Wellbeing
At St Patrick’s Special School, our values form the foundation of our community and guide every aspect of our work with students, families, and staff.
We hold respect as a cornerstone, fostering an environment where everyone is valued and differences are celebrated.
Our focus on resilience encourages students to persevere through challenges, building inner strength and a positive mindset.
We emphasise responsibility, teaching our students the importance of accountability and making thoughtful choices.
Compassion is at the heart of our school, inspiring kindness and understanding in all interactions.
We champion bravery, empowering our students to step out of their comfort zones, take risks in their learning, and grow into confident, capable individuals. These values collectively create a nurturing and supportive atmosphere where every student can thrive.
Wellbeing at St Patrick's
Wellbeing means being at our best cognitively, emotionally, physically, spiritually and socially. It is found and grown as we live in community experiencing a sense of safety and belonging. It is through feeling safe, seen, soothed and secure that we discover who we are and our place in the wider human experience. It is about making sense and meaning from all our experiences and practising tools that help us integrate these into our individual and collective stories.
Culture plays a significant role in the lives of many people. Connection to country, community, family, kinship and cultural practices and protocols are vital in growing a sense of wellbeing. Wellbeing is about far more than just the absence of illness or distress. It is about building a tool kit that helps us navigate the ups and downs of life, to find a way to thrive and work to reach our full potential. It involves learning to self-regulate, to make feelings smaller and bigger, and to work towards understanding ourselves and those around us. It demonstrates kindness, compassion and grace.
Wellbeing and learning cannot be separated. Our overall sense of wellbeing has a direct impact on our capacity to support the wellbeing of children.
Atkinson, 2002; Bowlby, 1988; Gee, Dudgeon, Schultz, Hart, & Kelly, 2013; Porges, 2009;Seligman, 2011; Siegel & Bryson, 2020
Zones of Regulation
The Zones of Regulation is a framework implemented at St Patrick's Special School to help students identify and manage their emotions by categorising them into four colour-coded zones: Blue (low energy), Green (optimal learning state), Yellow (heightened alertness), and Red (extreme emotions).
The Zones of Regulation can be a powerful tool to support students in developing self-regulation skills. Educators can guide students in selecting appropriate strategies from personalised toolkits to help shift or maintain their zone by teaching students to recognise their emotional state. These toolkits might include sensory supports, calming techniques, or communication aids.
Emotional coaching complements this by providing real-time support, helping students to understand their feelings and make informed choices about how to respond. Together, these approaches foster emotional awareness, resilience, and self-management, crucial skills for students in a special education context.