Wellbeing at Minerva School

At Minerva School, we know that student wellbeing is the foundation for learning and growth. When our students feel safe, supported, and valued, they are ready to thrive, at school, at home, and in the community.

Student wellbeing sits at the heart of everything we do. We know that when children feel safe, understood and emotionally regulated, they are far more ready to learn, connect and thrive. Our whole-school approach brings together evidence-informed practices, carefully designed learning environments, and a strong culture of care to support every student’s social, emotional, behavioural and sensory needs.

Across the school, you’ll find spaces, routines and relationships intentionally crafted to help students recognise their feelings, build independence, and engage confidently in daily learning. From structured social-emotional learning programs, to our sensory-rich environments, to our compassionate and consistent behaviour support systems, our focus is always on nurturing regulation, belonging and growth.

Our staff, students and families work in partnership to create a calm, predictable and inclusive school community where every student is known, valued and cared for. Whether students are learning in the classroom, taking part in our playground program, accessing wellbeing support, or celebrating success through our merit system, our shared goal remains the same: to help every child feel safe, regulated and ready to learn.

Emotional Regulation: The Foundation of Wellbeing

At our school, we place a strong focus on supporting emotional regulation, knowing that a regulated child is a child who is ready to engage with learning. Using the Zones of Regulation framework, we help students to recognise their feelings, understand their body cues, and develop strategies that work for them.

Every student has an individualised sensory “toolbox,” displayed in their classroom, so all staff know exactly which tools and supports help that student stay calm, focused, and ready to learn.

To ensure our practices are effective and evidence-informed, we engage an occupational therapist to provide specialist support, guiding the selection of tools and environmental adjustments. While we explicitly teach self-regulation skills, our caring and dedicated staff also understand the power of co-regulation, providing calm, compassionate support to ensure students feel safe, understood, and supported as they navigate big feelings.

Life Skills GO at Minerva School

Life Skills GO is a key part of our school’s commitment to building strong social and emotional learning (SEL) skills in every student. The program supports students to recognise emotions, build positive relationships, develop resilience, and engage confidently in their learning. Through structured activities, emotional check-ins, and interactive lessons, Life Skills GO helps us create a calm, predictable and supportive environment where every student can grow, feel understood, and experience success.

By embedding SEL across the school day, we nurture essential life skills that strengthen wellbeing, independence, and engagement, laying a strong foundation for future learning and personal development.

Key program features include:

• Daily emotional check-ins to help students recognise, label, and share their feelings
• Interactive lessons that teach self-awareness, social skills, self-regulation, problem-solving and resilience
• Customisable SEL-aligned units mapped to the NSW Curriculum
• Wellbeing data collection to help staff identify patterns, celebrate strengths, and plan targeted support

This helps us maintain high-quality wellbeing practices while ensuring social and emotional learning remains a daily priority.

Link to LSGO website - https://www.lifeskillsgroup.com.au/go

Minerva Merit System

The Minerva Merit System supports student wellbeing and positive behaviour by recognising effort, persistence, and pro-social choices. It helps students feel valued, builds motivation, and strengthens student-staff relationships. Consistent recognition, especially in SSP settings, enhances emotional regulation, confidence, and engagement. Sharing achievements with families boosts belonging and self-esteem. At Minerva, everyday successes reflecting effort and growth are celebrated weekly at assemblies and shared with families to acknowledge students' positive behaviour and learning.

Our Award Levels

Students’ progress through a clear, predictable pathway that supports motivation and encourages ongoing positive behaviour.

Achievement Awards / Good Choice of the Week

• Recognises positive choices, effort, and engagement
• 6 Achievement Awards = 1 Excellence Award

Excellence Awards

• Celebrates consistent positive behaviour and learning
• 3 Excellence Awards = 1 Medallion

Medallions

• Awarded to students who demonstrate sustained effort and excellence

• 5 Medallions = 1 Plaque

  

The 3D Printer Program

Our 3D Printer Program is a highly engaging initiative designed to motivate students and celebrate their effort, behaviour and learning. Students can earn stickers by demonstrating our school values, showing kindness, achieving personal goals or engaging positively in class. These stickers can then be spent on a reward from our 3D Print Catalogue, which includes a range of fun, high-interest items such as fidgets, keyrings and small models. Their chosen item is printed for them to keep, creating a meaningful and exciting incentive that encourages ongoing positive behaviour and participation.

In addition to catalogue rewards, students also have the opportunity to undertake individualised 3D design projects. With support from staff, students can plan, design and print their own unique creations — building an object from the ground up. This hands-on learning experience strengthens problem-solving skills, creativity and persistence, while giving students a tangible outcome they can be proud of.

By offering both reward-based printing and personalised design opportunities, the 3D Printer Program promotes engagement, boosts motivation and makes learning purposeful, enjoyable and empowering for every student.

Our Playground Program

At Minerva, our playground program is carefully designed to support student wellbeing by providing a safe, structured environment for play, exploration and social connection. We offer various supervised play areas such as a dedicated Playroom, top oval, K 6 equipment, trampolines and infants’ swings on select days that encourage movement, sensory engagement, imaginative play and social interaction.

Students are strategically allocated into playground groups to ensure they have the best opportunity to succeed. When forming these groups, we carefully consider:

• Social needs and peer compatibility
• Emotional and sensory regulation needs
• Communication abilities and supports required
• Safety considerations
• Preferred play styles (quiet play, active play, sensory play, structured games)
• Positive peer role modelling opportunities
• Levels of supervision needed

This intentional placement allows staff to implement targeted supportive strategies and ensures every student can access a play environment that meets their individual needs, creating consistency and predictability. This structure helps students maintain regulation, practise social skills, develop confidence, and engage in play successfully.

Through our playground program, we aim to create a safe, inclusive, and nurturing environment where every student can thrive.

Wellbeing and Learning Support Team

At Minerva, the Wellbeing and Learning Support Team ensures every student is known, valued, and cared for by identifying strengths, addressing needs, and implementing strategies for emotional and academic success. The team includes the Principal, Assistant Principals, School Counsellor, Student Support Officer, and Wellbeing Support SLSO. They meet regularly to plan support at whole-school, class, and individual levels, enabling targeted adjustments, personalised plans, and timely responses to help students regulate, connect, and engage in learning.

As part of the NSW Department of Education’s Learning and Support framework, our team works to:

• Coordinate planning and support for students with disability and additional learning needs, including health and wellbeing considerations
• Build teacher capacity by designing and implementing supports that enable all students to access high-quality learning
• Work in partnership with families, classroom teachers, external therapists, and specialist DoE staff
• Support smooth transitions through consistent monitoring, shared strategies, and clear communication across the school

Our Wellbeing and Learning Support Team is also a key point of coordination for referrals, multi-agency support, and follow-up planning. This ensures continuity of care and creates strong, trusting relationships between students, families, and the school.

Through a proactive and collaborative approach, we create a safe, inclusive, and supportive school environment where every student students experience success and a strong sense of belonging.

Wellbeing Support for Behaviour

At Minerva, we recognise behaviour as a form of communication and focus on creating a safe, understanding, and supportive environment to help students regulate, participate, and learn. Our trauma-informed approach ensures calm, predictable, and compassionate support throughout the day. We use whole-school frameworks like the Behaviour Support and Management Plan and Behaviour Response Flowchart to guide consistent, proactive responses and maintain a positive learning environment. Each student has an Individual Behaviour Response Plan, developed collaboratively with staff, wellbeing teams, therapists, and families to tailor strategies to their needs. Plans are regularly reviewed to stay effective. Additionally, one to two executive team members are always on call to provide prompt, skilled support, allowing classroom routines to continue with minimal disruption and ensuring timely care for students in distress.

Our wellbeing support approach focuses on:

• Understanding the underlying needs driving behaviour, rather than reacting to the behaviour itself
• Building strong, trusting relationships as the foundation for emotional safety
• Providing consistent routines and expectations across all settings
• Teaching regulation skills through co-regulation, visual supports and predictable responses
• Using personalised supports, including sensory strategies, communication tools and environmental adjustments
• Working in partnership with families, therapists and external agencies
• Reviewing progress regularly to ensure strategies evolve as students grow

Our aim is always to help students feel safe, connected and empowered to participate fully in their learning. With thoughtful, coordinated support, students can engage positively and build the skills they need to navigate challenges with confidence.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

At Minerva, we are committed to creating a school environment where every student feels safe, supported and ready to learn. Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) is the evidence-based framework we use to nurture a positive, consistent and respectful school culture.

PBL brings our whole school community together, students, staff and families, to promote shared expectations and a calm, predictable learning environment. When PBL is implemented well, students experience stronger engagement and staff have more time to focus on building relationships and delivering high-quality learning.

Through PBL, our school benefits from:
• Reduced inappropriate or unsafe behaviour
• Increased time spent on meaningful learning
• Improved social-emotional wellbeing for students
• Positive, respectful relationships between students and staff
• Clear expectations and consistency across settings
• A predictable environment where everyone knows what success looks like

At Minerva, our three core expectations guide everything we do:
• Safe
• Caring
• Learners

These expectations are explicitly taught, acknowledged and celebrated across the school.

Weekly PBL Focus

Each week, we highlight a “Good Choice of the Week” during our morning muster under the COLA. This helps students understand what positive behaviour looks like in different settings. A dedicated PBL lesson is also delivered weekly as part of our whole-school assembly, proudly led by our Student Representative Council (SRC).

Students who demonstrate the weekly focus are recognised and celebrated at our Friday assembly, with their achievements shared with families through Class Dojo.

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