Pastoral Care

Mental health and Wellbeing at St Norbert College

At the end of last year, all parents and students were emailed through SEQTA and asked to complete a MindMatters survey. Thank you to those who completed this task as the feedback we have received will assist us in the implementation of initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of young people at the College. These programs will help the school to support young people to achieve their goals, build relationships and to cope with challenges.

Research suggests that schools today are dealing with a host of complex mental health and social issues such as anxiety, depression, self-harm, drug and alcohol use, bullying and violence. This is consistent with the findings from epidemiological studies, which indicate cause for concern regarding the mental health and wellbeing of young Australians.

In the recent 2013 Mission Australia Youth Survey (Perrens et al., 2013) involving over 14,000 young people aged 15–19 years, approximately one-fifth were found to be experiencing high levels of psychological distress. When survey participants were also asked to identify the issues they were most concerned about, the following four were identified in order:

•      coping with stress

•      school or study problems

•      body image, and                                                        

•      depression

Students with good mental health and wellbeing are better equipped to cope with the everyday demands of school life such as attending class, forming and maintaining supportive peer relationships, completing assignments and achieving academic success. Many programs have demonstrated that enhancing young people’s social and emotional competencies also helps them to learn and achieve academically. On the other hand, students who experience ongoing mental health difficulties tend to have poorer records of school attendance, behaviour and academic performance and are more likely to drop out of school early. For this reason, student mental health can be considered to be part of a school’s core business, and directly related to its success. It is interesting to note that the relationship between mental health and academic achievement can also run the other way - taking part in school activities and achieving educational success can be a protective factor for young people by increasing their sense of competence.

At St Norbert College we are committed to providing education, support and guidance in the area of mental health and wellbeing for our students. All staff are currently completing modules from the MindMatters program as well as attending Professional Development in specific areas of need. In recent years, a number of staff have completed the Youth Mental Health First Aid and Gatekeepers Suicide Prevention course. Our Pastoral Care Team, which includes the Principal, Deputies, College Psychologist and Counsellor, the Heads of House and Dean of Studies work closely with the Homeroom teachers to ensure all students know they have someone to talk with if required. 

During the holidays, 13 students voluntarily completed the Teen Mental Health First Aid course. These students now have the knowledge and awareness to support their peers and offer advice and referral for mental health concerns. They have become a ‘reference group’ which will work within our newly developed ‘Student Wellbeing Group’ who will run activities within the SRC to support positive wellbeing activities to make school more ‘fun’ throughout the year.    

Each fortnight, the College newsletter will contain an article that we hope will help inform parents about the area of mental health and wellbeing of young people. We hope this information is of benefit, please feel free to contact us if you require further information or we can help support you in any way.  

The Pastoral Care Team