At Wesley, we encourage behaviours that positively influence the learning and wellbeing of self and others to promote a safe, inclusive, supportive and cohesive learning community.
Wesley’s approach to learning and wellbeing is captured in the acronym ROAR (Respect, Opportunity, Achievement and Resilience). Just like our Wesley lion, our aim is to empower our students, and all those within our community to truly ROAR!
These four tenets are embedded at the heart of everything we do. Two are character-based (Respect and Resilience) and two are afforded through the Wesley experience:
Nurturing a deep sense of belonging, connection and authenticity in relationships. Students explore key themes, including respectful relationships, emotional literacy, high quality connections, empathy and forgiveness.
Embracing the many opportunities at Wesley that support students to develop strengths, talents and passions. Themes are explored both inside and outside the classroom, including character strengths, self-determination, leadership, service learning and spirituality.
Encouraging students to define what is important to them, to set goals and develop healthy habits. They explore the importance of forging their own path, based on what matters most to them, through ‘hope theory’, storytelling and coaching.
Helping students develop and harness their inner strengths and capabilities to successfully navigate stress and uncertainty and see challenges as opportunities to grow, learn and move forward.
The ROAR approach to wellbeing complements the IB philosophy, recognising that learning and wellbeing work in unison to support confident, capable students. It is not simply what we teach, but how we teach, interact and connect. It ensures that every member of the Wesley community holds responsibility for developing their own wellbeing and contributing meaningfully to the wellbeing of others.
When our students and staff feel safe, respected and most importantly connected, they feel valued, and we meet their needs for belonging, engagement and autonomy. These three needs are essential enabling factors in developing one’s self-determination, and are highly predictive of improved wellbeing and achievement.
Evidence-based, sequential program
Our ROAR approach to wellbeing is embedded through our curriculum and delivered through programs and interventions designed to meet the needs of students and families, and through professional learning, experience and practice for our staff.
The four tenets align to an evidence-based curriculum from wellbeing science that teaches our young people the knowledge and skills of wellbeing. It is an age-appropriate program that is sequential by design, supporting students as they progress from childhood through adolescence and early adulthood.
Students experience a cohesive and integrated learning and wellbeing approach that includes:
- Curriculum designed to establish healthy and positive habits, support learning, personal growth and development and build self-confidence;
- Dedicated pastoral care classes to establish and monitor individual learning and wellbeing goals;
- Specialist, research-based programs to develop in our students the skills of wellbeing such as strengths, compassion, gratitude, mindfulness and goal setting and to support our families in life outside the College; and
- Curriculum aligned and age-appropriate personal safety programs for every student, staff member and our families.
Wellbeing at Wesley is activated every day by an integrated network of professionals including Heads of Student Wellbeing, classroom teachers, homeroom teachers, Heads of Year, Heads of Houses, Heads of School, school counsellors and psychologists, chaplains and cocurricular staff.
We have also formed connections with learning and wellbeing partners to design and deliver contemporary programs and approaches.
Supporting our families
As an inclusive College, we recognise that the role of families, no matter what they look like, play a vital role in the learning and wellbeing of our young people.
Wellbeing does not stop when our young people step outside the classroom, and our families have a significant role to play. Just as a parent’s support and enthusiasm for their child’s learning motivates and inspires them, so too does their understanding of their wellbeing and the important strategies they can employ to support and develop their wellbeing throughout their child and adolescent years.
Our ROAR approach supports families to understand and nurture wellbeing in their children. Online seminars, face to face workshops and forums equip families with the knowledge and strategies to help empower their children and reinforce the skills, knowledge, and capabilities of wellbeing.
Such programs for our families have included specialised Drug and alcohol awareness training, coping with stress and anxiety in children and tuning into teens. Learning and wellbeing at Wesley are an individual, collective and community responsibility. As educators walking side by side with our Wesley families, we never lose sight of the critical role we share in developing the hearts and minds of the future.
