St Joseph's School
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At St Joseph's School, we follow appropriate 
wellbeing guidance when responding to student wellbeing concerns.
Our response to student wellbeing concerns aligns with our Child Protection framework. We aim to ensure the safety of our students and focus on the prevention of abuse and neglect, but we also recognise our responsibility to identify and respond to wellbeing concerns. We acknowledge that responding to wellbeing concerns at an early stage can improve health outcomes for our students.
Wellbeing concerns
We recognise that difficult emotions/feelings and stressful life events can increase vulnerability and have a negative impact on wellbeing. Students may disclose a wellbeing issue to staff, or staff may observe indicators that prompt further investigation into student wellbeing. Staff are aware not every student will show signs of struggling, or ask for help if they need support.
Staff responding to student wellbeing concerns are guided by privacy and confidentiality.
Low-risk concerns
Low-risk concerns are wellbeing issues that do not pose immediate harm/danger to a student but still impact their wellbeing and require attention and support. We aim to address concerns as efficiently as possible in order to improve outcomes for our students. We recognise that responding to wellbeing concerns at an early stage can reduce the level of intervention that may be required if the concern becomes more severe.
Staff share low-risk concerns about student wellbeing with the designated child protection person. At St Joseph's School, this person is the principal. The designated child protection person discusses concerns with relevant staff and/or external agencies as appropriate.
For general low-risk wellbeing concerns, the school ensures that students receive appropriate support. This may include counselling, mentoring, or learning support at school, or making an external referral to health and social services (e.g. family/whānau support agency, social workers) if needed. Our support process is targeted to meet individual student needs. We work with the student and others, as appropriate, to create a student support plan to guide our response.
We inform parents/caregivers about student wellbeing concerns in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Information may be shared with other staff members and external agencies to support the best interests of students, in compliance with our Sharing Student Personal Information with External Agencies procedures.
We continue to monitor the wellbeing of our students and work collaboratively with students, families, and support services (as appropriate) to provide ongoing support.
High-risk concerns and situations
A high-risk concern or situation is when there appears to be or is an immediate threat of harm/danger to a student or others. When a high-risk concern arises, we respond as quickly and effectively as possible.
Staff share high-risk concerns about student wellbeing with the designated child protection person, who discusses any concerns and intended actions with relevant staff as appropriate. The school may arrange an intervention as necessary to support the student. If there are any concerns about possible abuse or neglect, we follow the procedures in Abuse Recognition and Reporting.
We aim to prevent emotional distress for our students through our whole-school approach to wellbeing. However, we recognise that different students have different needs and stress triggers, and that students may become significantly distressed at school. Student distress signals, behaviours, and ways to self-regulate may differ, and if students become distressed at school, we respond with de-escalation techniques.
If de-escalation techniques are not working and we are concerned about the wellbeing of the student, we may phone our local crisis assessment team, the police, and/or medical services for support and advice. In crisis situations when someone is at risk of imminent harm, physical restraint may be used by teachers and authorised staff members as a last resort.
For further information about how we respond to specific situations, see the following policies.
Depending on the circumstances, we may notify parents/caregivers and activate our crisis management plan, which may include informing and supporting our school community.
Students who are regularly distressed or have high needs may need support plans for preventing distress and de-escalating crisis situations at school. If so, we work with the student, parents/caregivers, and any relevant health professionals to plan and provide this support. Also see Learning Support and Health Support.
Recording wellbeing concerns
We record information about student wellbeing concerns in our school management system. This includes documenting concerns, conversations, incidents, contact with parents/caregivers or external agencies, advice received, actions taken (including rationale), and any follow-up, support, or monitoring plans.
If a wellbeing incident results in an accident, injury, or illness, we follow appropriate recording and reporting processes. See Recording and Reporting Accidents, Injuries, and Illness.
Recording of concerns complies with our Privacy Policy and School Records Retention and Disposal procedures.
Support for staff
If dealing with student wellbeing concerns adversely affects staff, they may seek support through senior management and an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) if available. Staff may also seek support through other external agencies as needed.
(a phone and chatline for 5–19 year olds to talk about the challenges in their everyday lives) 
