Wellbeing

At our school, student wellbeing and learning go hand in hand. We want every student to feel safe, included and ready to learn. Whether your child needs help with their mental, emotional, social or physical wellbeing, we are here to help them thrive at school and in daily life.

How we support student wellbeing

Supporting each student’s mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing is part of everyday school life.

We do this through:

• teachers who help students feel welcome and included
• access to school counsellors, school psychologists and specialist staff
• programs that support health, social skills, attendance and positive behaviour
• help for students who are new or changing year levels
• clear expectations for behaviour and respectful relationships
• staff who get to know each child and work closely with families
• developing health care plans for students
• open communication about wellbeing and support.

Visit Our principal and staff to learn about our wellbeing and specialist support staff.

Restorative Practices

As a restorative school community, Dundas PS has developed a Student Engagement Plan that is designed to clearly articulate to all members of the school community the cultural norms that are associated with responding to all behaviours exhibited within the school. This document outlines the responses used to support all stakeholders to function along a restorative continuum, capturing every opportunity to support all to understand the impact of their actions on others and to accept responsibility for their behaviours and to fix up after making a mistake.

Dundas PS uses a restorative practices approach to support the development of relationships between all stakeholders of the school community by using a consistent language, conduct and mindset approach. When developing these relationships, we can support all members of the school community to accept responsibility for their actions and understand that the choices they make impacts others. The focus in a restorative school culture is to support all students to celebrate their daily successes and develop the strategies needed to resolve misunderstandings or conflicts with others.

Please see below to view a copy of the  DPS Student Engagement Plan.

Universal behaviour expectations

Dundas Public School has 3 expectations:

• be safe

• be respectful

• be a successful learner.

How can parents support positive behaviour?

Read and become familiar with our core expectations. Discuss these with your child. Relate our expectations to the home environment to provide consistency.

Together we can:

* address the diverse academic and social needs of every student to support them to be successful

* support students from Kindergarten through to the senior years of schooling

* establish  a continuum of support that meets the needs of every student

* establish positive social expectations for all in the school community

*use our Dundas PS Student Engagement Plan to collectively support the wellbeing of every student.

How we recognise student achievement and effort

Our goal is to inspire every child to participate positively in the school community and beyond. We focus on promoting excellence, opportunity and success for every student, every day. We value and strive to develop safe, respectful learners in a caring learning community.

Principles of positive behaviour support, trauma-informed practice, inclusive practice, and social emotional learning underpin our daily practice. High expectations for student behaviour are established and maintained through effective role modelling, explicit teaching, and planned responses.

The School Counselling Service

The NSW School Counselling Service plays a key role in supporting students, parents, teachers and school staff in NSW Public Schools.

The service employs highly skilled school counsellors and school psychologists who work directly with students to help them with issues related to learning, peer and family relationships, and managing emotions such as depression, anxiety, worry or isolation.

They also work with teachers, families, school executive, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school, and the community.

The School Counselling Service provides:

• short-term counselling to students individually or in groups who are experiencing trauma, crisis or unsafe situations
• assessment of students with specific needs
• collaboration with teachers and specialist staff
• help to families in understanding and managing their children’s learning and mental health needs
• liaising with external agencies and other mental health professionals to provide coordinated, wrap around support for individual students

Dundas Public School had a school psychologist on Mondays and Fridays.

Need support for your child's wellbeing?

Get in touch to talk about the right support for your child.

Contact us