This term St Monica’s will be asking the children in Year 3 to 6 to take part in the Six-Star Wellbeing Survey to review the general well-being of our student community.  This is a new survey, we have elected to trial, as it is designed to provide an overall picture of our student population, sub-groups and individual students in six areas of general wellbeing. The six categories that define the Six-Star Student Wellbeing Survey are: mood; resilience; school engagement; communication; relaxation; and positivity.

We know that students with high levels of wellbeing may be more motivated and display greater levels of engagement and academic achievement, compared to students with low wellbeing. Higher wellbeing may also be associated with fewer mental, emotional, and behavioural concerns.

As the Six-Star Student Wellbeing Survey is not a clinical or diagnostic survey Mr Donnelly will be responsible for administering the 10-minute online survey to the students as part of our student voice initiative.

All sub-categories relate to student feelings from the past four weeks:

Mood

The sub-category relates to worry, mood fluctuations and happiness. Assessing mood allows for the identification of students that require further targeted testing from an appropriately qualified professional or a specific clinical survey. Such information also allows for specific staff within schools to play a critical role in preventative mental health programs with students or determine which students may be appropriate for external or internal referral for review or additional/specialist support.

Resilience

Resilience represents successful adaptation in the face of challenges. This sub-category measures an individual’s capacity to value effort, stay determined, and bounce back from challenges. Resilience is both a positive wellbeing construct, as well as an important target for identifying students with concerns. Research indicates that the resilience of students can be developed, and schools can play a critical role in this. 

Engagement

School engagement is beneficial for learning as well as personal development. The engagement sub-category provides information about effort, feeling safe at school, and feeling comfortable with peers and teachers. Engagement can also be related to motivation and may be linked with school retention and performance.

Communication

Communication is critical for students to be able to function in a school environment. This sub-category encompasses questions related to listening, speaking with others, and asking for help. Effective communication is often associated with healthy relationships and is also an area that can be developed through programs conducted either with individuals or groups in schools.

Relaxation

This sub-category is an inverse reflection of frustration and anger. The capacity for children and adolescents to be able to relax, both physically and emotionally has been recognised as an important skill. Relaxation has been shown to be able to be developed as a skill with intervention. The sub-category specifically identifies tension, managing frustration and a capacity to relax or calm down.

Positivity

This sub-category reflects confidence, optimism and positivity. It also identifies how well students know their strengths. There is growing evidence that being positive through a range of strategies, is a skill that assists individuals to flourish and high positivity has been linked to health and wellbeing. It is also an area that can impact on the culture of a group or broader school environment.

DATA COLLECTION & CONFIDENTIALITY

Students completing the survey will not be required to provide date of birth, address or contact details. All Six-Star student survey data is stored securely and remotely on a dedicated server within Australia in accordance with Elite Performance Pty Ltd’s (trading as Six-Star Wellbeing) Privacy Policy. Reports do not include individual responses from items linked to any individuals completing the survey and only a summary of responses from survey items is provided in the report.

Any parent who has concerns or does not wish their children to participate in the survey should email carmel.maguire@cg.catholic.edu.au by Friday 23 October.