Pastoral Care Update – Supporting Student Wellbeing

February 7, 2025

At Santa Maria College, we are committed to helping students build resilience, confidence, and strong connections. Since the introduction of our Mental Health Strategy in 2019, we have worked to foster a school culture that prioritises mental health, encourages open dialogue, and supports students in seeking help when needed. If you are not familiar with our Mental Health Strategy, you can access it here.

Who Drives this Strategy?

Wellbeing is a shared responsibility, and we are fortunate to have a dedicated team to guide our approach to implementing this strategy:

Deputy Principal – Pastoral Care, Danielle Spark
Our student Mental Health Ambassadors, led by Wellbeing Captain Poppy New drive student-led initiatives under the guidance of Mental Health Coordinator – Laura Agostino. The work of this group will be guided by our newly appointed College Psychologists – Grace Arrigan and Elvira Franich, (joining Kimberlee Burrows)
Health Services Team – Psychologists, Nurses, and Student Services
Deans of Students – Facilitating mental health education and skills development appropriate for each year group

1. Culture & Values - Creating a Supportive Environment

At Santa Maria College, we believe a strong sense of belonging is crucial for student wellbeing. We have focused on strengthening relationships, building kindness, and creating safe spaces for open conversations. These efforts have encouraged students to support each other, and we have seen students actively reach out to staff when they or their friends need help.

We continue to engage in an open dialogue around mental health challenges, offering comprehensive strategies and processes to support students facing difficulties, as well as educating students about proactive measures to help safeguard their own mental health.

2. Knowledge - Raising Awareness

We believe that knowledge is a powerful tool in maintaining good mental health. That is why we have prioritised education of students, staff and parents around strategies that can prevent mental health challenges. We continually develop and update the Wellness Connect Portal, making it easier for students and parents to access helpful mental health resources when they need them most. We continue to offer age-appropriate content during Pastoral Care Time (PCT), led by each year group’s Dean of Students weekly and the House Coordinator on a bi-weekly basis.

Through the PCT program, students have been introduced to cognitive behavioural therapy strategies like GIVE and DEERS, while staff learn about these techniques during professional learning days. Parents are also offered the opportunity to access this information via an evening session and Wellness Connect blogs/emails. These strategies help students enhance self-confidence, strengthen peer relationships, and improve negotiation skills.

3. Skills – Equipping Students for Life

Equipping students with the skills to maintain good mental health is essential. We focus on empowering students with practical strategies to overcome challenges, build healthy friendships, and manage stress.

Our Friendships Program (for Years 5-7) has played a key role in helping younger students develop communication, resilience, and conflict-resolution skills, providing them with structured support to handle social challenges.

Our Study Skills Programs offer students the tools they need to balance academics, extracurriculars, and personal life, while Online Safety Sessions ensure they are equipped to navigate the digital world safely.

4. Support – What We Are Continuing to Do (and How We Are Doing It)

Our aims this year will be to:

Expand Student-Led Initiatives via our Mental Health Ambassadors
They lead peer support sessions, raise awareness and knowledge about mental health topics, and work alongside staff to create a culture where seeking help is encouraged.
Provide access to timely and effective support
In addition to a student being able to seek help from their Dean or Health Services staff, this year, we will be transitioning to My Mind Check as our new wellbeing monitoring tool. This will replace our previous tool, iYarn and more information will be sent to you as we look to implement this. I invite you to read about it here should you wish to learn more.
Strengthen Parent Engagement
We will share insights through blog posts, emails, the Wellness Connect Portal, and parent information sessions to ensure parents have continuous access to expert advice.
Enhance Staff Training
Implement professional learning sessions that we have developed to focus on equipping teachers with High-Impact Wellbeing Strategies. We will keep you updated after our professional learning day in February.
Grow Our Wellness Resources
Continue to grow The Wellness Connect Portal with evidence-based strategies, videos, and self-help tools.

Mental health is more than an initiative—it is part of who we are. By fostering open conversations, providing essential skills, and ensuring access to expert support, we aim to empower every student to flourish.

If you have questions or concerns about your daughter’s wellbeing, we encourage you to visit the Wellness Connect Portal on SEQTA, reach out to her Dean of Students or myself. Together, we can ensure that every student feels valued, supported, and ready to embrace their future with confidence.

Danielle Spark | Deputy Principal – Pastoral Care

Education, Featured, mentalhealth, PastoralCare, Resilience, StudentSupport, studentwellbeing, WellnessConnect

Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.