Wellbeing - THRIVE AT WEPS
Student wellbeing is fundamental to successful learning. Student wellbeing is as a state of positive psychological functioning that allows students to thrive, flourish and learn. Wellbeing improves students' academic performance, behaviour, social integration, and satisfaction. At WEPS, wellbeing is promoted through excellent classroom teaching and learning and our positive school culture.
THRIVE@WEPS is a framework that encompasses our approach to promoting student wellbeing and positive mental health in all aspects of school and home life. THRIVE@WEPS connects 4 evidence based, highly impactful approaches – Positive Education, 6 Principals of Nurture, Respectful Relationships and Zones of Regulation. These approaches provide our students with the knowledge and understanding of wellbeing and mental health, life skills to manage their own wellbeing and mental health and how they can positively impact and support the wellbeing and mental health of others.
Positive Education
Positive Education at Warrnambool East Primary School draws on an ongoing framework that supports and applies positive psychology and teaching practices to enable learning and the individual to flourish.
The science behind positive psychology has shown that positive education can have a significant and lasting impact on wellbeing including;
- A reduction in anxiety and depression.
- Increased motivation and engagement in learning
- Maintaining and nurturing healthy and positive relationships
- Increased self control through Mindfulness
- Developing an awareness of our Character Strengths where high functioning and performance are enabled through the ways we think, feel and behave.
6 Principals of Nurture
1. Children’s learning is understood developmentally
2. The classroom offers a safe base
3. The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
4. Language is vital means of communication
5. All behaviour is communication
6. The importance of transitions in children’s lives.
Respectful Relationships
Respectful Relationships promote and model respect and equality. It also supports educators to teach our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.
Taking a whole-school approach is about embedding a culture of respect and equality across an entire school community, from our classrooms to staffrooms, sporting fields, school and social events. This approach leads to positive impacts on students’ academic outcomes, mental health, classroom behaviour, and relationships.
Zones of Regulation
The Zones of Regulation develops awareness of feelings, energy and alertness levels while exploring a variety of tools and strategies for regulation, prosocial skills, self-care, and overall wellness. Once we understand our feelings and zones, we can learn to use tools/strategies to manage our different Zones in order to meet goals like doing schoolwork or other tasks, managing big feelings, and healthy relationships with others. The simple, common language and visual structure of The Zones of Regulation helps make the complex skill of regulation more concrete for learners and those who support them.
THRIVE@WEPS enables us to continue to develop, promote and adopt school wide policies and practices which support and nurture the wellbeing of all students, staff and the wider school community.
Restorative Practices
We use the Restorative Practices framework to support behaviour management at WEPS.
The Restorative approach is based on the Restorative Justice Philosophy that builds and strengthens relationships and social connections promoting accountability and responsibility and to repair harm when an inappropriate choice is made by students.
The Restorative process is respectful and fair and focuses on;
• establishing trust and safety with and between people
• developing empathy
• personal reflection
• repairing harm
• accountability and ownership
• positive behavioural change and self-regulation
• attendance
