Engagement & Wellbeing

Promoting student and staff wellbeing

Adelaide Botanic High School is an aspirational learning community promoting student and staff wellbeing and building sustainable relationships which enable all of us to reach our potential.

At the heart of the school is a strong sense of community and belonging which fosters a true sense of care, optimism and pride, individually and collectively. A culture of learning, support and acceptance is nurtured so that everyone feels like an integral part of the school community.

Safe and supported

Everyone has the right to feel safe and supported and the responsibility for promoting mental health and wellbeing is a shared one.

We believe in growing a safe, respectful and inclusive school community, and emphasise the importance of educators, parents and students working together to achieve this. Our practices cultivate and celebrate students’ unique talents and diversity, and build lifelong attributes of resilience, confidence, balance and purpose.

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Engagement and Wellbeing Framework

The ABHS Engagement and Wellbeing Framework is underpinned by the Australian Student Wellbeing Framework and the South Australian Department for Education Wellbeing for Learning and Life Framework. Four interconnected elements of relationships, social responsibility, identity and learner agency provide the foundation for enhanced student wellbeing and learning outcomes.

Relationships

Wellbeing is enhanced, and learning outcomes optimised, when students feel connected to others and experience safe and trusting relationships.

At Adelaide Botanic High School a culture that fosters caring, supportive relationships between all people is actively built, adding to the vibrancy and strength of the entire school community.

Social and emotional skills are explicitly taught, equipping students with the ability to nurture sustainable relationships and develop a sense of connectedness.

Social Responsibility

ABHS students are active participants in their own learning and wellbeing, and use their social and emotional skills to be respectful, resilient and safe.

Technology provides a powerful means of connecting people. As a priority, becoming responsible digital citizens allows students to engage safely and responsibly with the world.

Leadership and authentic voice foster opportunities to be active and informed citizens, who desire to contribute to society and make change. This encourages a sense of responsibility to apply skills to achieve a greater purpose and care for the environment and the health and wellbeing of ourselves and others.

As the graduates of ABHS step into their future at full speed, as active participants in their community, they will be equipped with the knowledge, adaptability and resilience to thrive.

Identity

At ABHS students are encouraged to form positive beliefs about their individual character strengths which informs their sense of self and identity. Students grow and develop from these strengths and abilities.

Students set high standards for ourselves and others, and are taught to build positive mental health habits. Balancing physical, social and emotional needs and applying these in daily life is fundamental to positive wellbeing.

Each member of the school community is an active participant in building a welcoming school culture that values, diversity, inclusiveness and support. Individuality is embraced, which promotes self-respect and respect for others.

Students have the confidence to be themselves.

Learner Agency

An ethic of excellence is cultivated, providing safe and supportive environments for rigorous learning where students feel confident to take risks, critique their work and go beyond what is expected.

Future-ready students exercise agency in their own education and throughout life. They build positive dispositions and mindsets about learning to develop resilience, metacognition and self-regulation, enabling them to be expert learners.

By instilling the feeling of limitlessness, students develop the skills and abilities to create a future beyond school, and a mindset of learning for life. Everyone is considered a learner, not only students, but teachers and members of the ABHS community.

At Adelaide Botanic High School, everyone can be extraordinary.

Our guiding research

“Learning and wellbeing are closely linked. Young people with positive wellbeing are more engaged and successful learners. Likewise a positive educational experience is a key contributor to positive wellbeing outcomes.” Wellbeing for Learning and Life Framework

Australian Student Wellbeing Framework

The Australian Student Wellbeing Framework supports Australian schools to provide each and every student with the strongest foundation possible for them to reach their aspirations in learning and in life. The Framework is based on evidence that demonstrates the strong association between safety, wellbeing and learning and supports Australian schools to promote positive relationships and the wellbeing of students and educators within safe, inclusive and connected learning communities.

SA Department for Education Wellbeing Framework

The Department for Education is committed to giving every child every chance to have the best start in life. Supporting children and young people’s development and wellbeing requires a commitment from the whole of society. Adelaide Botanic High School works with other government agencies, community and local government partners to support wellbeing in education and health, the home and community environments. This partnership recognises children and young people and their families as central partners and active agents in their own lives and the lives of others.

Wellbeing for Learning and Life framework

The Wellbeing for Learning and Life Framework is applicable across all areas of children and young people’s lives but also recognises the significant impact of education and care settings with links to the Australian Curriculum, SACE and Early Years Learning framework provided within the document.

Wellbeing is a critical part of how young people learn and grow. Every South Australian child and young person deserves the opportunity to be their best in life. The department supports the learning and life opportunities of all children and young people, and seeks to help make them strong, creative and resilient learners, to set the trajectory for lifelong wellbeing.

Studio One Program

The Studio One program is taught each Wednesday morning in Connect Groups and focuses on the four elements of the ABHS wellbeing framework: relationships, social responsibility, identity and learner agency. For example, sessions may include activities to learn about building resilience, practising mindfulness or celebrating cultural and social events. The Studio One program design also includes the teaching of the Child Protection Curriculum and some parts of this curriculum are taught within the Lifestyle Choices learning area.

Wellbeing is integrated throughout the school curriculum and provides the opportunity for all students to develop skills in resilience, address matters related to safety and risk taking, and enhance prosocial connections. The program is designed by the Engagement and Wellbeing team in conjunction with sub-school Student Achievement and Success teams and student staff representatives to ensure the curriculum is targeted, relevant, and meets the needs of students at each year level.

Student Achievement and Success Teams

At Adelaide Botanic High School there are a number of teams who work with students in different ways to support them in achieving their goals.

The Engagement and Wellbeing, Inclusive Education, and Student Achievement and Success teams are available to support students in their classrooms, throughout the building and in the yard at break times. In addition, the school’s Student Services team is available to provide a range of services to students, including making bookings with individuals from the Student Achievement and Success teams.

MEET THE TEAMS

Community Hub

Students seeking private and confidential discussions with members of our Student Achievement and Success teams are able to make appointments to meet with them in the school’s Community Hub, which consists of smaller rooms that are well suited to small group and individual counselling sessions, in a quiet space that facilitates safety and security. With a focus on wellbeing for learning, two interoception rooms allow a safe space for students to self-regulate before returning to class.

Resources for students and families

Students have access to a suite of curated resources, support agency links and valued websites in Australia through the school’s Learner Management System, Frog.

Parents who have referrals or concerns regarding their children can contact Student Services at 8214 7702.

In the meantime, links to useful resources have been provided below:

KIDS HELPLINE (PHONE) KIDS HELPLINE (WEBSITE) LIFELINE (PHONE) YOUTH BEYOND BLUE REACHOUT.COM