Positive wellbeing is fundamental to a child’s ability to learn, develop and thrive at school.

We know that when students feel supported, they are more engaged with their learning.

At Sydney Catholic Schools, we commit to providing safe, supportive and inclusive environments which nurture the wellbeing of all students and staff in our community.

Our student wellbeing policy is underpinned by the Australian Student Wellbeing Framework. The framework recognises five elements that are key to supporting the whole school community to build and maintain safe, positive relationships and wellbeing: leadership, inclusion, student voice, partnerships and support.

This is complemented by the Be You Framework, a national initiative for educators aimed at promoting and protecting positive mental health in children and young people. The integration of both frameworks supports our school communities to provide every student with the strongest foundation possible for them to reach their aspirations in learning and in life.

We have a systemic approach to wellbeing and positive behaviour with tiers of support to meet the diverse needs of staff, students and families. The offerings range from whole school initiatives, actively seeking student voice, system policies on anti-bullying, student counselling, staff training in student wellbeing, along with targeted interventions for students with complex social and emotional needs.

Supporting our student wellbeing is a priority at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School Sutherland. We believe children are most successful when they feel safe and cared for. We provide staff and students with resources to promote anti-bullying, positive behaviours, student counselling and psychological support as needed. In addition, during Week 8 of each term we focus on the wellbeing of the school community through various wellbeing activities and initiatives.

School Wide Positive Behaviours for Learning (SPBL)

At St Patrick’s, we support our students in partnership with staff and families in developing a school wide positive behaviours for learning. This framework enables St Patrick’s to establish school expectations responding to and encouraging positive student behaviour.

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Sutherland School Life Student Wellbeing

We support our students in developing a growth mindset in order to maintain positive attitudes and effectively adapting in challenging situations.

We value respectful relationships with others and our environment, and take responsibility for our actions, our safety and learning.

Our school expectations as our school rules are:

  • Be Respectful
  • Be Responsible
  • Have a Growth Mindset 

We celebrate students who demonstrate these expectations through a school-wide reward system that also includes grade-based rewards as well as individual acknowledgement.

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Sutherland School Life Student Wellbeing

Anti-bullying policy

Sydney Catholic Schools rejects all forms of bullying behaviours, including online (or cyber) bullying, by maintaining a commitment to providing safe, inclusive and respectful learning communities that promote student wellbeing for learning. Staff at Sydney Catholic Schools are committed to employing wellbeing strategies that allow for a healthy school environment where bullying is less likely to occur.

If your child is experiencing bullying of any kind, or you have a wellbeing concern, we have a number of support services available for parents/carers and students, as listed below.

Support services: