WELLBEING AUSTRALIA : BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

RELATIONSHIPS, RESILIENCE AND RESPONSIBILITY

Our primary purpose is the development of caring, inclusive school communities which foster the wellbeing of all students, teachers and families. This is linked to improving the wellbeing of communities in general and the development of a civil, safe and just society.

This is a networking website for those interested in how we might put the above into practice by developing relational values, social and emotional literacy, restorative practices and social capital in Australia and the Pacific region.

This requires a multi-dimensional approach focusing on both individuals and systems. We are interested in how positive psychology, ecological and community approaches can help in this endeavour. More on the Aims and Principles Page

The WBA network is now across all states in Australia. We send out 2-3 newsletters a year to highlight events, stories, research and practices to promote wellbeing in our communities. We welcome your contributions. Share what you know with others - information about initiatives, conferences or materials. Do you live in the ACT? The Emotional LIteracy Forum (ELF) has been set up in Canberra. Details of their program and contact details here.

Please join Wellbeing Australia by pressing Join under the About Us button on the left. This costs you nothing but a few moments of your time. You will receive regular newsletters (about three a year) alerting you to what is new and upcoming.

Latest :

The government has commissioned a Scoping Study on Student Wellbeing, involving some members of this network. More on this exciting news in due course!

It is a good time for all of us to be lobbying on wellbeing issues. Read the Wellbeing Australia submission to the 2020 Summit.

Another example of awareness raising is the newsletter from The Armidale Waldorf Steiner School which includes a letter to Kevin Rudd.

Read about the innovative programs and research linked to The Catholic Education Office in Melbourne Student Wellbeing Co-ordinators. This is good practice in action!

The Victorian Child Safety Commissioner has published a booklet ,Calmer Classrooms to assist teachers at all levels to work more effectively with children affected by trauma and abuse. The booklet can be downloaded here or obtained by phoning the Office of the Child Safety Commissioner on 03 8601 5884 . It is based on the principle that understanding the experience of the abused and neglected child assists us to develop compassion, patience and empathy. It is a key intervention in itself. Recovery from trauma will occur best in the context of healing relationships. It goes on to set out clear relationship based practices for the classroom including self care for the teacher.

Read about some research that Wellington University in New Zealand are doing on youth connectedness The Events page has details of a related conference in July 2009

There is now an Australian branch of Massage in Schools which offers training to support child to child massage. This is a good way to help children learn about gentle touching and provides the physical nurturing some miss out on. More details here.

UK Government have published their Youth Action Plan - it shows a determination to stop anti-social behaviour by support action rather than punitive action and getting in early. Worth reading if you work with young people in their communities - lots of ideas to build on. A click on the link gets you onto the page and you can download the document from there.

You won't be surprised at the following!

After observing 1,000 classrooms and measuring quality teaching, Dr. Robert Pianta, director of the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning and the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education, developed the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). The study defined three broad domains of good teaching: emotional support, organizational support, and instructional support. Emotional support was listed first. The report concluded:
"Teachers who score high on positive emotional climate consistently demonstrate respect for their students. They are in proximity when they speak to the children in their classroom, establish eye contact before speaking to them, and address them by name. They consistently have a warm and calm tone and use language that communicates respect, such as saying "Please," "Thank you" and "You're welcome." The absence of harshness and tension is noticeable, and when conflicts arise they quickly dissipate. This type of environment is conducive to learning and allows children to feel safe to explore."
Harvard Education Letter
Volume 24, Number

For more information visit http://www.edletter.org

Request for help: Dr. Phil Ridden is writing a book on creating a sense of community in schools and would like to talk to some school principals. If you would like to help you can contact Phil here.

The American Psychological Association have released a report which challenges Zero Tolerance policies in schools which increase exclusion and suspension. It makes some powerful statements about the 'school to prison pipeline' and says that restorative justice and community based approaches which connect students to school are more effective in reducing violence. You can read more about this important report on the Saner Safer Schools website here.

The events page gives info for conferences this year and others coming up in 2008. The next major one is the World Education Forum on Wellbeing and Being, Becoming and Belonging in Adelaide at the end of June.

There are also reports of recent relevant conferences in case you missed them. These include new postings on the Children and Spirituality conference and this year's Happiness and its Causes Conference. Prior to 2007 are on the Archives page where you can also find past newsletters.

If you are going to any conferences and would able to write a brief report to share with others on the network that would be wonderful.

Our second theme on All About... concerns bullying. We were concerned about the messages on an ABC Radio National program on bullying which were not very positive nor helpful in giving guidance about how to prevent and intervene effectively. Our experience is that there is a great deal that can be done to counter bullying at every level and we have therefore initiated a section 'all about' anti bullying strategies, especially those aspects that prevent it happening. If you wish to add to this section we would be pleased to hear from you. See the front page which shows some of the simple things that teachers in Steiner schools do to prevent bullying. We are also pleased to see the Beyond Bullying initiative recently published at the University of Western Sydney which focuses on the role of bystanders. The National Centre (changed from Campaign) Against Bullying in Melbourne last November was on Developing Positive Relationships. So many good speakers! The link to the papers is on the Events page. Read Helen McGrath's paper on Making Australian Schools Safer

Our 'stories' section has a great new story of an initiative called 'Sisters' aimed at helping disadvantaged girls develop EL skills.

This section of the site depends on individuals sending in short paragraphs to share what they have been doing and the impact this is having. Nothing dramatic - just indications that small changes have significant influence on wellbeing. Thanks to those who have already done this.

There are some further great stories in the latest Kids Matter newsletter - which includes a section on social and emotional learning

We have found more excellent sites which provide resources for social and emotional learning, both in Australia and elsewhere. The SEAL site in the UK is extensive and you can download many ideas and materials. Go to the Materials section of Resources on the left for the link.

Social and Human Capital is increasingly becoming a topic of discussion in many forums. Look at the OECD website page . We need to continue talking about the processes of education not simply the targets and outcomes.