Student  Wellbeing 

Mental Health in Schools

Hi SoGS Community!

My name is Elizabeth Hopper and I am SoGS’ Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (MHWL) for 2023. I have worked at School of the Good Shepherd since 2019 and am returning two days a week after taking maternity leave to have my beautiful daughter Addie. I have worked across the school as a Classroom Teacher and I am excited to take on a new opportunity to support staff, families and students in the Wellbeing and Mental Health space. I am passionate about providing students with a safe learning environment where they feel empowered to identify and regulate their emotions, discuss their feelings and understand that there is support available to them when they need it. 

The role of the MHWL is a new addition to our already established Wellbeing team made up of Ginette D’Souza (Wellbeing Leader and Child Safety Officer) and Lorna Stranieri (Learning Diversity Leader). The Department of Education and Training has been piloting the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative in Victorian schools since 2020 in partnership with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. This program has shown to have a positive impact in Primary Schools, with 95 per cent of schools acknowledging an improvement in their school’s capacity to support students’ mental health and wellbeing needs.

In this role, I will promote a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing to students, staff and families. I will continue to support school staff to expand their capacity to embed evidence based mental health strategies, interventions and programs such as Berry Street Education Model, 4Rs (Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships), Zones of Regulation and Restorative practices. In doing this, teachers will develop their capacity to identify and support students with mental health concerns. This will aid teachers in ensuring mental health prevention and early intervention strategies are embedded in the classroom. 

I look forward to working with the staff, families and students in this next chapter at SoGS. 

SoGS POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT and STUDENT BEHAVIOUR POLICY

School of The Good Shepherd believes an effective Student Behaviour Policy and building of Positive Relationships Behaviour Management Policy contributes to creating a safe and harmonious culture aligned with our Gospel values of Belonging, Hope and Growth. 

School of The Good Shepherd supports the ‘Restorative Practices’ research based program on a school wide level. Positive relationships are very important at SoGS and this program aids in managing student behaviour and maintaining positive relationships between peers, staff and community members: 

• Restorative Practices is a strategy that seeks to repair relationships that have been damaged, including those damaged through bullying. It is an explicit framework of practices based on Restorative Justice Philosophy that builds and strengthens relationships and social connections promoting accountability and responsibility and to repair harm when relationships break down through wrongdoing, mistakes and misunderstandings. 
• In the spirit of forgiveness, unconditional positive regard and commitment to positive future behaviour, all students involved in the discussion express their acceptance of the proposed solutions and discuss what can be done to prevent a recurrence. 
• Students are supported objectively in discussions to reflect on their behaviours and choices aligned with following our School Rules. Teachers support students to check into the Emotional Zone they are fitting into and strategies are discussed to help them to regulate their emotions and physical responses. The discussion also unpacks strategies that can be used to avoid a repeat of behaviours, offering the students a space to unpack and continue working on building ‘the best versions of themselves’.
• Restorative Practices are beneficial in offering a series of questions that can be used both at school and at home when children need support to self-reflect and hold themselves accountable. 

Restorative Questions

When things go wrong

• What happened?
• What were you thinking at the time?
• What have you thought about since?
• Who has been affected by what you have done? In what way?

When someone has been hurt

• What did you think when you realised what had happened?
• What impact has this incident had on you and others?
• What has been the hardest thing for you?
• What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

Stay Tuned - Week 10:

An overview of Zones of Regulation will be provided.