Pastoral Care

St Joseph’s Regional College is a family community built on a foundation of Catholic beliefs and practices, where students and teachers work together so that all can achieve their full potential. The pastoral care policy has to be in congruence with the following values:

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  • The acceptance and promotion of Gospel values
  • Provision of a caring and supportive environment
  • Commitment to the total well-being of the individual
  • A College environment built on respect and dignity for all
  • A strong sense of community and friendship
  • The care and support given to one another
  • Charity and thoughtfulness
  • The gift of fun and humour in fostering good working relationships

Pastorally caring for all members of the College community is one of the unique features of St Joseph’s Regional College. In addition to this, each student is a member of a Pastoral Care group, which meets at the beginning of each day with the pastoral Care teacher. This time allows students the opportunity to build family-like relationships with members of their Pastoral Care group, made up of students across the year groups, and with their Pastoral Care teacher.

What Happens in Pastoral Care

The Pastoral Care (PC) teacher is a facilitator, a leader, and a coach! The teachers are the first point of contact for discipline and the pastoral needs of the students in PC. The teacher needs to provide a structure for the activities in the room and to guide the development of the group. PC is an everyday activity – the day begins in PC, and so it is an integral part of our holistic program. PC is a time for prayer, reflection, and growth as an individual and as a group of people who share their journey in secondary education. Pastoral Care teachers play a vital role in the life of the College, both pastorally and administratively.  They are generally the first point of contact for students in their PC groups and their parents.  

Daily Requirements

  • saying a daily prayer with the students
  • keeping the roll, signing notes, checking on absences
  • checking uniform, shoes, desks/cupboards
  • communicating administrative notices
  • collecting absence notes
  • signing diaries every week
  • signing and dating explanation notes when students are out of uniform
  • giving messages/reminders about things happening during the day or later in the week
  • supervise the cleaning of the classrooms and other specific areas outside the room

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Peer Support

As part of the ongoing Pastoral Care at St Joseph’s Regional College, each year, our Year 10 students deliver a Peer Support program to younger peers. The vertical Pastoral Care (PC) structure of the College means that our Year 10 students act as leaders throughout the year. They are a valuable asset to their Pastoral Care teachers and are exposed to valuable leadership opportunities.

Peer Support has evolved over the last few years and is moving toward a program that is written and developed by students who then deliver the lessons. They are trained as a year group at the end of Year 9 and then invited to work in smaller groups to evaluate and develop the content throughout Year 10. The program hopes to establish and strengthen positive relationships in PC groups. It also aims to build empathy and develop communication skills as students are encouraged to express themselves to other members of their PC family. This connectedness and community building, as well as personal skills, are valuable tools to reduce bullying and promote positive mental health outcomes for students.

Restorative Practice

At St Joseph's Regional College, Pastoral Care, discipline and welfare are based on a Restorative Practice approach. Restorative practices endeavour to build positive, caring relationships for all. These practices provide members of the College community:

  • A consistent way to handle conflict and student behaviour.
  • A reflective tool to use in evaluating their own practice.
  • A platform for the development of a collegial and united staff.
  • A way of being consistently fair in decision-making.
  • A method for communicating with parents that they can resonate with and understand.
  • Profound builder of culture and community.

Restorative Practices uses a consistent approach which includes common non-blame questions:

  • What happened?
  • What were you thinking of at the time?
  • What have you thought about since?
  • Who has been affected by what you have done?
  • In what way have they been affected?
  • What do you think you need to do to make things right?
  • What did you think when you realised what had happened?
  • What impact has this incident had on you and others?
  • What has been the hardest thing for you?
  • What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

Develop Restorative Practices to Enhance Relationships through a RESTORATIVE PRACTICE approach to Pastoral Care and Student Management to improve learning outcomes and Relationships - Adam Voigt - Real Schools Founder.

The link below is a PowerPoint presentation for parents, teachers, and all school staff on building stronger, positive relationships with young people.

REAL SCHOOLS- Parent Information Session

We acknowledge the Birpai People of the Bundjalung Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which our school resides. We pay our respects to the elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions and the culture of the Birpai Nation.