AINSW Conference: Along for the Ride 2022

KING’S HEALTH AND WELLBEING

AINSW Conference: Along for the Ride (2022)

Paul Jones Preparatory School Teacher

Stuart Tye Associate Chaplain

The AINSW Conference, Along for the Ride (2022) was held at Luna Park on 9th September. It was an opportunity for educators from all over New South Wales to convene and focus on what is a “growth area” when it comes to the many facets of what schools are focusing on. The prominence of wellbeing, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, is well documented. If seeking a “silver-lining” following the global pandemic, quite possibly the re-focusing of all our minds on wellbeing might just be the most silver of linings! Unfortunately for us as an organisation seeking to support and promote wellbeing, however, we are faced with several problems, the first being an agreed definition. What exactly is wellbeing? How do we measure it? Do we measure it?

“‘Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted’’ (attributed to Albert Einstein)

Dr Annie Gowing (University of Melbourne) outlined the challenge for schools and organisations in her keynote on Leading Wellbeing Change. She communicated that a “first hurdle” was to start by defining wellbeing in our context, for our students. More broadly speaking, this would also include staff and the extended school community and its stakeholders. Wellbeing does not live in a vacuum and creating “great” wellbeing initiatives for students but neglecting the holistic implications of such would be an easy, but costly mistake to make. For us at The King’s School, where wellbeing of all takes pride and place, a regular revisiting of our definition and working towards a shared and agreed understanding would be a great first step.

A great resource that was referred to on several occasions throughout the day was the excellent literature review conducted by AISNSW into How Schools can Support Whole-School Wellbeing? In this review, the evidence highlights 6 key learnings which we at The King’s Schools could work upon to improve our whole-school strategy for supporting students’ wellbeing:

• adopt a whole-school approach, • focus on interventions with evidence of effectiveness,

• establish a dedicated leader/champions and team to drive implementation, • get school and staff ready for implementation, • provide meaningful engagement and support with families, and • create meaningful opportunities for student voice and engagement.

AINSW Conference: Along for the Ride (2022)

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AINSW Wellbeing Literature Review (2022)

Following the opening keynote, several prominent speakers and organisations took to the stage to pose and discuss the research and data collected. More importantly, they acknowledged the important role that we, as teachers and leaders, have in school when supporting wellbeing.

Zoë Robinson from the Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People, talked passionately about the importance of “student voice”; one of many of the elements that The King’s Preparatory School emphasises and encourages by asking our boys about their challenges and being open in many respects to be “led” by them. In particular, when addressing the needs of older boys, the data from ACYP supports student voice in informing initial action.

The remainder of the day consisted of workshops, two of which we would like to highlight: The Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among Adolescents: An Evidence-based Approach (The Matilda Centre)

Although geared firmly in the Year 8 and above teaching space, the trend and data suggest that issues such as vaping are seeping into primary schools too. Again, data driven in its approach, the “ideal” here was that youngsters’ exposure to alcohol be held back as much as possible. Data highlighting individuals’ first drink suggest that the later the first drink occurs, the less likelihood there is of it being abused, either from a dependency perspective or in recreational binge drinking habits.

How to Create the Next Generation of Generosity: Enhancing Social and Emotional Learning through Intentional Giving and Service Learning (Kids Giving Back) This was a great hands-on workshop that emphasised the power of service learning. Kids Giving Back may well be worth communicating with, in terms of logistics, as we move towards a service learning framework. The organisation is well connected and serves a range of needs and demographics in Sydney, with a view to spread across NSW. The organisation also sets up experiences for schools to “launch” or promote the concept of serving others.