Wellbeing

At Doncaster secondary college we place a high emphasis on the wellbeing of our students as a key determinant of not just social and emotional wellbeing but also academic outcomes. The team offers a variety of supports, programs and interventions for our young people designed to support and extend positive health and wellbeing in a holistic way.

A key part of these outcomes is our emphasis on partnering with our parents and carers around the individual needs of students, and while there are many interventions and adjustments that we can make here at school, we encourage our families and carers to access the range of supports and services in the community designed to assist in guiding, supporting and parenting teens of today.

A good first point of contact for any family/carer wanting guidance around accessing support is The Orange Door (ToD), Box Hill, who you can call on 1800 354 322. They provide this first-point-of-contact service, working with all types of families and support can be tailored to meet the diverse needs of you and your family members.

Doncare, located at Mc2 also provides family support via ToD, as well as low-cost counselling services for young people, adults and families.

Anglicare, at Box Hill has general parent support as well as targeted interventions for families with more complex needs such as adolescent violence in the home and family therapy.

The Anglicare ParentZone newsletter also details a range of parenting resources, workshops, podcasts and online resources that can offer guidance and support in specific areas of concern, for example the PODS (podcast) addresses issues such as school attendance, anxiety and parenting together.

Online resources are vast and ReachOut Australia has resources covering a variety of concerns faced by parents of adolescents, covering issues such as drug and alcohol use, disordered eating, study stress, relationships and more. You will also find useful parenting resources through Justin Coulson’s Happy families, Maggie Dent’s Parenting Help, or Parenting Ideas.

Parentline is also available to all Victorian families with a child under 18. It is a statewide telephone counselling and support service for all Victorian parents and carers, and is staffed by social workers, psychologists and family therapists who can give you counselling and information around a wide range of parenting issues. They can be contacted on 13 22 89.

If you have any questions or queries about further resources or parenting/carer supports, please contact our MHP, Katie Mills, here at DSC via email katie.mills@education.vic.gov.au for support and guidance.