Palmerston District Primary School focuses on supporting children and young people build healthy relationships with others and enjoy life, improving their wellbeing and building resilience. We are a learning community that prioritises student wellbeing, safety and positive relationships so that students can reach their full potential.
Enhanced student wellbeing is important for the development of students’ social and emotional competence. Palmerston District Primary School proactively seeks out innovative ways to reduce the impact of social and emotional challenges they may face each day.
Palmerston takes a whole-school approach to wellbeing which creates a safe, predictable, supportive and respectful teaching and learning community where everyone's wellbeing is valued. This leads to:
- Students who feel safe and therefore have a sense of belonging at school and can begin to develop healthy and respectful relationships.
- Greater self-esteem and improved learning and social outcomes.
- Palmerston District Primary School endeavours to provide every student with the strongest foundation possible for them to reach their aspirations in learning and in life.
Palmerston also has a Recharge Room. This is a proactive space and approach for students to learn strategies to assist in emotional regulation. The Recharge Room is also a space for students to independently identify and manage their emotions. With the support of an adult students are provided an opportunity to communicate their emotional needs, practise the use of coping strategies, reflect, and then return to class. Students become empowered to handle their stress and increase their resilience. The space is for individual students to process intense feelings. Ideally, a student visits the Recharge Room as a healthy self-intervention to pre-empt escalation.
In a nutshell, it is:
- A quiet space where students can self-regulate with support. (psychological wellbeing)
- A space where students feel happy and relaxed. (emotional wellbeing)
- A familiar space where students feel safe. (physical & psychological wellbeing)
Palmerston District Primary School in understanding and meeting the needs of students are committed to doing all we can to support engagement and a sense of belonging. We also continue to work alongside Delta Therapy Dogs.
Delta Therapy Dogs works with volunteers who deliver Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) and Collaborative Animal Assisted Therapy (C-AAT). Taco and his owner Jenny, and now Hugo the Collie and his owner Barry are a welcome addition to our students. This alternative program offers a way for students to self-regulate and enjoy time with dogs with volunteers who are trained specially for these interactions. Students involved in this program demonstrated a more positive attitude, are more engaged in the school environment, and there is often a noticeable positive shift in their social, emotional, physical and physiological outcomes.