Wellbeing Officer (NSCSWP)
St Mel’s supports the work of the Student Wellbeing Officer that is funded from the NSCSWP program.
Children, Families and Staff all benefit from the work of our SWO.
St Mel’s School receives Federal Government Department of Education funding for the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program (NSCSWP).
Elisabeth Rodriguez is St Mel’s NSCSWP Worker; the role involves the following service provision in alignment with the NSCSWP Guidelines:
Our school receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Education under the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program (NSCSWP).
The aim of this funding is to assist schools to provide pastoral wellbeing services to support students, staff and the school community.
1. The NSCSWP Worker has three main roles:
A Pastoral Role
The NSCSWP Worker will:
• participate in a wide range of school community activities, and support staff, to contribute to creating a caring and inclusive learning environment within the school.
• on request, provide initial support or information to students, staff and other school community members.
• ongoing personal assistance with individual students, subject to duty of care, consent, confidentiality and disclosure requirements and the code of conduct.
• offer support or information with regard to critical situations, grief, family breakdown.
• be available to provide ongoing support to individuals and/or families.
• provide additional opportunities for families to feel supported.
A Referral Role
The NSCSWP Worker will:
• provide factual and impartial information about, network with, and be a link to, the support and services provided through community groups, local council and government agencies.
• consult and liaise with staff about student safety, wellbeing or learning while maintaining appropriate confidentiality, and referring students to other staff as required.
• be required to report any suspected abuse or neglect.
A Resource Role
The NSCSWP Worker will:
• provide a reference point for addressing social issues
• provide access to resources from the broader community which are relevant to school programs.
• be available to give input into health and social education courses (e.g. in the areas of grief, self-esteem, values or relationships).
• be available to give assistance with camps and excursions, and, where appropriate, initiate activities such as voluntary clubs or groups in the school.
• support groups such as the Student Representative Council and the Peer Support Program
2. This service offered by the NSCSWP Worker is accessed by school community members on a voluntary basis.
3. The NSCSWP Worker is managed by a school leader and complements, enhances and collaborates with the schoolwell-being team, counsellors, other school support staff, etc.
4. A Grievance Procedure for any formal complaint is available from the School Principal.
Disclaimer
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Government Department of Education
Acknowledgement
This project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Education under the National School Chaplain Student Welfare Program (NSCSWP)