Wellbeing

Colac Primary school

Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS)

Colac Primary School began participating in the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) program in 2022 as part of a pilot program. MHiPS, is a partnership between the Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE) at the University of Melbourne, and the Victorian Department of Education and Training.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (Rosie Parry)

The role of the MHWL is to build the capability of the whole school with regard to mental health and wellbeing (identification, promotion and prevention), provide support to staff to better identify and support students with mental health needs, establish clear pathways for referral for students requiring assessment and intervention, and monitor and evaluate student progress. The role was specifically established as a coordination function to support educators in the classroom and to provide a crucial link to resources external to the school.

As part of the implementation of the program at Colac PS, Rosie has been working closely with Marni (Wellbeing Officer), teachers, Education Support staff (ESS) and leadership across the school. She has also been working with children and their families when needed to strengthen their connection and sense of belonging at Colac PS. Rosie works with the classroom teachers to strengthen the connection between external support services such as Occupational therapists, Speech pathologists etc. to encourage greater consistency and support for the children here at Colac PS.

National Schools Chaplaincy Program

Marni Briffa works part time at our School in two Wellbeing roles. One of the positions that Marni holds is as our School Chaplain. The Chaplaincy program at Colac Primary is funded under the National School Chaplaincy Program and supported by our School Council. It is not compulsory for any student to participate in or receive services from a Program Chaplain. A student permission form is required for our Chaplain to work with individual students and keep confidential records.

Our Chaplain provides pastoral care for students, families and staff. The support provided by our Chaplain is tailored to the needs of the individual student and family. Our Chaplain may work with students on social skills, Zones of Regulation, grief & loss and developing their sense of self worth. Working as part of our Team Marni is also able to work with small groups of students and facilitate Wellbeing programs and initiatives.

Parents can choose to discontinue utilising support through the Chaplaincy Program by speaking with our Principal or any member of our Wellbeing Team. Any concerns or complaints about the program may be discussed with the School Principal. You may also make a complaint directly to the Department of Education via the website above if you have any concerns.

Respectful Relationships

As part of the schools wellbeing curriculum, CPS dedicates weekly lessons to teaching the Respectful Relationships curriculum. Respectful Relationships is an initiative to support schools and early childhood education settings to promote and model respect and equality. It also supports educators to teach children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.
Our Chaplain provides pastoral care for students, families and staff. The support provided by our Chaplain is tailored to the needs of the individual student and family. Our Chaplain may work with students on social skills, Zones of Regulation, grief & loss and developing their sense of self worth. Working as part of our Team Marni is also able to work with small groups of students and facilitate Wellbeing programs and initiatives.

Zones of Regulation

At Colac Primary School explicit teaching of the Zones of Regulation emotional learning framework takes place across all year levels. Zones of Regulation language is used on a day to day basis in our classrooms to help our students to recognise emotions and find tools to help them self-regulate. As a first step staff model regulation strategies that provide children with knowledge on how our bodies respond to stress and encourage regulation through a connection with their bodies stress response. For example some children are encouraged to go for a walk, jump on the small trampoline in the wellbeing space, or participate in weighted/ pressure activities (using lycra tunnels or weighted cushions/ lap blankets).Our Chaplain provides pastoral care for students, families and staff. The support provided by our Chaplain is tailored to the needs of the individual student and family. Our Chaplain may work with students on social skills, Zones of Regulation, grief & loss and developing their sense of self worth. Working as part of our Team Marni is also able to work with small groups of students and facilitate Wellbeing programs and initiatives.

At Colac Primary we use a Restorative approach to dealing with conflict. A restorative conversation allows people involved to express how they were feeling or what they were thinking at the time and also reflect on their own actions and how the other person or people involved may have been hurt, affected or upset. The conversation ends with an agreement about what needs to be done to make things right or better in the future. A review date for the agreement is often set so a staff member can check in with students regarding how they have gone and make any changes to the agreement or organise further support for students.