Wellbeing

Emerald Secondary College is a caring community and we understand the integral part that our school has, in educating our young people to develop the skills and abilities that they need to succeed not only at school but also in work and in life generally. We also recognise that we have a role to play in the improvement to our students' Health and Wellbeing.

Emerald Secondary College embraces this role and sees a direct correlation between this and happy and safe community members. At Emerald Secondary College Health and Wellbeing support and education is undertaken in a number of various ways:

Home Group Teacher Role – A student will have one main Home Group Teacher throughout their six years of schooling. This unique aspect of ESC ensures that there is one teacher who gets to know your child well and who can liaise with parents should the necessity arise, with any concerns that they may perceive.

Personal and Social Education Program (PASE) – This program is delivered through our Home Group Teacher and each week students in their Home Group work through programs designed to address critical aspects of social and personal development. This framework allows the College to provide key aspects that promote engagement and academic achievement as well as social and emotional support.

Examples of such programs/topics delivered through PASE are: Driver Education/Road Safety Focus (Senior Year Levels), Relationships and Teamwork, Cybersafety – Staying Safe Online, Drug Education, Mental Illness, Embedding Resilience and Mindfulness etc.

Restorative Practices – In line with College Policies which promote a safe and inclusive environment, the College also uses the ‘restorative’ approach to support students. Restorative Practice is a strategy that seeks to repair relationships that have been damaged, including those damaged through bullying. It does this by bringing about a sense of remorse and restorative action on the part of the offender and forgiveness by the victim. This approach is effective in building better student community understanding.

Further Supports – The College uses the collection and analysis of data to look at aspects of support which may be needed for students and for the College community to keep abreast with trends. The College has a full time Wellbeing Leader who is supported by a College Chaplain, Department Social Workers and Assessment Specialists plus also has strong links with support agencies in the community e.g. ECHO, Cardinia Shire Youth Team etc. In mid-2017 we opened a new Inclusion Centre, with a doctor in residence, other visiting support specialists as well as our Wellbeing leader and support staff.

Other Wellbeing resources can be found below.

Anger Management

Anxiety

Bullying

Cyber Bullying and Online Safety

Depression

GLBT

Homelessness

Legal Help

Mental Health

Parenting Strategies

Suicide Prevention