Student Engagement

Wellbeing

Student wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do. We foster a safe, positive environment where students grow in their sense of self, in relationship with God and others, recognising that wellbeing is essential for both engagement and learning.

Guided by the example of Jesus and our Catholic values, we nurture the whole child — spiritually, socially, emotionally and academically — through a range of programs including Respectful Relationships, Positive Behaviours for Learning, our Buddy Program, student leadership opportunities, lunchtime clubs and our dedicated Wellbeing Hub.

Wellbeing Programs

At St Richard’s, we take a whole-school approach to wellbeing, with a range of programs and practices designed to support our students’ social and emotional development.

These include

Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationships (RRRR), which is embedded in our curriculum to build strong relationship and emotional skills
Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL), which promotes a consistent, positive and inclusive school culture.
Our Buddy Program connects students across all year levels, fostering a strong sense of belonging
Student Leadership opportunities, including our SRC,school leaders and Fire Carriers ensure student voice is valued and heard
Students can also engage in a variety of lunchtime and before school clubs such as gardening, dance, art and running
Wellbeing Hub — a calm, supportive space where they can regulate, reset and recharge.

Proactive Support

At St Richard’s, we provide proactive and targeted support for our students’ wellbeing and development. This includes our weekly Psychs in Schools program, an onsite counsellor, The Human Workshop to support social skills and positive group behaviours, and onsite access to visiting NDIS therapists who work with individual students.

Our Learning Diversity Leader also plays a key role in supporting inclusive practices across the school, including the development of Individual Learning Plans to ensure every child is supported to succeed.

MHiPS

At St Richard’s, we value the mental health and wellbeing of our entire school community and are proud to be part of the Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative. We take a proactive approach to support, including access to Psychs in Schools, a school counsellor, and The Human Workshop program to build resilience and social skills.

We are also committed to strengthening staff capacity, with four Mental Health First Aid trained staff members supporting our community. In addition, we continue to build strong relationships with organisations such as Headspace and other external services, ensuring families can be guided to appropriate support when needed.