Child Safety and Wellbeing
Child Safe Information
St Brigid’s College holds the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility. Central to the mission of our Catholic schools in Horsham – St Brigid’s College and Ss Michael & John’s Primary School - is an absolute commitment to fostering the dignity, self-esteem and integrity of children and young people and providing them with a safe, supportive and enriching environment to develop spiritually, physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially.
The Child Safe Standards came into effect in July 2022 and are a vital part of what we do here at St Brigid's College. Each newsletter we will look at a standard in closer detail.
This standard highlights the importance of an open and transparent child safe culture for families and communities. Schools must provide families and communities with accessible information about their child safe policies and practices and involve them in their approach to child safety and wellbeing.
At St Brigid's, we pride ourselves on the close-knit community that we foster. This means our staff know every student, and their family. An important aspect of Child Safety Standard 4 is engaging with families and communities about student wellbeing. At St Brigid's, these conversations occur through formal settings, like parent-teacher interviews, but also informal occasions. Every day our staff, including teachers, administration staff, and College leadership, have conversations with the families of our students. Families are always welcome and encouraged to get in contact to discuss any concerns or provide feedback regarding matters with our College and student wellbeing. Families can contact their student's Teacher Advisor, or phone the Front Office on (03) 5382 3545.
Our Child Safety Policy details and affirms the standards of behaviour expected for members of the St Brigid’s College community. All of our policies can be found the Policies page on our school website. You can contact the Front Office if you have any queries relating to child safe practices, or any other matters.
RU OK?
Recently, students wore a splash of yellow and made a donation in support of R U OK?Day.
R U OK?Day is an initiative that focuses on preventing suicide by encouraging meaningful personal connections and helping informal support networks to help recognise the signs of distress. We urge our community to take part, emphasising the value of genuine human relationships and reminding everyone to ask the important question, "Are you OK?"
We remind families of our partnership with SchoolTV, a leading online mental health and wellbeing platform designed to proactively support families and students. The Special Report linked below provides guidance on how to talk to your child about mental health and engage in meaningful discussions.
Access the report here:
https://stbc.vic.schooltv.me/.../special-report-r-u-ok-day
Student Wellbeing
This week, we welcomed Jordan and Cass from headspace Horsham to give a presentation and have an open discussion with our Year 7 students. They focused on the topics of bullying, social media and staying safe online. Cass and Jordan fostered a safe space where our students were able to raise questions and have mature conversations about what they experience on social media.
