{"id":2895,"date":"2019-09-26T07:57:13","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T21:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/?post_type=article&p=2895"},"modified":"2019-09-26T09:37:26","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T23:37:26","slug":"2019-boarders-wellbeing-conference","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/article\/2019-boarders-wellbeing-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"2019 \u2018Boarder\u2019s Wellbeing Conference\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

This term, I was able to attend the 2019 \u2018Boarder\u2019s Wellbeing Conference\u2019 at Knox. One idea in particular, has continued to resonate with me. It was something which our very own Head of Counselling, Dr John Burns, quoted from Business Management visionary Peter Drucker: \u2018Culture eats strategy for breakfast, so don\u2019t leave it unattended.\u2019\u00a0 This is a confronting statement. Is it true that a community\u2019s cultural tone is more significant in leaving an impression than even the most idealistic or detailed strategies? What is the \u2018nutritional value\u2019 of our boarding culture at Shore? What possible role could an individual play in shifting something so intangible yet weighty? I am sure that I speak for all boarding staff when I say my priority is always the good of the students in my care, so I ask myself, are my \u2018Wellbeing strategies\u2019 actually impacting culture? In discussing this question with students, staff, parents and the psychology team I have condensed my thoughts into two truths:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Institutional change takes time, but does start small.<\/li>\n
  2. Making sure everyone feels known, valued and supported is key.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0\u2018Proactive Pastoral Care\u2019<\/strong>, the framework of wellbeing I use, is divided into 6 domains:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Staff are supportive<\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. Students feel contact and friendship between students of diverse cultures and backgrounds<\/strong><\/li>\n
    3. House connectedness<\/strong><\/li>\n
    4. Affirming diversity<\/strong><\/li>\n
    5. Rule clarity<\/strong><\/li>\n
    6. Reporting and seeking help<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      So, what might we do to address these domains?<\/p>\n

      I think developing our sense of respect is key, imbedding this concept into an inherently transitory community must come from all \u2018stakeholders\u2019, staff, students and parents. Each recognising they are intrinsically dependant on the other.<\/p>\n

      I have decided I am going to aim to do 3 things this term to play my part in fostering a culture of respect.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Speak to every student in my house about stories from their childhood (thinking about diversity of backgrounds and experience) by the end of the term, for at least 10 minutes each. Staff are supportive<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Pick some favourite quotes about respect with my tutor group, print them and put them on noticeboards to make tangible expectations of respect and spark thought and discussion. Rule\/expectation clarity<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Set challenges for students (a few students each week) to ask \u2018how are you going?\u2019 to a peer from another year group. Friendship between students<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        These ideas are by no means revolutionary. However, the more I learn about wellbeing, especially in boarding, the more I realise it is about everyday relational moments. So yes, culture may eat strategy for breakfast, but that is ok, in fact it is good. Because respectful, proactive pastoral care adds the \u2018essential vitamins and minerals\u2019 to the Shore boarding culture diet.<\/p>\n

        Rachel Pickering
        \nSchool House<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        This term, I was able to attend the 2019 \u2018Boarder\u2019s Wellbeing Conference\u2019 at Knox. One idea in particular, has continued to resonate with me. It was something which our very own Head of Counselling, Dr John Burns, quoted from Business Management visionary Peter Drucker: \u2018Culture eats strategy for breakfast, so don\u2019t leave it unattended.\u2019\u00a0 This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2896,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","article_category":[],"article_tag":[],"class_list":["post-2895","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_category?post=2895"},{"taxonomy":"article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/shore-boarding-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_tag?post=2895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}