Wellbeing and Mental Health Support for School Students

Member for Kiama Gareth Ward MP today said that thousands of specialist staff are supporting the wellbeing and mental health of our local school communities during the extended COVID-19 lockdown.

Mr Ward said it was crucial to prioritise the mental health of students during the difficult lockdown period by ramping up wraparound wellbeing and support services.

“I understand how incredibly challenging the past 18 months has been for our local school students, teachers, parents and caregivers,” he said.

“So it is fantastic to see these students given access to more than 3,000 non-teaching staff including school counsellors, school psychologists, student support officers and a network of specialist facilitators, wellbeing nurses, school chaplains and school learning support officers.

“The Care and Connect Hub allows every year group, including preschool age, to access wellbeing resources.

“Schools have also sent support packs directly to families.

“The Care and Connect Hub continues to provide practical and targeted support by age from pre-school to end of high school - with information and guidance on how and what students, families and staff can do to take care of themselves and others. 

“The wellbeing activities and resources are included in learning packages delivered to students.

“They are specifically designed for K-6 students and have been developed by a team of NSW Department of Education curriculum experts.

“Packs are to assist with keeping students engaged and connected.

“The packs provide a full week of learning activities with stage-specific video content, which includes teacher guidance, open-ended activities and wellbeing checks. The videos use child-friendly language to make them accessible to students of all ages and abilities.

“Each day of learning is outlined with daily activities and video content in one place to reduce the need to navigate between multiple sites or platforms,” Mr Ward concluded.

For wellbeing support and resources, please visit the Connect and Care Hub at:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/learning-from-home/wellbeing/care-and-connect.