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General Personal Development - Objectives
Preventative Measures - Objectives
Remedial Measures - Objectives
Schools are community agencies whose prime concern is teaching
and learning. As learning communities, schools must be concerned
for the well-being of young people for whom they are responsible.
Student welfare is therefore a basic aspect of the work of all
involved in education.
To guide individual development in the social context within and
beyond the school is a major aim of education. It is therefore
important for schools to establish policies and practices which
provide for the pastoral care and welfare of all student. This
need i particularly important today because of the social problems
which have emerged in a society of rapid change.
A a Department we provide a range of student welfare services
including developmental, preventative and remedial measures which
encompass all the curricula, activities and support personnel
directed at meeting the social and personal need of students Special
initiative, such as those related to school no attendance and
preventative drug education, are introduced when needed.
All member of staff have a continuing role in student welfare.
The leadership of the principal is critical. Parents and the community
must also be involved for Schooling provides only part of a student's
education. The contribution of schools is made in partnership
with the homes and communities in which students live.
This document aims to draw together policies and principles, many
of which are already being implemented effectively in schools
throughout the State. The policy and its support documents have
been written to assist school communities in meeting the welfare
needs of their students whatever their individual or group backgrounds.
R.B. Winder Directorate of Education
In the context of this policy statement, 'STUDENT WELFARE' ENCOMPASSES
EVERYTHING THAT A SCHOOL COMMUNlTY DOES TO MEET THE PERSONAL AND
SOCIAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS AND ENHANCE THE WELL-BEING. lT lNVOLVES
RECOGNlSING; , VALUING AND DEVELOPING EACH STUDENT AS A TOTAL
AND UNIQUE PERSON IN TEE CONTEXT OF SOCIETY THE 'STUDENT WELFARE
PROGRAM' IS THE: SUM TOTAL OF ALL OF THE POLICIES, STRUCTURES
AND ACTIVlTIES WHICH ARE PLANNED AND IMPLEMENTED BY THE SCHOOL
TO PROMOTE STUDENT WELFARE
The school community consists of all those associated with the
school: students, staff, parents/guardians and others from the
local community.
A caring school community is fundamental to student welfare. The
following factors contribute to the development of such a community
the quality of leadership in the school;
the philosophy, policies and goals of the school;
the appropriateness of learning programs and teaching methods;
a sense of discipline and appropriate codes of behaviour;
the values and attitudes of staff, students and parents and their
interpersonal relationships;
the valuing of the family and social background and experiences
of all students;
sensitivity to the particular needs of individuals and groups;
the quality of school-community relations; and
the willingness of staff f to share the responsibility for the
welfare of all students.
Australian society accepts that parents and families have the
prime responsibility for the welfare their children Families however
share that responsibility with the general community and a range
of its social institutions, including schools. In sending their
children to school, parents/guardians rightly expect that they
will learn in a caring community concerned for their welfare.
They place their trust in the principal, teachers and other school
staff and, indeed, in the education system as a whole.
Every teacher has a responsibility for student welfare. The principal
and executive staff have a specific leadership role in planning,
coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the school's student welfare
program. Of course much of the caring in schools occurs spontaneously
and incidentally, as it does in any community of caring people.
Australian society expects it schools to
provide children with basic skills and knowledge ensure that children
know how to discover new knowledge;
ensure that children know how to assemble facts pose questions
and arrive at tentative answers;
prepare children to cope with, and contribute to, life in society;
develop in each child a sense of personal worth;
and prepare children to work co-operatively with others
In addition, society expects of schools that:
children should be motivated by teachers who display warmth, supportiveness
and respect towards them, and
Iearning should be fostered by children and teachers working together
on significant problems. In other words, schools are encouraged
to be "humane learning communities".
Through its student welfare program, the school aims to help its
students to develop:
a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction from learning; an ability
to communicate effectively;
* a coherent set of values to guide behaviour;
a sense of personal and social responsibility for their actions
and decisions; a sense of personal dignity and worth;
* self-reliance; a sense of cultural identity;
* a feeling of belonging to the wider community; a caring attitude
towards others; and
* an ability to form satisfying and stable relationships.
A school, co-operating with parents, can work towards realising
these aims through learning programs and support services in three
major areas:
* general measures to promote the personal development of students;
preventative measures to ensure the safety and well-being of students;
* remedial measures to overcome specific difficulties.
Each school should take account of such expectations and provide
an effective student welfare program to meet them. Such a program
will have developmental preventative and remedial aspect. It will
take account of the contemporary social context and will recognise
accepted personal and social values
The rapid social economic and technological change of our time
is placing pressure on the family unit. For some young people
the stability of relationships within the immediate family and
among relatives and friends may be affected. These young people
will need particular support.
Teachers are constantly aware of the influence of social pressure
o their students, including the influence of peers and the media
Such matters are also of central concern to parents, guardian.
Teachers must also respect the responsibilities of parents/guardians,
ad consultation, Involvement and participation are to be actively
ought. With regard to controversial issues consultation with parents/guardians
is required.
The principal is responsible for ensuring that the school develops,
implements, and regularly evaluates its own student welfare policy.
To assist the school, the Department provides a range of services
including school counsellors, support teachers for children with
behaviour disorders home/school liaison officers, special classes
and support materials. Other community agencies such as the Departments
of Health and Youth and Community Services also have a responsibility
to assist students.
In summary
parents and families have the prime responsibility for the welfare
of their children;
the general community shares responsibility for the welfare of
young people;
the Department and other community agencies support the school
in this task; schools as part of the general community, have a
role in student welfare
student welfare is basic to educational and is a responsibilites
of all teachers; the school needs a program for student welfare;
the principal is responsible to ensure that the program is developed,
implemented and regularly evaluated.
Through its structure, practices and courses, and the relationships
formed within it, the school will contribute to the general personal
development of students by providing opportunities for them to:
* gain the satisfaction associated with challenge and achievement;
* develop understanding and skills in communication and interpersonal
relationships;
* develop a realistic and comprehensive self-concept; enhance
their self-esteem; develop their interests and abilities;
* develop their personal values within a framework of broadly
accepted community values;
* develop their skills in decision-making;
* understand their own feelings and behaviour and those of others;
* positively value cultural differences;
* be caring and supportive of others; and
* contribute positively to the life of the school.
Teachers need to take specific action in the normal course of
their duties to enhance or protect the welfare of their students.
Such action is designed to
* maintain a school and classroom climate conducive to learning,
ensure a safe and secure environment where basic needs are met;
encourage appropriate forms of behaviour; and
* protect students from harm.
These objectives are more likely to be achieved when those who
teach, advise and counsel students:
* provide interesting and challenging learning programs
* model and reinforce the qualities and values which the school
aims to develop and foster; listen with empathy to the cares and
concerns of their students;
* respond to questions and provide information and guidance a
necessary:
offer students genuine opportunities for choice and participation
in decision-making; establish a firm code of school behaviour
caution or constrain students for the sake of their own safety
and that of others and take appropriate disciplinary action when
necessary.
Remedial measures are special actions designed to:
* assist students toward full participation in the school's educational
program;
* cater for specific learning difficulties; address behavioural
problems.
Remediation is an essential part of every teacher's function and
is a requirement of the learning process at any level
The remedial needs of students varies. Most can be addressed in
the regular classroom situation. Some may require provision such
as counselling, the services of teachers with particular skills
or special classes.
The objectives in all three major areas - general personal development,
preventative and remedial - are more likely to be achieved if
schools:
* have an interesting and challenging learning program;
* involve students at all appropriate levels of decision-making;
* recognise the responsibilities of parents and guardians and
encourage their participation in decision-making,
* adhere to a set of clearly stated principles developed in consultation
with parents and the local community;
ensure that the developmental, preventative and remedial measures
taken fit within the context of a co-ordinated student welfare
program; vary the me asures taken to meet the needs of individuals
or groups:
direct the measures to the particular individuals or groups who
are at risk or for whom the desired change is needed;
* use teaching, counselling, consultation and other approaches
as appropriate;
* provide for parent and community consultation when planning,
evaluating and varying programs.
The principal is responsible to ensure that:
there is a relevant, diverse and challenging learning program
within the school;
* all staff accept their responsibilities in relation to student
welfare;
* the school has a student welfare policy including the areas
of discipline, pastoral care and school attendance;
* there are appropriate structures to enable the student welfare
program of the school to function effectively;
the counsellor's expertise is fully utilized to serve the needs
of individual students;
* the support services of the Department and community welfare
agencies are utilized effectively by the school; and
the school's student welfare program is regularly evaluated and
adjusted to meet emerging needs.
1.1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO STUDENT WELFARE IN SCHOOLS
* EACH SCHOOL WILL HAVE A WRITTEN POLICY OF STUDENT WELFARE TO
SERVE AS THE BASIS FOR lTS STUDENT WELFARE PROGRAM
ALL MEMBERS OF STAFF HAVE A RESPONSIBILlTY, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP
OF THE PRINCIPAL, TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SCHOOLS STUDENT WELFARE
PROGRAM
DEVELOPMENTAL,PREVENTATIVE AND REMEDIAL ASPECTS WILL ALL BE INCLUDED
IN SUCH PROGRAMS
PARENTS AND GUARDIANS WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SCHOOL'S STUDENT WELFARE
PROGRAM
* THE PROGRAM SHOULD ENCOURAGE STUDENTS:
TO DEVELOP SELF-RELIANCE
T0 TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT TO
CONTRIBUTE TO THE WELFARE OF OTHERS
TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY