At Willmott Park Primary School we provide a safe, supportive and inclusive environment that values diversity and promotes positive behaviours. The wellbeing and engagement of all students is at the forefront, as well as the delivery of a vibrant curriculum program that caters to the diverse ways students learn, giving all students many opportunities to achieve and experience success.
Our wellbeing curriculum covers a wide range of topic areas and includes:

• Getting along with others
• Acceptance, inclusion and valuing self and others
• Valuing diversity, belonging
• Developing positive social skills
• Understanding and modelling the school values of Respect, Responsibility, Achievement
• School Wide Positive Behaviour expectations and matrices
• Positive play and being a role model
• Building confidence, self-esteem and developing resilience
• Conflict resolution and managing emotions
• SunSmart
• Safe Schools- fostering a safe environment that is supportive and inclusive of LGBTIQ+
• Positive talk and being empathetic
• Cybersafety
• Understanding and prevention of Bullying-bystander vs upstander
• Deaf Awareness
• Human development-social and emotional changes

Daily student attendance is very important as students are able to develop strong connections with teachers and solid friendships with peers. They also develop positive social and emotional skills, which are important to have throughout life.
Attending school each day allows students to engage in all aspects of the curriculum and work towards best outcomes for academic achievement. Being at school helps children develop important skills, knowledge and values which set them up for ongoing learning and participation in their community.
At Willmott Park Primary School, our child and whole family Care Team approach, ensures attendance and engagement are at the forefront of everything we do.

At Willmott Park Primary we work to develop positive school/community relationships with students and their families to support learning, engagement and wellbeing. The Willmott Park Statement of Values and School Philosophy is integral to the work that we do and is the foundation of our school community. We do this through agreed school values of; Respect, Responsibility and Achievement.

We also value a high quality curriculum catering for all learners to enhance themselves as individuals for the 21st Century to be active and happy citizens. Our school’s Statement of Values are incorporated into our curriculum and promoted to students, staff and parents so that they are shared and celebrated as the foundation of our school community. Students, staff and members of our school community are encouraged to live and demonstrate our core values at every opportunity.

School Wide Positive Behaviour Matrices for Students, Staff and Parents & Visitors
These matrices are aligned with our school values which have been agreed upon as high and consistent expectations. These matrices have been developed for students, teachers and parents to identify and demonstrate appropriate behaviours at Willmott Park that align with the school values of Respect, Responsibility and Achievement.

Willmott Park Primary School is recognised as a “Safe School” that:

• fosters a safe environment  supportive and inclusive of LGBTIQ+ students.
• recognises that creating a safe and inclusive environment is key to tackling bullying and harassment and preventing suicide and self-harm.

All students should be safe from bullying and feel included at school so that they can learn effectively and reach their full potential.

Our school will use a range of evidence-based and age-appropriate information and resources to educate all members of the school community in the importance of inclusion and respecting diversity.

School policies have been reviewed to ensure that we are always working towards creating a more inclusive environment and these can be found on the school’s website.

At Willmott Park Primary School we are excited to announce that we will be investing in 2 Therapy Dogs, who have been approved by School Council in Term 1 2021.
As a school, we will begin with one Therapy Dog, Sana, who will start at Willmott Park from Term 2 for 2-3 days a week. Sana is a SEDA dog (Seeing Eye Dog Association) and has been through copious training and temperament assessment.
An OH&S Risk Assessment has been completed regarding having Therapy Dogs on school grounds.
Sana will work under the guidance of our Wellbeing Leaders and a selected number of staff who will work as her handlers. Sana is Miss Bassett’s dog and will go home with her each day.
The second Therapy Dog will eventually come later in the year and will work alongside OSHC on some afternoons as well. This dog will also be from SEDA and will have additional handler training completed and will be shared with OSHC on certain afternoons during the week and will have handlers there too.
The Therapy Dogs will work at WPPS to support students with social and emotional learning needs, for example; a calming effect on students, promote a sense of belonging and acceptance, improved self-esteem and encourage participation and responsibility.

– Individual/small group time
– Students reading/writing to them and showing them their completed work
– Encouraging a sense of responsibility and respect
– Students who need some calming down / brain break time
– Teachers booking in time with them for their class
– Non-judgmental animal to talk to and spend time with
– Reward of spending time with them
– Someone to express their feelings and thoughts with
– Lunch time club

Some of the benefits of students working with a Therapy Dog in school have shown to be:

– Improved school attendance
– Increased behavior and concentration
– Improved confidence
– Increased motivation

If the Therapy Dogs are present in a learning space or the playground with the staff member they are officially working. They are available for pats and cuddles, but we try to limit this to two children at a time and only under our supervision.

If they are working with a staff member who is supporting an individual student or small group of students, then other students must adhere to the ‘no touch, no talking’ with the dogs both in the playground and when they enter the classroom.

Rest areas have been set up for the Therapy Dog in the Wellbeing Office so they can have some time out – the concentration they need when they are working means they can get tired and need a rest!
The dogs need a number of staff members who are ‘second handlers’ who understand the basic commands and can take the dogs from their primary handler if required.

Students and Staff will be taught and reminded that the Therapy Dogs must not be fed by anyone but their handlers
Students must always be supervised around the Therapy Dogs. Therefore if they are having a rest in the Wellbeing Office, then students are not to enter without a handler present.

At Willmott Park Primary School, students and staff pride themselves on a wide range of creative talents. One of the ways in which this is showcased is through Lunchtime Clubs. All staff and students are empowered to join in and facilitate clubs that showcase their interests and bring out the best in one another.
Promote a sense of belonging.
Build upon our school community, and
Celebrate the passions and talents of all staff and students.
There are many great benefits and purposes for holding a lunchtime club program. Many of these clubs run across more than one year level. As a result, this assists in building strong foundations and rapport for all students. There are a wide range of clubs for every child to be part of, which incorporate: sport, drawing, art, music, reading, technology, nature, and mindfulness.

All lunchtime clubs are welcome and available to all students, but it also gives teachers the opportunity to gauge student interests and develop excellent connections and rich experiences. Additionally, teachers that run clubs also showcase their strengths and talents beyond the teaching profession and as a result, it gives students an insight into what teachers are like as people and not just as teachers.

Lunchtime clubs have proven to be a great success for many years here at Willmott Park Primary School. For students both past and present, certain clubs have been something that they look forward to on a weekly basis, as well as a fond memory of their primary years.

Some of the clubs that we will be running are:

Chess
Board Games
Lego
Auslan
Sport
Technology
Construction
4 Square
Green (Sensory Garden)

Willmott Park Primary School is committed to Child Safety and the well-being of all children and young people. All members of our school community understand their role and responsibility as individuals and as a collective, to ensure that the wellbeing and safety of all children is at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.

Key responsibilities of the Child Safe Leaders include:
• Acting as a source of support, advice and expertise to School Council, staff, students and parents
• Liaising with the principal and other school leaders to ensure a collaborative, transparent and unified approach to child safety
• Leading the development of the school’s child safe culture including being a child safe champion and providing coordination in communicating, implementing, monitoring, enhancing and reporting on strategies to embed a culture of child safety.

The Child Safe Standards apply to all organisations working with children.
The Standards require organisations to take actions in a range of areas, including:
• background and suitability checks of staff and volunteers
• codes of conduct for staff and volunteers
• training and supervision of staff and volunteers
• documented risk assessments for activities
• clear procedures for reporting and acting on any concerns or allegations
• commitment to listening to children and encouraging them to speak up if they don’t feel safe.