Good mental health and wellbeing are essential to a child’s education, development and quality of life. At Unley Primary School, we are committed to caring for students and ensuring their needs for support, respect and friendship are met.
As children have navigated significant disruption and change over the last few months, we expect that there may continue to be some challenges for students to work through. Of course we all respond differently to disruption, and the recent changes may be harder for some children to manage.
We encourage you to highlight any issues your child or family is experiencing with your child’s teacher early on so they can help. Intervening early can be effective in addressing wellbeing concerns and is more preferable than waiting until things become more worrying. While educators aren’t mental health professionals, we are here to provide general wellbeing support for students. Maintaining open communication with your child’s class teacher is important.
Our school leadership team works collaboratively to support students who are experiencing difficulties. We are proud of the way we work together with students, teachers and parents to help where needed. We have an open-door policy and welcome the opportunity to speak with you about any concerns you may have. The best way to get in touch with Peter, Julie or Amy is by phoning the front office on 8272 9323.
As part of our commitment to prioritising mental health and wellbeing, we continue to promote wellbeing services with children, parents and carers. Some excellent support services you may like to explore include headspace, ReachOut, Kids Helpline, Lifeline, Raising Children and Beyond Blue’s Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service.
A word on Kids Helpline:
Kids Helpline is an excellent free service available to children and their families. The Kids Helpline website is an engaging and interactive platform that is great for all kids to explore, whether they are in need of support or not. There are also many ways kids can connect with professional counsellors through Kids Helpline, including via phone call, email or web chat. We encourage you to take a look at the website and invite your child to do the same.
- Kids Helpline is Australia’s only free, confidential 24/7 online and phone counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25.
- Kids Helpline is staffed by a professional workforce, with all counsellors holding a tertiary qualification.
- Young people can contact Kids Helpline about all sorts of issues ranging from everyday topics such as family, friends and school to more serious issues.
- Counsellors can provide information and referrals to specialist services, as well as ongoing counselling and case-managed support and crisis responses.