Pastoral Care

The aim of this service is to offer pastoral support to students, staff and the school community. It is available to the school community on a voluntary basis.

As Gawler Primary School's Christian Pastoral Care Worker (PCW), Kimberley Winter has three main roles.

i) A Pastoral Role involving:

• participating in a wide range of school community activities and supporting staff, to contribute to the creation of a caring and inclusive learning environment within the school.
• on request, providing initial support or information to students, staff and other school community members.
• with written, informed parental consent, the provision of on-going personal assistance to individual students, subject to duty of care, consent, confidentiality and disclosure requirements and the Code of Conduct.
• offering support or information with regard to critical situations, grief and/or family breakdown.
• being available to provide ongoing support to individuals and/or families.
• providing additional opportunities for families to feel supported.

ii) A Referral Role to:

• provide factual and impartial information about, network with and be a link to, the support and services provided through community groups, including church groups, local council and government agencies.
• consult and liaise with student counsellors and other staff about student safety, wellbeing or learning while maintaining appropriate confidentiality, and referring students to other staff as required.
• be a mandated notifier, and as such be required to report any suspected abuse or neglect to the South Australian Department for Child Protection.

iii) A Resource Role to:

• provide a reference point for addressing social, religious or spiritual issues.
• provide access to resources from the broader community which are relevant to school programs.
• be available to give input into health and social education courses, e.g. in the areas of grief, self esteem, values or relationships.
• be available to give assistance with camps and excursions and where appropriate, initiate activities such as voluntary clubs or groups in the school.
• support groups such as the Student Representative Council and the Peer Support Program.
• if required, assist the Principal to liaise with the local church community and the school for the provision of optional Religious Education Seminars in school time.

This is a Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) program funded through the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program. The School Governing Council made the decision to apply for the funding.

The PCW is line-managed by a school leader and complements, enhances and collaborates with the school wellbeing team, counsellors and other school support staff. Students are able to access the service through Student Services. Learn more about Kimberley Winter by clicking here.

In general circumstances, our PCW is free to engage with members of the school community. However in every case where, as part of their role, the PCW is asked to work in an ongoing way with an individual or group of students, informed, written parental/caregiver consent must first be obtained. 

Parents may request of the School Principal that their child(ren) be excluded from accessing this service. Parents wishing to lodge a formal complaint should contact the Principal to initiate a Grievance Procedure.