Sowing the SEADs of success for girls

Beyond academic success, Loreto College in SA emphasises producing happy, resilient women who are more than capable of taking on the hurdles that life will present once they leave.

The school set about doing this in a very deliberate, structured way through its award winning Social, Emotional and Academic Development (SEAD) Program which is taught specifically and embedded in how the school teaches and its overall atmosphere.

The SEAD program provides an evidence-based framework and related activities that acknowledge the developmental stages of girls and young women to provide a holistic approach and education of the knowledge and skills required for life success.

The program recognises that the development of a positive self-concept that is not defined by gender stereotypes and the development of self-efficacy, are vital for ensuring girls and women do well during school and after it.

“We are aware of the adage that ‘girls can’t be what they can’t see’ but we also acknowledge that ‘girls can’t be what they don’t believe’. Therefore, an understanding of self as leader and in particular self as confident and resilient are vital concepts addressed through the SEAD Program at Loreto College,” says Principal Dr Nicole Archard.

“The integration of social-emotional skill development in conjunction with academic learning outcomes ensures that all students develop holistically as resilient and confident girls and young women. Our SEAD Program delivers targeted and specific outcomes that address the needs of girls as they develop and grow, making it unique against other programs. As girls move from childhood, through adolescence, to become young women, their social, emotional and academic needs vary, both on a developmental level as well as in comparison to boys.”

Between ages 8 and 14, girls’ confidence levels drop by thirty percent and during this time girls are more likely than boys to describe themselves as stressed, anxious, shy, emotional, worried, depressed, and ugly, while boys are more likely to say they are confident, strong, adventurous, and fearless.

The SEAD Program provides a holistic framework for all areas of the College and while it is taught explicitly via two structured timetabled lessons each week it is also embedded in all curriculum and co-curricular areas. The program covers concepts such as identity and personal values, leadership and the development of voice, emotions, friendships, and relationships, as well as a focus on growth mindset, strategies for achieving academic success, and topics such as online engagement, post-school readiness, and future pathways.

The knowledge and skills taught in the SEAD Program is complemented by other specifically designed curriculum programs like the Year 6 Enterprise Garden and Year 9 Futures Project which provide skills in entrepreneurialism and further develop an understanding of environmental and social justice issues. In addition, the SEAD Program encompasses the Reception to Year 12 camps and outdoor education programs, which are designed to build girls’ confidence, resilience, and leadership capacity.

A key component of SEAD program is that it is designed for students, parents and teachers, it supports teachers and parents working in unison to achieve the best outcomes for girls.

“This is an important inclusion, as this approach can ensure that girls feel connected to their school, classroom, teachers, and peers. These factors, as researchers have identified, contribute to best practice as the ability for girls to practise their skills in a real-world context is supported and encouraged by teachers and parents. Students, parents, and teachers can access evidence-based resources on topics such as study skills, e-safety, drugs and alcohol, sleep hygiene, mindfulness, growth mindset, and friendships to assist them with their own education as well as support of children and students,” says Dr Archard.

In developing the program, an extensive evaluation of empirically based research was undertaken focussing on the social, emotional, and academic development of girls as they moved through their specific developmental   stages.

“Societal gender imbalances that we see represented in different professions and life outcomes (such as equal pay and leadership acquisition) are more likely to be influenced from school age if social and cultural influences that exist outside of school are then replicated within it. Our job as educators of girls is to ensure that our girls are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to overcome these challenges and thus to actively break these norms and achieve socially equitable life outcomes.

“Experts in the field highlighted that a framework aimed at developing girls’ social, emotional, and academic needs was a proactive measure to promote healthy social and emotional development. In addition, such a framework would assist schools to be preventative in the development of mental health difficulties, support school engagement and achievement, and improve students’ ability to function successfully in society,” Dr Archard says.

Many researchers have concluded that generic wellbeing programs do not cater for the unique developmental needs of girls and their needs are unique to gender and developmental phase. Subsequently, programs specific for girls that target particular skills in a school wide population are necessary rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

“Founded on the evidence of best practice by researchers in their fields, the SEAD Program is a bringing together of evidence and best practice that encapsulates the inextricably linked social, emotional, and academic dimensions of learning and builds upon other previously empirically based developed programs.

“A distinctive feature of the SEAD Program at Loreto is its all-inclusive approach, the program is not simply a siloed initiative or an ‘add-on’ program. The SEAD program is devised based upon the key skills found to be necessary in girls’ social, emotional and academic development and exists throughout all areas of the College.”

The data presented in the table were collected in relation to student wellbeing in December 2020 and May 2021. This evidence is used to track and monitor students and directly leads to the further development of SEAD programs, activities, and resources.

The ARACY Common Approach Survey measures the areas: Valued and Safe, Healthy, Material Basics, Learning, Participating, and Positive Sense of Identity and Culture. The results demonstrate that the wellbeing outcomes of students has increased in all areas over the period of data collection between 2020 and 2021. The results also demonstrate that students at Loreto College achieved higher wellbeing outcomes than students in other Australian schools.

The Student Pulse app from Educator Impact offers immediate feedback in relation to student wellbeing which was particularly important during 2020’s remote learning when student anxiety levels had increased because of COVID-19.

From July 2020 to December 2020 there were:

• 5646 student pulse check-ins from students in Years 4 to 12
• 7 per cent of these students reached out directly for help from a staff member
• 7 per cent of students sent an expression of gratitude to another student (96.7 per cent) or teacher (3.3 per cent)
• The most common form of gratitude sent was for kindness (37.6 per cent)
• 5 per cent of students checked-in at least once during this time.

Analysis of College Psychological Services
Research suggests that typical onset for anxiety disorders is middle childhood and depressive disorders is during adolescence (Rickwood, 2005). The two spikes in students accessing the Loreto Psychological Service were in Years 5 and 9 respectively.

In Australia, literature states 1 in 7 young people (aged 4 to 17) experience a significant mental health issue (Lawrence at al., 2005).

• On average, 1 in 10 students at Loreto College, Marryatville, are accessing the Psychological Service
• Anxiety is the most common issue by girls accessing the Psychological Service.

Overall Results
While the analysis, review and development of the SEAD Program is ongoing, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the program is meeting and improving the wellbeing needs of students across the College.

“If the student chooses that they need some help, they can then choose from three levels for assistance: the first being their Class/Mentor Teacher, secondly the Head of Junior School or Leader of Student Wellbeing and Academic Care, and thirdly either the Principal, Deputy Principal or College Psychologist.

“The staff member the student reaches out to for assistance will then be sent an email alert enabling them to touch base with the student and offer assistance. Students remain on an activity log until that staff member signs off that the issue has been resolved,” Dr Archard says.

Before ei Pulse, Loreto College conducted an annual survey to collect student wellbeing data. While this survey data provided important feedback on student wellbeing, it didn’t provide the critical, real-time insights the school required to transform their wellbeing program from reactive to proactive.

“This prompted us to seek a data collection solution to enable our vision of ‘zero invisible students’. Now, the ei Pulse platform empowers the Loreto’s SEAD Program with real- time data and deeper insights into their students' daily wellbeing.

“When we started our SEAD Program, we were looking at different ways of gathering data regarding students’ wellbeing. Because all of our programs are very evidence-driven, we needed to capture evidence to see if our programs were working, if our wellbeing strategies were working, and how those insights would inform future (wellbeing) programs.

“We have enrolled all students from Year 4 to Year 12 to begin checking in via the app from day one. SEAD teachers now hold a dedicated 10-minute time slot for students to check-in during their wellbeing classes. Students are encouraged to check-in via the app every week and are not limited to just one per week.

“We are already leveraging the data to evaluate and inform the structure of future wellbeing programs on a weekly basis. Teachers are empowered to act quickly if a student reaches out for assistance or flags that they are not having a good day,” Dr Archard says.