wellbeing@school resources launches in Adelaide

21 February 2013

Today, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Member for Kingston, Amanda Rishworth are launching our Wellbeing@School resources. How awesome is that!

Why? Well prior to working with Inspire I was a Health and Physical Education Teacher. I worked with many passionate teachers and valued my time as educator and mentor to many students.

And it was during my time teaching that I came to realise the vital role teachers have in supporting young people to cope with growing up and developing the life skills they need to navigate life's ups and downs.

Almost 70% of ReachOut.com users (from our recent user survey) were 14 – 18 years old. That might not come as much of a surprise to you, but it might shock you to learn that a large percentage of these young people showed high to very high levels of psychological distress.

We know that 7 out of every 10 young people who have a diagnosable mental health issue do not ask for help. Whether it’s that they don’t understand what it is they are going through, or that it can’t change, or they feel there is nowhere to turn

And that’s where I see our wellbeing@school resources having the biggest impact. The ReachOut Teachers Network have developed and published a range of practical resources to support the teaching of mental health, wellbeing and resilience in schools. These resources are mapped to the Australian Curriculum, General Capabilities and are offered at no cost to schools.

At a recent webinar one of the participants told us: “This is a fantastic resource. The more schools that utilise these resources, the greater potential to reduce mental illness and the impact mood disorders have on young people. It will benefit all who access it.”

Embedding mental health into the Australian Curriculum in addition to it being a core focus of pastoral care programs is key in reducing the severity of mental health issues and increasing resilience and wellbeing.

Our wellbeing@school resources will not only help all young people to feel happy, safe and supported in schools but will ensure all teachers at every Australian High School know about ReachOut.com and use it to help their students.

To donate to our School Appeal which will help us distribute the resources to every Australian High School please click here.

Sarah Jackson is Senior Manager-Schools and runs ReachOut Teachers Network, an initiative of the Inspire Foundation.

ReachOut Teachers Network provides teachers and school support staff with free access to teaching resources and practical lesson ideas on youth mental health and wellbeing. The ReachOut Teachers Network has professional development modules that you can view any time, any place.