With cost-of-living pressures bearing down on families, and schools reporting greater student distress, University of New England (UNE) educators are asking a crucial question: “Whose job is wellbeing?”
At a timely forum in Newcastle, members of UNE’s Social Work team gathered with representatives from the Department of Education, Catholic schools, the University of Newcastle, social workers, Student Support Officers (SSOs), university students, school counsellors and psychologists to explore current wellbeing needs in schools and how they can be met. They reflected on rising youth homelessness and poverty, and on the escalation in referrals for domestic violence and child protection.
“A perfect storm is brewing,” said Associate Professor Sarah Wayland, Discipline Lead Social Work at UNE. “The pandemic and recent economic stresses have accelerated distress among students. We need more conversations about what wellbeing means to students, what their needs are and how we might help reduce that distress, or it will snowball into much bigger issues.
We need more conversations about what wellbeing means to students, what their needs are and how we might help reduce that distress, or it will snowball into much bigger issues.
“Our forum was a chance to discuss the shared wellbeing responsibilities in school communities and to look at better ways to support students in this time of crisis.”
The wellbeing workforce in schools is evolving rapidly as some 460 SSOs are progressively deployed across NSW high schools. Each year UNE Social Work students graduate having completed our highly successful Social Workers in Schools (SWiS)* program, which provides diverse work placements in traditionally non-social worker roles, such as within schools.
Photo by Katerina Holmes.
UNE’s SWiS project manager Carrie Maclure said many schools are reporting increases in student anxiety and calling for programs that develop social and emotional skills. “Since 2015 we have placed 139 SWiS students in NSW schools and the demand for wellbeing support is escalating. Put simply, we have more schools needing support than we have social work students. This demonstrates the increasing need for wellbeing support, particularly in primary schools,” she said.
As schools grapple with the mounting need, UNE is leading the push for a more coordinated and collaborative wellbeing focus in primary and high schools. UNE wants to see social work clinical placements embedded in primary schools and even early childhood settings. The forum provided the chance to explore how the role of the social worker in an educational institution, and the broader role of SSOs, could be better defined.
“Our research shows that it’s not always about early intervention but intervening early in distress,” said Assoc. Prof. Wayland. “Schools can play that role because they see kids just as their distress is starting to escalate. Wellbeing conversations are a great way to de-escalate distress.
“Online learning during COVID lockdowns took us into family homes for the first time and we are forever changed by that. There’s growing recognition that wellbeing is not just about what happens inside the school gates, and that means parents, allied health professionals, teachers and support staff share wellbeing responsibilities. If we continue to say it’s somebody else’s job, then we miss opportunities to help.
If we continue to say it’s somebody else’s job, then we miss opportunities to help.
“Having SSOs or social workers in primary schools, just like in high schools, would raise awareness of community needs to support students as they transition to high school. Those attending our forum also highlighted the importance of adequately supporting the wellbeing workforce to do this important work.”
The forum heard from two UNE SWiS students and two University of Newcastle social work students, as well as UNE Indigenous Knowledges Lecturer Brittany Abraham, who spoke about how to engage Indigenous students in a culturally safe way.
UNE is now looking at ways to improve graduate pathways for its SWiS students, enable school students to contribute to the development of wellbeing programs, create an online wellbeing community and provide short courses for educators.
Next month, the university will host a visiting German academic who is a leader in the social workers in schools space. “We are not only learning from our experience of supporting students to work in the provision of support in schools and collaborating with stakeholders, but also from our international colleagues,” Carrie said.
*SWiS students complete 500-hour clinical placements in schools, community colleges and flexible learning centres, many of them in rural, regional or remote areas, to support staff and student wellbeing.
