Wellbeing at the core of everything - Neal Crossan
Neal Crossan is the Deputy Principal (Students and Registrar) at Whitefriars College, a Catholic boys' secondary college conducted by the Carmelite Order. Neil completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Studies (Student Welfare) together with four other teachers from the College.
"We see student wellbeing as the core of everything in the College. Every teacher here is seen as a teacher of wellbeing and we've been promoting that idea with the belief that if a student has a good sense of self, connectedness and purpose they will be happier and perform better. At Whitefriars College our school motto is "In the care of a loving mother" and it's that approach that puts the students at the centre of everything."
"When we decided to take a deliberate approach the student wellbeing, the core team had a commitment to review all of our policies and practices in the College. We are fortunate that the roles represented on the core team have remained essentially unchanged over the years. The have been changes in personnel, but the roles are still represented on the core team. This has provided continuity in our approach to student wellbeing over the long term."
Following a series of reviews the school endeavoured to take a whole-school approach to student wellbeing. As part of that approach the school implemented an outdoor learning program with a specific student wellbeing focus. "Although it began from a focus on drug education, we developed a much broader personal development program with contributions from members of staff from across different curriculum areas. To promote personal development we wanted to develop an outdoor learning program which was more than a token program but something meaningful in the middle years and something sequential over three years. It began in Year 8 with 'Self' followed in Year 9 with 'Self and Others' and in Year 10 with 'Self, Others and the Environment'. Each year builds on the previous year and each student has the opportunity to have some spiritual reflection during the program."
Beyond developments in teaching and learning, the school changed it's structure into vertical groupings to provide a more supportive school environment. "The older boys looks after the younger boys, and the younger boys comment on this. It helps to create an explicit sense of community and caring. Pastoral care is an essential focus in the college."
Student Wellbeing has a regular presence at staff meetings in the College. "There is strong support from the leadership at the College which helps to promote wellbeing as a focus amongst our entire school community. Having a regular emphasis on wellbeing at our staff meetings provides a constant reminder to our community that wellbeing is something you build into the culture of a school, not merely something you add on to it."
