Climate and Culture- Social Emotional Wellbeing & Learning

Communicating with the SWPBL Climate and Culture Team

If you have any questions relating to our SWPBL framework, please email:

Stacey Bowles: stacey.bowles@education.vic.gov.au

Llewela Humphries: llewela.humphries@education.vic.gov.au

Damien Kitch: damien.kitch@education.vic.gov.au

Harmony Day

Harmony Week runs from 18th to 24th March and is a celebration of cultural diversity. It promotes inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. These are things we value at Upwey South Primary School.

We will be celebrating our own Harmony Day as a school on Thursday 21st March. On this day, all students are encouraged to come to school in traditional cultural attire of a country in which they have a personal interest or family link. Students may also come dressed in colours that represent a flag from a country of interest or may choose to come to school wearing a splash of orange. Orange is the official colour of Harmony Week and traditionally signifies social communication, meaningful conversations and mutual respect.

Students are also encouraged to bring to school an artefact/flag/interesting fact/photos/etc from their country of interest.

All classes will spend time sharing stories and engage in a Harmony Day activity.

We can't wait to celebrate this special day together.

Let'sTALK     

In 2022 our school joined with the Let'sTALK program. The Let’sTALK Program is a preventative and early intervention strategy to support people feel safe to talk about their ideas, concerns or distress. The Program is designed to help Families, Schools, Universities and Workplaces build a climate of psychological safety through the power of conversation. Let’sTALK provides a structured approach to open communication to support and empower anyone through their challenges.

The Program provides training to become a Let’sTALK Mentor or Buddy who has the skills and confidence to engage and empower the person towards working through their challenges with the help of others as required.

Letting everyone talk safely (Let’s) is the vision of the Let’sTALK Program that encourages people to feel safe to talk about their concerns before they escalate.

Each Let’sTalk conversation is guided by the following TALK framework.

SUPPORT SERVICES FOR FAMILIES

Inspire Health and Medical is partnering with our school!

(https://www.inspirehm.com.au/the-story-behind-inspire/), 

Throughout schools across Victoria, student counselling is a much needed (and under resourced) service. Many of our families are currently experiencing first-hand the difficulties associated with trying to gain access to support services for their children. Therefore, we must be grateful that we have been presented with the opportunity to enter a partnership with Inspire, as the resources do not exist for this partnership to occur across schools within our region. 

Our allocated and fully qualified School Counsellor is Carvin Winans. Check out the images below to find out a little more about Carvin. 

Please be aware of the information below:

Is there a cost involved to access the service, and does my child require a Mental Health Plan?

There is no cost involved for the family. 

Your child does not require a Mental Health Plan to access the service. This is due to the fact that the counselling sessions are delivered by a fully qualified School Counsellor, as opposed to a medical practitioner. 

There is also no limit on the number of sessions a child may access. Access to sessions, and duration (in weeks) will be determined between the Counsellor, the school, and the parent/carer. 

How are sessions structured?

Our School Counsellor, Carvin, is in the school two days per week, with one day dedicated to individual therapy sessions and the second day dedicated to proactive group sessions as directed by the school. Student-needs are prioritized in partnership with the school and the parent/carer. Prior to any child commencing, a confidential discussion will take place between the Counsellor and the parent/carer. 

Will each child who is referred be able to access the service?

Unfortunately, this is not achievable within the current mental health environment. Referrals will be prioritized on a needs basis from within our own school cohort. 

If I wish for my child to access the service, what do I need to do?

Please complete the referral form below and return it via the instructions on the form.