December News
Issue 10:KidsMatter eNewsletter… December, 2008
Editorial
Evaluation update
KidsMatter news
KidsMatter in 2009
World Mental Health Day
KidsMatter at AARE
Thanks and farewell…
Networking at KidsMatter Cluster Days
A positive school community
Social and emotional learning
Parenting education and support
Early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties
A positive school community
Social and emotional learning
Parenting education and support
Early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties
Social and emotional learning
Parenting education and support
Early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties
| Editorial |
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2008 – The year that was…
As the year draws to a close, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved during 2008, the final year of the KidsMatter pilot project.
A particular highlight of this year has been the opportunity for Round One and Two schools to meet together, either as states or as clusters, to share their learning and successful implementation strategies. By continuing these meetings in the coming year pilot schools will be supported to sustain and advocate for KidsMatter.
As the initial KidsMatter pilot draws to a close we want to acknowledge the outstanding work of pilot schools in:
- participating in professional learning,
- implementing component plans,
- providing detailed feedback to project officers, and
- engaging with all forms of evaluation.
The commitment of all staff to the pilot project has been pivotal to the success of the trial and we look forward to receiving the final Evaluation Report from the Flinders University team in June 2009.
From all of us here at KidsMatter, we wish you a restful and relaxing holiday so that you can return, refreshed and ready, for the New Year!
Kaye Johnson
KidsMatter National Coordinator
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Evaluation Update
Teachers and parents from KidsMatter schools are now in the process of completing their fourth and final set of questionnaires. Getting the views of parents and teachers at multiple points has been critical to the evaluation strategy as it has allowed the evaluators to track the progress of KidsMatter in schools over the two years. School leaders are currently completing a questionnaire that asks for their overall impressions of the KidsMatter Initiative. The evaluation team sincerely thanks those parents, teachers and school leaders that have given up their time to complete questionnaires.
The in-depth evaluation of KidsMatter is now in its final stages. The evaluation team from Flinders University would like to thank the support they have received from the school communities (in particular the school leadership teams) from St. Joseph’s in Schofield (NSW); East Torrens (SA); Richmond Primary (TAS); Settlers Primary (WA); Brooke Avenue (NSW); Woodville Primary (SA); Waverley Primary (TAS); Nulsen Primary (WA); Living Waters (NT); and Sacred Heart (VIC).
The team will be working intensively over first half of 2009 to analyse the data and draft the formal evaluation report. They will also prepare a report to send to schools that participated in the KidsMatter trial. It is anticipated that these reports will become available sometime in the second half of 2009.
For those wishing to know more about the KidsMatter evaluation (including details on data collection timelines and the case-study project) please visit the KidsMatter evaluation website established by Flinders University (http://caef.flinders.edu.au/kidsmatter/)
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KidsMatter News!
The Component 3 resources are here!
KidsMatter schools have received their bright blue resource packs full of information on providing education and support to parents. Schools who are working through Component Three, Parenting support and education, are targeting building effective-parent teacher relationships, providing quality information on parenting and to providing opportunities for families to develop support networks.
Through their regular contact with families, schools provide an ideal access point for families to receive information about parenting, child development and children’s mental health. The Component Three Resource packs were developed to provide schools with a resource bank of high quality information about these topics, and were designed in a format so that schools could easily disseminate this information to parents and carers. By linking parents and carers with appropriate parenting information and education, schools can greatly assist parents in their child rearing and parenting skills, which will in turn enhance the mental health of their children.
The Component Three resources include a set of 6 resource packs which contain information, practical tips and resource lists on a range of topics such as children’s social, emotional and cognitive development, using effective discipline, family relationships and understanding the risk and protective factors for children’s mental health.
These resources are also available for download at the KidsMatter website, see www.kidsmatter.edu.au/resources
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KidsMatter in 2009
KidsMatter Implementation
During 2009, KidsMatter will be seeking to collaborate with key sectors in each State and Territory to jointly develop ways of supporting full KidsMatter implementation in many more schools. This will be a staged process. It is anticipated that this collaborative approach will begin in a few areas in each State and Territory during 2009 with a view to subsequent inclusion of more areas over time. At the same time, KidsMatter will provide all schools with access to resources to enhance their capacity to address student mental health and wellbeing via the new KidsMatter website.
For more information about KidsMatter in 2009 see: http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/kidsmatter-overview/kidsmatter-in-2009/
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World Mental Health Day
World Mental Health Day, held annually on October 10th, is an initiative run by the World Federation of Mental Health which has the aim of raising awareness so that mental health becomes a global health priority. World Mental Health Day also aims to help the world see mental health and mental health disorders in a more positive light.
Some schools chose to celebrate World Mental Health Day with education and activities about mental health. Read the school stories below and keep an eye out for Upper Mount Gravatt State School’s ‘Stress Less Day’ and Bexley Public School’s ‘Blue Awareness Day’.
For more information on World Mental Health Day see http://www.wfmh.org
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KidsMatter at AARE
KidsMatter was well represented at the annual Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) conference, held recently in Brisbane from the 30th November to the 4th of December. The KidsMatter symposium was designed to introduce the KidsMatter initiative in terms of its rationale, approach and implementation. Our large cast of presenters included Brenda Dobia (National Resources Coordinator based at the APS), Belinda Roberts (Project Officer based at the APS), Carol Buchanan (Principal from The Willows Primary School), Kaye Johnson (National Coordinator at PA), Michael Hardie (State Project Officer, Queensland), Lee Heydon and Cathie Lawson (Labrador State School), as well as Helen Askell-Williams from the evaluation team at Flinders University.
Read the abstracts for our KidsMatter symposium here.
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Thank you and farewell…
We would like to take this opportunity to also thank Alex Peterson, KidsMatter Project Officer for New South Wales.
Alex has made a significant contribution to the KidsMatter pilot project (2006-2008) at both state and national levels. School staff members responded positively to Alex’s respectful engagement with them as she shared her dedication to promoting mental health in primary schools. Members of the KidsMatter partnership and her colleague project officers have enjoyed learning with, and being challenged by, Alex.
We wish Alex and Mick health much happiness as they welcome their first child in early February.
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Networking at the KidsMatter Cluster Days
WA
Cate Engelbrecht, KidsMatter Project Officer of WA, has held three Cluster days with WA KidsMatter schools throughout the year, each with a different focus. The Cluster day held in April gave schools the opportunities to network and share information, ideas, and strategies around all four KidsMatter Components. Representatives from School Action Teams presented the difficulties they had faced, and other schools offered reflections and suggestions to overcome these challenges.
In August, the focus was on Component Three – Parenting support and education. Schools discussed approaches on how to engage parents and carers more effectively. Key points raised for the day included the importance of providing a range of different levels for parents and carers to engage with the school, and involving parents and carers as key stakeholders of KidsMatter in schools as families often stay part of school communities for longer periods of time than staff. Cate also spoke about the importance of ensuring that resources for parents and carers include information about children’s health and development and parenting in addition to information about mental health and illness.
The theme of November’s Cluster Day was Component Four – Early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties. Schools shared a great deal of information regarding services and referral pathways. Discussion also centred on early intervention processes in schools and ways that these processes could operate more smoothly. As a group, schools workshopped strategies on how to approach and engage parents and carers who they have not yet established working relationships with, when it is suspected that their child may have a mental health difficulty which may require further assessment.
QLD
Michael Hardie, KidsMatter Project Officer for Queensland certainly has been busy! Due to the vast geographical size of the State, Michael has held three different KidsMatter Schools Gatherings in the past three months. The focus of the Gatherings was to come up with ways to keep KidsMatter sustained in schools. Each school was given the opportunity to talk about KidsMatter at their school including sharing the things that worked, the things they had learnt from, and what they thought it would take to keep KidsMatter going in the next year.
Schools raised the challenges they had faced and as a group came up with solutions that would enable KidsMatter to continue progressing in these schools.
Towards the end of the day, schools reflected on the path they had travelled in implementing KidsMatter:
Upper Mount Gravatt State School, QLD: “The four components have given us new lenses to look at what we do. It has helped us un-clutter and prioritise”.
Redlynch State College, QLD: “It took time but as an Action Team we have been able to demonstrate to the staff that we are already have strategies in place to target student’s wellbeing and mental health and that KidsMatter is just giving us a framework to help us identify what we already do, what we could do better, and what we need, or want to do in the future. Staff at our school have now taken an ownership perspective rather than seeing KidsMatter as an imposition, and with the change in attitude we have seen many meaningful, and often challenging, discussions regarding how to best serve our students at Redlynch.”
NSW
On 31st October, the KidsMatter schools of NSW met with their Project Officer Alexandra Petersen and National Coordinator Kaye Johnson in the beautiful surrounds of Lachlan’s Old Government House at Parramatta Park. Schools overcame the hot blustery weather to celebrate, explore and inspire each other in sharing their achievements and plans for KidsMatter in their schools.
The main topics explored during the day included ways to celebrate diverse cultures, ideas on how to link in with parents and carers, and strategies on how to get all staff on board to ensure a whole-school approach. Schools renewed their commitment to KidsMatter for 2009 in letters written to themselves, to be posted back to each school by Alex at the end of the school term. Participants walked away from the day brimming with new ideas, future plans and sense of affirmation for the work they had been involved in thus far.
Alex would like to congratulate the schools she has worked with during her time with KidsMatter and expresses her excitement about the endless possibilities the future holds for these KidsMatter schools in regard to improving student’s mental health and wellbeing in these schools.
| A positive school community |
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Let’s focus on the positive! Upper Mount Gravatt State School in QLD has been focusing on the positive and has converted a former ‘Detention Room’ into a ‘Community Room’. The new Community Room was launched as part of the School’s ‘Stress Less Day’ which was held on October the 8th to coincide with World Mental Health Week. The day involved a school breakfast, a visit from the Channel 7 helicopter and a range of activities including massages for teachers and helium balloons featuring the key messages from ‘You Can Do It’.
Being positive is an important part of accepting people for who they are. When children, families, teachers and members of the community feel as though they hold an important role in their school, they feel a sense of belonging to their school community. A positive school community values its members and welcomes parents, carers, and extended family, and community groups into the school on a regular basis.
There are endless ways to achieve a positive school community. Here are just some of the many other creative ideas that Round 2 schools in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia have been putting into practice…
While working through Component one, Upper Mount Gravatt State School had a ‘light bulb’ moment: “We don’t need to have one huge school fete, which causes a lot of stress for many people; instead we are opting for more events, with more variety, so it is the norm for the community to be around the school often and more fun for people to get involved.” Since this realisation a whole host of community events have been run at Upper Mount Gravatt with excellent parent, carer and community participation including a Multicultural day, an art exhibition, and a Grandparents’ day.
As part of their plan to build up the links with their community, Bexley Public School, in NSW, invited parents, carers and relatives to take part in their Multicultural day. Cuisines from many different cultures were on offer. Students were able to learn about and appreciate diversity, and parents, carers and relatives were given the opportunity to meet each other and make social connections. The day was a great success and enjoyed by all.
What’s for lunch, anyone? Hilton Primary School in WA, have been making connections with families by inviting them in for a Family Cook-up. Families come into the school to cook a meal with their child and then stay to eat it with the class. Parents and carers are also personally invited to school assemblies when their child receives an award.
Keeping in tune with the family theme, Geraldton Grammar School, WA, recently held a Family Picnic. School ended early and families, students and staff joined together for a picnic on the oval. Games were organised by senior school students and teaching staff. The day was enjoyed by all with the school reporting the best parent and carer turnout yet.
Over the past two terms, teachers at St. Oliver’s Primary School have been running ‘Breakfast Club’ on Thursday mornings. Students are able to eat a healthy breakfast when they arrive at school. This has become very popular amongst students, parents and carers. Staff at the school have commented that students are more focused in the classroom after they have been to Breakfast Club.
A number of schools are in the processes of creating school websites that will act as links between the schools and parents and carers and the wider community. Faulconbridge Public School, NSW, will have a KidsMatter section on their school website that links to the KidsMatter website and provides families with community service information. Carramar Public School, NSW, aims to provide parents and carers with links to community services and provide KidsMatter resources online. Students will also be able to give regular reports on events around the school and publish their school work.
At The Willows State School, QLD, new students are welcomed by the whole school and there is a supportive process to help these students settle in. There are support staff to help with school transitions for the many indigenous and defence force families who attend the school. The school also has a strong involvement with the indigenous and wider communities through celebrations and events. This year’s performance in Wakakirri, the National Story Festival earned them the regional title for the second year in a row. Achievements like these are showcased in the school foyer for all staff, students and visitors to see.
More about Wakakirri…
Wakakirri is a word from the Aboriginal Wangaaypuan people meaning ‘to dance’. The Festival is a multi-arts festival, where schools tell stories with dance and other forms of performing and creative arts. Dance is an integral way for people of all cultures to share stories. The Festival has the vision of teaching young Australians about themselves and others through the process of creating and sharing stories. See: www.wakakirri.com
Imagine if all the people… At Goondiwindi State School, QLD, the staff thought of many different ways that they could create a positive school community. To incorporate all their ideas, they decided to implement ‘Imagine Days’. Each Imagine Day has its own theme. Imagine how supported colleagues would feel it they were joined on duty by five other teachers? Imagine how children, parents and carers would feel if they were greeted by teachers as they arrived at school? On the most recent Imagine Day, teachers focused on greeting children as they came to school – opening car doors, talking and playing with children, with one teacher walking around playing the guitar and singing along. The day provided a lot of laughter and enjoyment for all.
Carramar Public School, NSW, is celebrating their school’s diversity by creating a mural in the schools’ grounds. The mural has been designed by the students and a local artist will bring the students’ design to life.
Tahmoor Public School in NSW is also working to enhance their physical school environment. Their plans for their school grounds include a mural and establishing a quiet play area in their playground. Tahmoor teaching staff are also undergoing professional development on ways to meet and engage with parents.
Once a term at Cooinda Primary School, WA, parents and carers are invited in for a ‘KidsMatter Kuppa’. Parents and carers have the opportunity to meet each other while enjoying a morning tea.
Tallebudgera State School, QLD, plans to involve the school, families and the broader community in making a KidsMatter Quilt.
| Social and emotional learning for students |
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Social and emotional learning is about learning how to mange feelings, mange friendships and solve 
problems. These are essential life skills that support wellbeing and positive mental health. Research tells us that children benefit most from social and emotional learning when it is taught in regular school lessons and matched to children’s learning stages. Providing opportunities for children to practice their newly taught skills and praising or rewarding children for good use of social and emotional skills help to consolidate these skills and ensure that children continue to use them throughout their lives. Take a look at the ways schools have been implementing social and emotional learning to help students develop the positive life skills important for their wellbeing…
At Tahmoor Public School, NSW, all students are involved in the BOUNCE BACK! program. In order to regularly highlight and strengthen students’ values and social and emotional skills, Tahmoor uses a whole-school approach to reward children who use the skills taught in the program. Each month, class members nominate the student who has shown the best use of BOUNCE BACK! coping skills. The chosen students from each class are awarded that Tahoma Top Kid award.
Cooperation is the key! Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School in WA has recently welcomed staff members from Cooinda Primary School, WA, into their school to see how they have implemented social and emotional learning for their students. Cooinda Primary has been busy surveying information so as to make an informed decision on which program will be best for their students. They have also been getting advice from other schools to help them form an implementation plan so that social and emotional learning in their school will be sustained over time. Star of the Sea has been successful in integrating the BOUNCE BACK! program into their school timetable and curriculum so that this important aspect of learning is maintained over a long period of time.
Regularly implementing SEL with students has benefits for their mental health and wellbeing. Careful and collaborative planning, all-staff involvement and scheduling time in the school timetable helps to ensure that SEL will remain part of the school learning for a long time. Faulconbridge Public School, NSW, has embedded Bounce Back within their curriculum and is implementing the program from Kindergarten to Year 6. Staff at Geraldton Grammar School, WA, have regular, timetabled BOUNCE BACK! sessions with their students. Carramar Public School, NSW, is also implementing the BOUNCE BACK! program. Staff have been involved in collaborative planning on how to best deliver the program to the students at their school.
Since coming to the realisation that learning and achievement is affected by children’s’ emotional state, St. Oliver’s Primary School in NSW have made student social and emotional learning a priority. The school have implemented the You Can Do It! Program with students and have reinforced the key messages around the school and in the school newsletter. Additionally, as part of their Transition to School program, the school have introduced parent information sessions on children’s social and emotional learning. These sessions are also attended by an Occupational Therapist, a Speech Pathologist and a Dietician.
Lance Holt Primary School, WA, has chosen SEL programmes to suit their students’ specific needs. They implement the PATHS program in the Pre Primary and Year 1 classes; the BOUNCE BACK! program in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5, and the Aussie Optimism program in Years 6 and 7. The school also have a KidsMatter newsletter that is sent home regularly to parents and carers of children in Pre Primary and Year 1 to keep them up-to-date with what is happening with SEL in the classroom.
Harrington Street Public School, NSW, is also implementing specific SEL programs that fit the different needs of their students. While the school implements the BOUNCE BACK! program across the whole school, staff also run MPower Girls for girls who involved with or are the victims of bullying and the Rock and Water program to promote self reflection in the older grades. Staff at Bexley Public School, NSW, are following suit, and are implementing BOUNCE BACK!, 3 Choices and Peer Support with students.
After going through a period of immense change – including 4 Principal changeovers in 2 years – Caloundra Primary School in QLD is pleased to say that KidsMatter is here to stay! The whole school community has identified the need for KidsMatter in their school and the Action Team is currently leading staff in planning for Component 2. After also having a difficult time getting KidsMatter up and running, Redlynch State College in QLD is looking to implement the Shine, Seasons for Growth, and BOUNCE BACK! programs with their students.
| Parenting support and education |
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Providing families with the opportunity to network and make social connections with other families is important for their wellbeing and mental health. When families are faced with a difficulty they can turn to these social networks for support. Inviting parents, carers and families to be involved in school events gives them the opportunity to make connections with other families and also with school staff.
Schools can actively engage parents and carers by listening to their ideas and concerns and by giving parents and carers a role in deciding what parental support facilities the school will offer. Actively valuing parents’ and carers contributions to the school community can help to strengthen relationships between staff, parents and carers.
Take a look at others ways KidsMatter schools are working to engage and support parents and carers as well as enabling them to have greater access to information and education about parenting…
St. Patrick’s Primary School, NSW, decided to set up a play group in their convent. The 15 parents that came to the committee meeting have really come on board with the idea and have organised working bees to make the room their own. Parents have really enjoyed getting to know one another and having the opportunity for their children to get to know each before they start school. The Assistant Principal at St. Patrick’s says “We have now realised how vital contacting and connecting with parents is. Before we were welcoming, but through our efforts to work closely with parents we have come to see how partnerships with parents can help address child difficulties. Now all our staff are switched on to how important it is to connect with parents.”
St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School in NSW has started up a new initiative called Class Parents. In each class there is a designated Class Parent who has the role of connecting with and offering support to the other parents in class. These parents have become familiar with the KidsMatter Information Sheets and Suggestions pages and act as informants, directing parents to relevant resources when they raise a concern. Recently the school invited Centacare to run their Hey Dad program at their school. Since the 6-week program has finished, the coordinators have trained a few of the Dads at St. Mary’s to keep the program running so that Dads can get together and talk about parenting issues.
Some schools have found it difficult to get parents and carers to attend information events at their school. However, The Willows State School, QLD, has come up with a very clever solution. The school hold their parenting education nights at the same time as they run school discos. Thus far the school has had several successful and well attended parenting education nights covering topics such as helping students make the transition to year 8, cyber bullying and dealing with behaviour problems.
Harrington Street Public School, NSW, has been running a series of workshops for parents and carers covering topics they have requested. These have included how to help students with their school work, teaching children how to get a balance between work and rest, and promoting healthy eating. Through their connection with the Multicultural Mental Health Unit, the school have also been able to stock their parent room with multilingual pamphlets and information.
Faulconbridge Public School, NSW, has established a Parent and Community Information Centre at their school. This is managed by a very active and engaged parent representative who has been seeking community information to share with other parents and carers in the school.
Leeming Primary School, WA, invited a guest speaker from Kinway to hold a Parenting Information evening on building resilience in children. Kinway is a provider of quality counselling and relationship education programs in WA.
Lance Holt Primary School, in WA, has also invited professionals from community services to speak at parenting information nights about topics such as anxiety in children, Autism Spectrum Disorders and internet safety. A comfy lounge area has been established for parents and carers where they can access books and other information regarding parenting and child development. In addition, the school publish a KidsMatter newsletter each term with tips and hints for parents and carers.
A number of schools have put together a directory of community services for parents and carers to access. Mater Hospital Special School, QLD, has produced a referral agency directory for parents and carers. Hilton Primary school, WA, has created their own Services Guide which highlights local services for families. Leeming Primary School in WA invited local community agencies to set up stalls at the School Open Night. Service providers stocked the School’s Parent Carousel with information sheets and pamphlets so that parents and carers can find information about local services as needed.
Geraldton Grammar School in WA has adapted an idea they got from St Simon Peter Catholic Primary School, and have started up their own HOPE (Helping Other Parents Effectively) team. Their HOPE team consists of 8 parents who organise parent events, gather information and materials from local services and agencies to distribute to all parents and carers, and making contact with new parents and carers to welcome them to the school and invite them to school events.
Parents and carers at St. Oliver’s Catholic Primary School in NSW are invited to Parent/Principal Coffee and Chat sessions throughout the year. At these sessions, parents and carers are welcomed to share ideas, find out about school initiatives and meet with other parents and carers.
| Early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties |
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Step 1: Noticing a problem…. Increasing knowledge and awareness about mental health problems helps teachers, parents and carers to identify the early signs of child mental health difficulties such as when children have difficulty managing their emotions or coping with change, when they have difficulty working cooperatively with others or making or keeping friends, or when they think negatively about themselves. Early identification of these sorts of behaviours and thoughts is the first step in early intervention for children experiencing mental health difficulties. See how some schools have been focusing on increasing staff and parent awareness and knowledge about child mental health issues…
Mater Hospital Special School in QLD is located at the Mater Children’s Hospital. The school serves day students and hospitalised children from the Mater Children’s Hospital, the Mater Adult Hospitals and the Princess Alexandra Hospital, all in Brisbane. The School have been making links between the Health and Education sectors by developing a support package called Bandaides and Blackboards for schools and families that have children with chronic or serious illnesses. The package includes an Outreach service, where liaison occurs between teachers and staff at the Mater Hospital Special School so that a transitional educational plan can be set up for ill students, and a Sibling day-program, where brothers and sisters of children with cancer and cystic fibrosis learn about their siblings’ treatment regimes and explore issues of grief and loss. The School also convenes a Bandaides and Blackboards conference which provides Education professionals with the latest in research and management strategies, and explores topics such as cystic fibrosis, mental health and acquired brain injury. The Bandaides and Blackboards website provides information about growing up with a medical problem with WebPages suitable for children, teenagers and adults. See: http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/faculty/jfleitas/bandaides/ 
Bexley Public School in NSW held a ‘Blue Day’ to celebrate their wellbeing as part of the beyond blue Anxiety and Depression Awareness month. The focus of the day was to raise awareness and increase staff, students’, parents’ and carers’ knowledge about anxiety and depression. Student’s enjoyed a number of activities on the day including making and eating blue cake. The school has received very positive feedback about their Blue Day, with parents and carers finding the beyond blue pamphlets very informative.
Lance Holt Primary School in WA held a Parent Information evening regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders with the aim of increasing education and awareness and reducing the stigma that can sometimes be associated with these disorders and mental health problems in general.
Step 2: Setting up systems… When schools have a step-by-step process that staff can follow if they think one of their students may be experiencing a mental health difficulty, they feel more supported and capable of being able to get the help the child needs. A systematic referral process supports both staff and students in achieving early intervention for mental health difficulties. See how schools have been setting up systems for helping children with signs of mental health difficulties…
Staff at St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School in NSW have been doing their bit to identify and assist students who are experiencing mental health difficulties. They have developed a system of informal monitoring in which teachers check in with students who may be experiencing difficulties. A teacher other than their own connects up with the student in subtle ways at least twice a week. Staff report that the positive interactions with another adult in the school has made a considerable impact for these students.
At Harrington Street Public School in NSW, staff have included the KidsMatter BETLS matrix as part of their identification and referral process. Staff observe the behaviour of students who they think may be at risk of developing a mental health difficulty using the BETLS matrix and include this information when discussing their concerns with the school counsellor and parents. Further information on the BETLS matrix can be found in the KidsMatter Children’s mental health difficulties and how to get help resource pack. See: www.kidsmatter.edu.au/resources
Staff at St. Oliver’s Catholic Primary School in NSW discuss their concerns about students with the head of the Learning Team and the child’s parents. If required, referrals are made to the School Counsellor or Specialist Consulting Counsellors who visit the school on a regular basis. St. Patrick’s Catholic Primary School in NSW has a similar identification and referral process, in which school staff meet with parents or carers and discuss options for referral and/or monitoring at school.
The Willows State School in QLD has developed a case management system in which administrators and support teachers coordinate internal and external support for students identified as being at risk for developing a mental health problem. This process has been highly successful, in part dependent upon the positive relationships the school has built with external mental health and support agencies in the local area.
Step 3: Connecting with community services…. Through making links with agencies and support services in the local community, schools can get information and strategies on how to support students with mental health difficulties in their school. Schools are also able to establish referral pathways for students experiencing mental health problem and their families. This way, teachers feel competent in being able to direct families to professional services when they need more help than school can provide. Early intervention for students is more effective when parents, carers, teachers and support services work closely together. Take a look at how schools have been making connections with community mental health agencies to support early intervention for students…
Some schools have found that inviting local community agencies and support services into their school is a great way to make connections and form networks. Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School in WA held a morning tea in which staff, parents and carers were invited to talk to 7 local agency and service representatives from Kinway, Anglicare, Centacare and the Community Health Nurse. Rockingham Beach Primary School in WA also held a morning tea in which representatives from 16 local agencies and support services attended. Agencies included CAMHS, Parenting Services from the Department of Communities, and CLAN WA. School staff rotated around each agency to ask questions about the services they offered and make connections with the people involved. The morning tea was very much enjoyed by school and agency staff and it provided a lot of useful information to the school.
Bexley Public School in NSW has made links with Learning Links. Learning Links is non-profit organisation in NSW formed to help children who have learning disabilities, difficulties and developmental delays and their families. Their services include assessments, individualised and supplementary specialist literacy and numeracy services, occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy, family counselling, case management, group programs and professional development. Their website also contains a number of informative fact sheets. See: http://www.learninglinks.org.au/information-sheets.htm
Upper Mount Gravatt State School in QLD has formed a partnership with the local Division of General Practice. Staff from the Brisbane South Division of General Practice are attending training for programs such as FRIENDS, Mental Health First Aid and Triple P so to improve the services available to schools in the local area.
Tallebudgera State School in QLD is networking with the Psychology Department at Griffith University. This department is well-renowned for its research into anxiety disorders and runs individual and group intervention programmes for children and adults with anxiety and other mental health problems out of their Psychology Clinic. Tallebudgera has established a referral pathway with Griffith University so that children who have anxiety or other mental health problems can be referred to be assessed and take part in interventions.
Carramar Public School in NSW has made links with their local community health service – Fairfield Heath. The Fairfield Community Health Service offers Paediatric Outreach Services, an Early Childhood and Parenting Service, Palliative Care, Multicultural Health Services, a Child and Family Service (including counselling, parentcraft, child development, speech and occupational therapy, physiotherapy and physical disabilities), and a number of other services to the South Western Sydney area.
Faulconbridge Public School in NSW has made new connections with Blue Mountains Children’s Services network. Through their participation and work with KidsMatter in their school, including implementing Class Parents (see above) and providing child development and multi-cultural mental health information to parents and carers via the school website and in hardcopy, the School Action Team was nominated for a Blue Mountains Children’s Week Award in the child and family field. This is awarded annually to recognise excellence services that make a difference in children’s lives.
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KidsMatter is a national primary school mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative developed in collaboration with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, beyondblue: the national depression initiative, the Australian Psychological Society, and the Australian Principals Associations Professional Development Council and supported by the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund
