At DePS, we are dedicated to the emotional, physical and social well-being of every student and staff member. Our aim is for every student to live healthy, productive and responsible lives. The wellbeing of everyone in our school community is a priority. This is why we have adopted “a culture of wellbeing” at Deira Private School.
We aim to empower our students and staff to understand and engage in their own wellbeing. We know that school, like life, can be stressful at times but with a few simple strategies to manage our wellbeing we can build the resilience that will allow us to thrive under pressure.
Class teachers in primary spend time listening, understanding and helping students with any concerns they might have. They help students to build their own personal network of support. Our pastoral programmes are designed to meet the needs of individual students and specific groups of students.
This is supported through a range of initiatives throughout the year, such as Wellbeing Week, workshops for students and parents, assemblies and activities with the class teacher. We also have a buddy programme and peer listener programme where students receive training on how to become active listeners and mentor their younger peers. This is helpful, because we understand that sometimes students would prefer to talk to their peers, rather than a teacher.
There is always somebody listening. Whether this is the primary class teacher or School Counsellor. Students may be referred to the School Counsellor by a teacher, or they may approach her themselves if they want to reach out to somebody for a little support.
At DePS, we work hard to form strong relationships and bonds of trust between all students and staff. We also use a range of internal and external surveys that allow us to carefully track and monitor levels of wellbeing across the school. Pastoral teams meet regularly to discuss this information and, if necessary, we adapt our pastoral programmes to meet the needs of our students. This way we are always keeping our finger on the pulse of wellbeing.