Thirty one schools from across WA were recognised for improving the health and wellbeing of their community at an awards ceremony held at Rendezvous Hotel on Tuesday 27 November.
Each school is undertaking Changing Health Acting Together (CHAT), a whole-school initiative developed by SDERA.
CHAT builds resilience in students, parents, staff and the community by integrating road safety and alcohol and other drugs education into classroom learning and school practices.
SDERA’s CHAT Coordinator, Mick Jackson-Pierce, explained how CHAT is making a difference to the health and wellbeing of young people and the wider community.
“Road safety and alcohol and other drugs education is fundamental to building resilience in children and young people,” he said.
“The benefits of CHAT extend far beyond the classroom. CHAT helps children and young people make safer choices and this has a positive impact on families and the wider community.”
Gingin District High School was one of nine schools awarded GOLD status. In 2011 Gingin District High School embarked on a journey with School Drug Education and Road Aware (SDERA). During this time with support from SDERA the school has: addressed road safety, resilience and drug education in the classroom – developing a scope and sequence to ensure ongoing classroom education; audited and implemented road safety processes and guidelines around the school environment; developed a school drug education plan inclusive of incident management and intervention support processes; and provided professional development for school staff.
Rose Power (SDERA Regional Consultant) said, “Gingin District High School has worked extremely hard to ensure the students’ health and well-being is a priority for all staff. This award recognises the hard work of all the staff to ensure student wellbeing is top of the priority list!”
