Our statement of commitment: “A mentally healthy learning community”
Dandenong Community Family Day Care is committed to improving the mental health and wellbeing of the children, young people, families and staff within our learning community. We are committed to ensuring every member of our learning community feels a sense of belonging and connectedness. We acknowledge that children and young people often experience varying states of mental health and have differing past and current experiences. We are committed to reducing stigma and discrimination about mental health and promote inclusion, healthy relationships and resilience. Through modelling positive behaviours and practices, the leadership team is committed to championing and promoting mental health knowledge in our practices, policies, planning and decision-making.
We will empower our children and young people to express their feelings, support one another and seek help We will respond mindfully and within its professional boundaries, considering appropriate referrals for care to support children and young people with mental health needs. We promote the importance of self-care to all community members and support people experiencing issues by encouraging them to talk openly and seek help. We are committed to continuous and sustainable improvement, which we will demonstrate through planning, action and review of our progress. We acknowledge this is a collective responsibility and are committed to building the capacity of all staff to support our children and young people to achieve their best possible mental health.
Our commitment is based on:
- understanding protective and risk factors
- that affect mental health within our
- learning community, which are diverse across developmental stages and population groups
- creating and maintaining authentic partnerships with families and community services so we can all work together to support the children and young people in our learning community
- using appropriate learning strategies that support wellbeing and resilience
- ensuring everyone in our learning community has the knowledge, experience and structures in place to support those experiencing mental health issues
- always maintaining a focus on positive mental health, even during difficult times.
