Student Wellbeing
At Huntingdale Primary School Student Wellbeing (SWB) is a priority. Research shows that students who feel safe and secure learn best and there is a strong link between SWB and academic success.
We aim to have happy and engaged students who want to learn. They will be independent, self-regulating and self-motivated and be able to get along with others. They will have high-level personal and interpersonal skills and build connectedness that will enable them to aptly deal with difficult situations in their lives both now and in the future.
At Huntingdale Primary School we believe it is the teacher’s role to facilitate SWB in conjunction with parents, other stakeholders and the students themselves.
We aim to build and promote respectful relationships with everyone in our school community and build a sense of belonging and inclusion. We do this by explicitly teaching social and emotional learning using ‘Play as Way’ as a platform. We also offer a range of support mechanisms for SWB for students who may be experiencing difficulties both socially, emotionally and academically.
Play is the Way has five virtues that we explicitly teach, both in English and Japanese:
We also use the self-mastery checklist to work through situations with students.
We also use the 3R’s- Reflection, Repair and Restitution to work through issues with students.
“The 3R’s method is behaviour education methodology that builds self-awareness and self-management skills. It strengthens relationships, develops empathy, addresses bystander behaviour and makes a genuinely safe school achievable” (Wilson McCaskill)
Our aim is to assist students in:
- Understanding their behaviour
- How it affects everyone in our school community.
What we understand
Consequence: The effect that my behaviour has on myself and other people
Our focus is on educating students how their behaviour can affect themselves and others and reflect on the possible outcomes before deciding how to act.
Consequences and punishments are not one and the same.
What we do
Restitution: A means to undo the damage and reconnect with your community. A means to rebuild trust
When a student behaves inappropriately, they are given the opportunity to reflect upon their decisions and how those decisions affected themselves and others. They are provided with an opportunity to make amends and/or restore the damage.
Our focus is on educating students to change their behaviour based on the understanding of how it affects others, rather than on the fear of punishment. We are here to help children, not hurt them.
For more information on ‘Play is the Way’, please visit https://www.playistheway.com.au/