Student wellbeing program
Student wellbeing is at the heart of life at Sacré Cœur, guiding each program, policy, and interaction. We take a whole school approach, nurturing every dimension of our students – intellectual, social, emotional, creative and spiritual growth – to create confident, compassionate young women.
Core programs like the Wellness Program (Prep to 6) and the Cor Unum Program (Years 7 to 12) are tailored to meet the unique needs of girls throughout their learning journey, addressing age-relevant issues and fostering essential life skills. The programs provide opportunities for our students to develop emotional intelligence, build respectful and meaningful relationships and appreciate the values of compassion, respect, inclusivity and responsibility.
Students are actively encouraged to express their views and share what matters to them. We advise them how to identify and report safety concerns and empower them to speak up if they feel unsafe. We listen carefully to concerns raised by students and parents, taking appropriate action to support wellbeing.
In this supportive environment, students thrive, experiencing a sense of belonging, purpose, and optimism that prepare them to excel academically and personally.
Restorative practices
At Sacré Cœur, we know that happy, secure students are ready to thrive. Building positive relationships is central to learning and living positive, fulfilling lives. From forming connections to resolving conflict, we empower our students with the tools they need to navigate challenges and create meaningful, hope-filled relationships.
Through Restorative Practices, we respond to conflict and challenging behaviours by fostering accountability, respect, and empathy. This approach helps students understand the impact of their actions, develop emotional intelligence, and grow into socially responsible individuals.
Rooted in Catholic teaching and Sacred Heart values, Restorative Practices promote dignity, forgiveness, and healing, creating a pathway to reconciliation and stronger relationships.
Let us look at each child with deep respect. She is made in the image of God and already it exists in her the capacity to choose all that is good if we take the time to awaken her reason and to help her to put into practice her capacity for reflection.
Madeleine Sophie Barat RSCJ
Sacré Cœur Founder
Healthcare
The health, safety, and wellbeing of all students is our top priority. If your child feels unwell or has a minor accident at school, our trained nurses in Sacré Cœur's onsite Health Centre provide immediate care and support, ensuring students feel safe and comfortable.
For more serious incidents or illnesses, parents are notified immediately, and appropriate steps are taken to ensure your child’s wellbeing, including professional medical care if required.
Sacré Cœur families also benefit from a 50% discount at Cabrini Emergency Department, available 24/7 and offering extra peace of mind for our students and their families.
Child Safety and Wellbeing Program
At Sacré Cœur, we hold the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility of our School. All students enrolled at Sacré Cœur have the right to feel safe and to be safe. The safety and wellbeing of children and young people in our care will always be our first priority and we do not and will not tolerate child abuse. We aim to create a child-safe and child-friendly environment where children and young people are free to enjoy life to the full without any concern for their safety. There is particular attention paid to the most vulnerable children. Please refer to the School’s Child Safety and Wellbeing Program which is detailed in the below policies and procedures as to how the School demonstrates and implements the Child Safety and Wellbeing Program at the School.
Child Safety Officer
The School’s Child Safety Officer leads the School’s Child Safety and Wellbeing Program by providing support, advice, training, monitoring, communicating and implementing of the Child Safe Standards (Ministerial Order No. 1359). The Child Safety Officer works in conjunction with the School Principal, the Leadership Team, the Board and the School’s Child Safeguarding Committee to embed a culture of child safety at the School.
Sacré Cœur promotes the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children.
Child safety policies
Sacré Cœur's Child Safety Policy reflects our commitment to the Victorian Child Safe Standards under Ministerial Order No. 870. The Child Safety Officer (Director of Risk and Compliance), in collaboration with the Principal, ensures a strong culture of child safety through leadership, training, and oversight. This role derives the planning, review and implementation of processes that keep Sacré Cœur a safe and supportive environment for all students.
Sacré Cœur commitment to child safety
(a) We commit to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people enrolled in our School.
(b) We commit to providing children and young people with positive and nurturing experiences.
(c) We commit to listening to children and young people and empowering them by taking their views seriously, and addressing any concerns that they raise with us.
(d) We commit to taking action to ensure that children and young people are protected from abuse or harm.
(e) We commit to teaching children and young people the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and maintain their personal safety and wellbeing.
(f) We commit to seeking input and feedback from students regarding the creation of a safe school environment.
(a) We commit to communicating honestly and openly with parents and carers about the wellbeing and safety of their children.
(b) We commit to engaging with, and listening to, the views of parents and carers about our child-safety practice, policies and procedures.
(c) We commit to transparency in our decision-making with parents and carers where it will not compromise the safety of children or young people.
(d) We commit to acknowledging the cultural diversity of students and families, and being sensitive to how this may impact on student safety issues.
(e) We commit to continuously reviewing and improving our systems to protect children from abuse.
(a) We commit to providing all Sacré Cœur staff with the necessary support to enable them to fulfil their roles. This will include regular and appropriate learning opportunities to clarify and confirm policy and procedures in relation to child safety and young people’s protection and wellbeing.
(b) We commit to providing regular opportunities to clarify and confirm policy and procedures in relation to child safety and young people’s protection and wellbeing. This will include annual training in the principles and intent of the Child Safety Policy and Child Safety Code of Conduct, and staff responsibilities to report concerns.
(c) We commit to listening to all concerns voiced by Sacré Cœur staff, clergy, volunteers, and contractors about keeping children and young people safe from harm.
(d) We commit to providing opportunities for Sacré Cœur staff, volunteers, contractors and clergy to receive formal debriefing and counselling arising from incidents of the abuse of a child or young person.
student Wellbeing
Student Wellbeing is central to the life of each Sacré Cœur student. As such, we have a whole school approach to Student Wellbeing, recognising that wellbeing entails all dimensions of a person: the intellectual, social, emotional, moral, physical and spiritual.
There are many aspects of Student Wellbeing and a variety of wellbeing affiliated programs. Two core programs through which we deliver the Pastoral Curriculum are the Wellness Program (P-6) and the Cor Unum Program (7-12). At each Year Level, the curriculum, which is based on standards of best practice and accredited wellbeing frameworks including Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships, is specifically developed to address pertinent issues facing girls at their particular age and stage of development.
Underpinning Student Wellbeing is our School’s Restorative Practices Approach, which places relationships at the centre of student behaviour. Restorative Practices enable students to develop their emotional intelligence, reflect upon and change behaviour and build relationships. Compassion, forgiveness, restoration, respect, inclusivity and responsibility are some of the keystone values which are fostered in our students through Restorative Practices.
Ultimately, at Sacré Cœur, student wellbeing means the pursuit of personal excellence within a supportive and nurturing learning environment. Such an environment affords all students experiences of connectedness, a sense of belonging, engagement and positive, respectful relationships with peers and teachers.
Self-worth, purpose, resilience, optimism and hope lie at the heart of Sacré Cœur’s Student Wellbeing philosophy.
Restorative Practices
At Sacré Cœur, we believe that positive relationships lie at the heart of learning and for children to be ready to learn, they must firstly feel happy and secure. How to get along with others, how to form positive and life-giving relationships and how to resolve conflict is part of what each person must learn in order to live rich, hope-filled and rewarding lives.
Sacré Cœur uses the approach known as Restorative Practices to respond to and manage conflict and challenging behaviours and to foster personal accountability and socially responsible relationships between people. Restorative Practices is based on the principles of affirmation, respect and reciprocal responsibility. It teaches positive social interaction and emotional literacy and helps students learn to understanding of how their behaviour impacts on others.
Restorative Practices sit within the context of both Catholic teaching and the goals of Sacred Heart education. At its core, Restorative Practices values the dignity and inherent goodness of each person and promotes forgiveness, healing and avenues of reconciliation and restoration.
Let us look at each child with deep respect. She is made in the image of God and already it exits in her the capacity to choose all that is good if we take the time to awaken her reason and to help her to put into practice her capacity for reflection.
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student Leadership and Voice
At Sacré Cœur, we actively encourage all students to openly express their views and feel comfortable about giving voice to the things that are important to them. All students are encouraged to undertake leadership roles throughout their time at Burke Rd. There are numerous leadership opportunities available, both formal and informal, including our Pink Ribbons, Blue Ribbons and specific leadership positions in both the Junior and Senior School. These roles provide our students with important opportunities to refine their leadership capabilities.
Furthermore, each student is afforded an opportunity to have their leadership qualities acknowledged and developed from the moment they become a child of the Sacred Heart and they are empowered to lead with integrity, empathy and in an effort to serve others.
Student voice is a fundamental part of our school community at Sacré Cœur. Our students are encouraged and expected to take up the critical responsibility of contributing to their own education through their feedback and ideas.
Specific to child safety, we teach students about what they can do if they feel unsafe and enable them to understand, identify, discuss and report on child safety. We listen to and act on any concerns students, or their parents or carers, raise with us.
Furthermore, at Sacré Cœur we prioritise child safety and work in partnership with our students to ensure that all students are included and accepted. To allow this to occur we:
- We commit to listening to children and young people and empowering them by taking their views seriously, and addressing any concerns that they raise with us. We commit to taking action to ensure that children and young people are protected from abuse or harm.
- We commit to teaching children and young people the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and maintain their personal safety and wellbeing.
- We commit to seeking input and feedback from students regarding the creation of a safe school environment.
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