies and adjustments, as well as the opportunity to connect with our broader wellbeing team where needed. Our wellbeing team includes the School Psychologist, Lena Wintermantel; Head of Learning Support, Lauren Maidment; and the Head of Junior School, Brendan Kean. Together, we form a wrap-around service to ensure no child’s needs go unmet.

The strength of St Catherine’s lies in our commitment to nurturing the whole child. Wellbeing is prioritised as part of our curriculum in Barbreck with each year level having one scheduled 40-minute lesson per week, focused on teaching social and emotional skills to build resilience and wellbeing. These lessons follow a whole school framework yet are flexible in nature to allow each classroom teacher to adjust to the individual needs of the students in their class.

This year we have implemented ‘Zones of Regulation’ as a whole school approach that provides a simple, common language to understand, talk about, and teach regulation. It organises our feelings, and energy levels into four coloured Zones – Blue, Green, Yellow and Red. In line with Dr. Dan Siegel’s “Name it to tame it” approach, this strategy proposes that identifying and labelling emotions, especially strong ones, can lessen their intensity and support emotional regulation.  Each classroom throughout the Junior School has the ‘Zones of Regulation’ posters displayed to support consistent language across year level classrooms and specialists.

To highlight the importance of wellbeing at St Catherine’s we will be hosting a Wellbeing Day on the last day of Term 2, Thursday 26 June. Students are encouraged to come to school wearing pink and bring a gold coin donation for the Alannah and Madeline Foundation. The Year 6 students will be running a variety of events throughout the day such as yoga, dance, STEM, outdoor games and a buddy picnic.

At St Catherine’s, we are proud to place wellbeing first – because we know that when children feel safe and supported, they don’t just learn, they flourish.