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

What's on this page: Advent Calendar Event/ Let's Talk / Support services (whole family) / Counselling services - Carvin Winans

This year Upwey South Primary School will once again partner with Foothills Community Care and take part and support their Christmas Reverse Advent Calendar event which had been bought to us by members of our school community.  

What is the Christmas Reverse Advent Calendar?

Unlike a regular Advent Calendar where the focus is on receiving a treat every day, the Reverse Advent Calendar takes the focus off receiving and places the focus on giving. A Reverse Advent Calendar begins as an empty box or bag. For 3 weeks, you place one item into the box each day (non-perishable food, toiletries, Christmas treat). At the end of 3 weeks, your filled Reverse Advent Calendar is donated to Foothills and then distributed by us to people in the Dandenong Ranges and Knox community who are in need of some special love and an extra hand this Christmas time.

How Can I Contribute to the Event?

Below is a list with suggested items for collection. It does not have to be followed 100%, more as a guide for the types of non-perishables items and products that we are looking for. We began the event on Monday 6th November and it will run until Friday the 24th November 2023. Students can give their donations to their classroom teacher who will keep them safe. At the end the collection period everything we have collected will be donated to Foothills Community Care.

Please note that donating to the event is voluntary. 

Thank you in advance for your support of this amazing cause. 

For more information please visit https://www.foothillscare.org.au/.

National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence

FACT SHEETS 

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.