Wellbeing
Term 4 - Week 2: Wellbeing Update
With the imminent return of students to school in the coming weeks, I would like to share a snapshot of the wellbeing data collected from the Pulse Survey held at the end of Term 3. It was affirming to see that there was an 80% participation rate among the student body, providing the members of the Wellbeing Team valuable insights to how the boys were coping with the extended nature of remote learning in Term 3.
The following percentages are averages of the whole student body based on the individual cohort feedback:
In response to a question relating to their concerns for their own safety:
- 41% indicated ‘never’
- 17% indicated ‘sometimes’
- 8.2% indicated ‘frequently’ and
- 6% indicated ‘always’.
Both Year 5 and Year 7 students had the highest rates of ‘always’.
In response to a question relating to their concerns for the health and safety of their family and friends:
- 22% indicated ‘never’
- 21% indicated ‘sometimes’
- 15% indicated ‘frequently’ and
- 13% indicated ‘always’.
Year 5, Year 7 and Year 12 students had the highest rates of ‘always’.
In response to a question relating to the average time spent exercising each day:
- 2.2% indicated ‘none’
- 19% indicated at least ’30 minutes’ and
- 36% indicated ‘more than one hour’.
Year 5, Year 6 and Year 8 students had the highest rates of ‘more than one hour’. Many free-form comments indicated that boys were grateful that they had time to spend interacting with family members as they engaged in exercise.
In response to a question relating to the average amount of sleep each day:
- 1.7% indicated ‘less than five hours’
- 58% indicated ‘7-8 hours’
- 37% indicated ‘9-10 hours’ and
- 4% indicated ‘more than10 hours’.
Years 5 to 7 students had the highest rates of ‘more than 10 hours’ while Year 12 recorded the highest number of students getting ‘less than five hours’ sleep.
Students were asked a question on how they had felt during the remote learning period. There were seven descriptors provided. While many students indicated that they had been ‘calm and relaxed’, ‘well-supported and ‘generally positive’, those who indicated that they were ‘lonely’, ‘anxious’ and ‘very down and flat’, were flagged. Teachers and members of the Wellbeing Team have been checking in with students (or parents/carers) who had a combination of two or more of these selections. Senior students appeared to have higher anxiety, likely because of preparation and participation in assessment task blocks.
The intention in the coming weeks is to provide a final survey as the students prepare to return to on-site learning. Based on advice from NSW Health specialists, we will monitor students to see if there is any delayed emergence of wellbeing issues when they return as well as continuing to support those students already identified. The College’s counsellors will be available for boys to access at times during the school day.
We are exploring, in line with ongoing public health orders, ways of undertaking initiatives that will help to re establish the sense of connectedness that the students had with each other and the College.
Finally, it will be important to reflect on the experiences of the last 12-13 school weeks. We are aiming at getting the students to focus on what they can control through regular goalsetting, and the things for which they can be grateful during this challenging period in their lives.
I look forward to reconnecting with the students when they return to school; the campus has remained eerily silent for far too long.
Rob Simpson
Director of Wellbeing