Wellbeing & Belonging

Student, staff, and family wellbeing underpins everything we do at St Francis of Assisi College.

Nurturing a positive self-concept, providing opportunities for social connection, and developing the skills to bounce back when faced with challenges support young people to flourish and be at their best.

Resilience and wellbeing are essential for both academic and social development and this is accentuated by the provision of safe, supportive, and respectful learning environments. Not only do confident, resilient young people with a capacity for emotional intelligence perform better academically, these skills can also contribute to the creation of strong social bonds and supportive communities, and the maintenance of healthy relationships and responsible lifestyles.

St Francis of Assisi College incorporates the principles of positive education to provide a consistent, school wide approach to wellbeing. Positive education informs the way we support wellbeing in several ways:

  • Day to day interactions
  • Pastoral care programs and curriculum
  • Maintaining and restoring rite relationships
  • Developing personal responsibility.

Positive Education focuses on specific skills that assist students to strengthen their relationships, build positive emotions, enhance personal resilience, promote mindfulness, and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

CESA’s Living Learning Leading Framework provides a foundation for understanding what we do at St Francis of Assisi College – who we are, what we value and how we partner with our families to ensure our students thrive.

At the heart of our framework is our commitment to our students and our understanding of all people – we see them as ‘thriving people, capable learners, leaders for the world God desires.’

Student leadership

Student Voice is the central College pillar, and there will be a range of opportunities for students to be leaders at the College in 2022. Opportunities will continue to grow as the College grows to year 12 by 2026.

We know that adolescents flourish when they have strong social connections and the opportunity to pursue areas of passion and purpose. The opportunity for students to take on formal and informal leadership roles builds confidence and a self-esteem.

Students will have the opportunity to take on formal leadership roles and responsibilities, including student leadership, sustainability leadership, faith in action leadership and sport leadership roles. There will also be opportunities for students to explore leadership in areas of special interest, where student leadership and development is not entirely based on student selection but on our student’s inherent desires, interests, and commitment.

Growing in harmony