Student Wellbeing
Student Wellbeing and Pastoral Care
Our school provides a safe, nurturing and happy environment in which students and staff alike demonstrate care, compassion, courtesy and respect for others.
Chaplaincy
Our chaplains provide pastoral care support to students, staff and school families. The Chaplaincy team actively coordinates and supports social and emotional well-being programs and provides opportunities for students, staff and the wider school community to engage in various faith development activities.
KAS Wellbeing Team
Our team of qualified wellbeing workers and professionals work in partnership with teachers, parents and carers to provide support and guidance to our students. We are committed to ensuring that every student feels safe, enjoys coming to school, and can achieve their best within an inclusive environment. Our staff work with students to build the confidence, capacity and skills to help students manage their emotions, deal with adversity and empower them to take care of their mental health and build positive relationships with their peers.
Pastoral Care
At Kempsey Adventist School (KAS), pastoral care is a whole-school commitment that underpins every aspect of student life. From Kindergarten through to Year 12, we are dedicated to nurturing the spiritual, emotional, social, and academic wellbeing of every student.
Our approach is consistent across all year levels, ensuring that every child feels known, valued, and supported throughout their entire school journey. Whether in primary or secondary, students benefit from a caring environment where strong relationships, mutual respect, and a sense of belonging are central.
Key elements of our pastoral care program include:
• Strong teacher-student relationships – Teachers take the time to know each student personally, providing daily support and recognising when additional care is needed.
• Chaplaincy support – Our chaplains play an active role across the school, offering spiritual guidance and emotional support to students of all ages.
• Faith-based experiences – Weekly chapel services, class devotions, and Bible Studies classes help students explore their faith, build character, and develop a strong moral foundation.
• Community-building activities – School camps, excursions, and special events foster connection, teamwork, and positive peer relationships.
• A culture of care – Across the school, students and staff are encouraged to show compassion, courtesy, and respect, creating a safe and inclusive environment for all.
Values Education in the Primary School (Bible-Based)
Our Bible-based Values Education program supports students’ character development by focusing on one core value each week throughout the school year. These values are taught through age-appropriate lessons, stories, and discussions that are grounded in Biblical principles. This consistent and intentional approach helps students develop a strong moral foundation, guiding their behaviour and interactions both within and beyond the school community.
Chapel Programs
Primary and secondary school chapel programs are organised by the school chaplain. These programs take place on a weekly basis and are designed to give students the opportunity to develop spiritually through involvement with worship music and hearing from a variety of inspirational speakers.
Week of Worship (WOW)
Each semester, KAS students are involved in a special week of spiritual focus which promotes spiritual growth in students. An inspiring guest speaker encourages students in their spiritual journey. This high energy week provides further opportunities for students to lead in worship through music, drama, public speaking and other creative, community building activities. Students are given opportunities to strengthen their relationship with Jesus. Many students choose to get involved in Bible study groups with the school chaplain at the conclusion of the WOW.
Bible Studies
Primary and secondary students (with parental permission) participate in Bible studies led by the Chaplaincy Team.
School Camps and Excursions
A chaplain is present on almost all school camps and excursions and plays an active role in supporting staff and students.
Student Management
The KAS Student Management Guidelines is built on the foundation of students taking responsibility for their own actions, in an environment where respect between all members of the school community is valued. Responsible thinking includes:
• Students being responsible for their own behaviour and learning.
• Teachers being responsible for teaching.
• Students being responsible for their choices.
• The teacher having a right to teach; the student having a right to learn.
The aim of the KAS Student Management Guidelines is to encourage the acceptance of its citizenship standards by each student, at the same time providing them with acceptance, encouragement, cooperation and correction. Effective student management is based on both kindness and firmness, and utilises the principles of consistency, clarity and fairness, with the ultimate focus being on self-discipline. The distinctiveness found at KAS is not the absence of problems, but rather the manner in which they are resolved. When a student shows, by conscious choices, little or no desire for these standards in his/her life, their ongoing enrolment at the school will be re-evaluated.
1 Thessalonians 5:11-15 contains much of the essence of the KAS Student Management Policy. It is a focus on the pro-active rather than the re-active. It is based on respect rather than power. It is a model of encouragement and redemption rather than criticism and punishment. It is a challenge to raise standards and elevate character.
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11-15
The KAS Student Management Guidelines is available here.
Policies & Reports
A wealth of helpful resources and useful links. Access to KAS’s annual reports, school policies and other important documents to stay updated with the school’s operations.
