At Robertson State School the Social Worker – Student Wellbeing will work holistically with families to minimise the impacts of personal, familial and school difficulties and, where possible, remove the barriers to learning. They will work collaboratively with the school support team including administration, teachers, the Guidance Officer and the Chaplain.
The school Social Worker has specialist knowledge in relation to working with children, young people and families, and is able to provide the following services within the school environment:
- Provide support and education to parents/carers/families.
- Provide brief interventions to overcome specific issues affecting students and their families.
- Explore all aspects of student and family life – school, accommodation, family relationships, mental wellbeing, social connections, grief and loss, substance use, legal issues; and how these impact on a person's overall quality of life.
- Assist teachers and administrators with behavioural and attitude issues by communicating with students and families to find the causes of their distress.
- Provide referrals to external support services when necessary to help families with economic, emotional, or physical issues.
- Support parents/carers to engage other services in the community.
- Identify barriers in a student's living situation that affect their adjustment in school and help identify and alleviate family stress through conducting home visits and referrals to community support services.
- Essentially, the school Social Worker is the bridge between school and home. Any social work services are consent based.
Referrals to the Social Worker can be made via the Student Support Services team.