Throughout a student’s school years it is inevitable that there may be times when additional pastoral supports are beneficial. St Andrew’s provides a comprehensive network of student support which can be accessed a number of ways:
- Secondary Tutors, and Junior School or Gawura class teachers, know your child or young person best and can be contacted via email to provide information about ways to access support.
- A student’s Year Advisor, Head of House or Grade Leader is another first point of contact to direct students to additional pastoral supports.
- Our Counselling staff are highly experienced psychologists and counsellors working with children, young people and their families.
- Mrs Blackwell (Senior School) dblackwell@sacs.nsw.edu.au
- Mrs Dos Santos (Senior School) bdossantos@sacs.nsw.edu.au
- Mr Boerma (Middle School) mboerma@sacs.nsw.edu.au
- Mrs Treasure (Middle School) ttreasure@sacs.nsw.edu.au
- Mrs Van Eldik (Junior School and Gawura) rvaneldik@sacs.nsw.edu.au
- Mrs Elizabeth Finn (Junior School and Gawura) efinn@sacs.nsw.edu.au
- School Chaplain Rev. Tubman: ctubman@sacs.nsw.edu.au
- Head of Character and Wellbeing K2-12 Mrs Wake: bwake@sacs.nsw.edu.au
- External supports can be accessed via your GP.
Out of hours support:
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue 1300 224 636
- 13YARN 13 92 76 (For our First Nations families)
- 1800Respect 1800 737 732
- Kids helpline 1800 55 1800
- Parent helpline 1300 1300 52
Grief resources
Webinar: Understanding grief in children and young people. Click here to watch the webinar.
In this practical and informative session we will explore the natural grief cycle and the ways in which this can impact on our children and young people. Strategies for self care and growth will be explored by the expert presenter from the Quest for Life Foundation.
Online resources
Junior School aged children:
- When someone dies: helping children cope
- Supporting bereaved children: a guide for parents and carers. (Cruse Bereavement Care).
- Aldo’s adventures in grief. (Dougy Centre).
Secondary School aged young people:
- Traumatic event: Your recovery: Helping children & teens (Phoenix Australia)
- After someone dies. Leaflets about death, bereavement and grief for young people. (Cruse Bereavement Care).
- Teens: Death & Grief. (Raising children.net)
- Now what? Tips for teens who are grieving. (Dougy Centre).
Helpful tips – when a sad or tragic event occurs
There are often no easy answers when a sad or tragic event occurs however be assured that your child or young person will benefit from talking to safe and trusted adults. These tips may also be helpful:
Be available: Let your child or young person know that it is okay to talk with you. Listen to what they think and feel. By listening, you can find out if they have misunderstandings, and you can learn more about the support that they need. You do not need to explain more than they are ready to hear but be willing to answer their questions.
If relevant – manage access to the news – as is age-appropriate: It is also helpful to take particular care about your child or young person’s exposure to news events. The consistency and frequency of news cycle images can be frightening for a child or young person who may not fully don’t understand the events and their context.
Listen to emotions: Sad and tragic events may raise many emotions for your child or young person including grief and anxiety. Take your cues from them about finding a good time to talk and follow the threads that emerge. Demonstrate that you understand how they may be upset and clarify and normalise the emotions they may be feeling.
Keep to a normal routine: Maintaining the same sleeping, eating and daily routines can help to restore a sense of control over our daily lives.
Remind them of hope: Even in times of sadness we can still find hope in our faith and in our friends and family.
SchoolTV – A resource supporting the parenting of young people
SchoolTV is available to all St Andrew’s Cathedral School families. The platform provides schools with an extensive range of wellbeing resources for parents, so they can work together in partnership to ensure better wellbeing for all students.
Topics are arranged into a number of series and feature interviews with leading youth wellbeing experts and researchers from around the world. Each topic includes resources such as fact sheets, articles, apps, books, podcasts, websites and videos – in one place for easy access.
Series include:
- Cybersafety
- Mental Health
- School Survival
- Healthy Body
- Positive Parenting
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Special Reports
School TV SPECIAL REPORT: Trauma Recovery
This report /video resource may be of interest to families who are experiencing a sad or tragic event.
Understanding how trauma effects brain function can help in addressing the psychological aftermath. The brain stores traumatic events as powerful emotional memories, influencing behaviour through mechanisms beyond conscious awareness. Find out more about how to recognise the signs of trauma and how to equip children with coping strategies for dealing with uncertainty.