March eNews
Issue 11:KidsMatter eNewsletter… March 2009
Supporting children who have experienced trauma
Editorial
Evaluation update
KidsMatter news
Feature: Supporting children who have experienced trauma
A resource for school staff and other adults who work with children
| Editorial |
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By the time parents, carers and staff in primary schools access this newsletter, they will be looking forward to Easter holidays after an action packed beginning to the 2009 school year.
As well as the excitement of commencing a new year, schools have been responding to Australian Government initiatives such as Building the Education Revolution and the Smarter Schools Partnerships Program. While acting on these new opportunities, school communities have remained committed to promoting children’s well-being and mental health. Schools across Australia, and especially those in Victoria and Queensland, have assisted primary school children to respond to the trauma caused by fires and floods (see this newsletter for details). Schools across Australia have sought to create positive environments in which children are encouraged to develop social and emotional competencies. The work of schools in establishing positive communities and in the explicit teaching of social and emotional competencies is assisted by their access to the KidsMatter website and the Programs Guide (see this newsletter for more information).
Schools participating in the KidsMatter pilot project (2006-2008) have highlighted the value of this whole school framework in mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention. They have supported the call for more schools to participate in this initiative. At the National Briefing in February (see this newsletter for more information) about the dissemination of KidsMatter during 2009, two principals described for representatives from all sectors from each State and Territory the positive impact the KidsMatter framework has had on their schools. They urged schools schools interested in implementing KidsMatter to contact their regional education office, to register their interest on the KidsMatter website and to make use of the resources available to them on the KidsMatter website.
The KidsMatter partners, the State and Territory Project Officers and pilot schools look forward to working with all states and territories in enabling more schools to implement the KidsMatter framework.
Kaye Johnson
National KidsMatter Coordinator
Evaluation Update
Data collection for the KidsMatter pilot has now been completed. The KidsMatter team would like to thank the 101 school communities that participated in the evaluation. The evaluation was able to document the views of a large number of teachers, parents and carers, students and school leaders which will provide us with a comprehensive view of what impact KidsMatter has had on school communities and how it can be improved for schools participating in the future.
The evaluation team from Flinders University has begun the process of analysing the enormous amount of data collected. It is anticipated that the Evaluation Report will be completed around mid year and publically released sometime in the second-half of 2009. Schools that participated in the KidsMatter Pilot will automatically receive a report.
For those wishing to know more about the KidsMatter evaluation please visit the KidsMatter evaluation website established by Flinders University (http://caef.flinders.edu.au/kidsmatter/)
In the interim, it is possible to read the Progress Reports submitted by Flinders University regarding the KidsMatter Evaluation. Click here to read the progress reports.
The following journal articles may also be of interest:
Askell-Williams, H, Russell, A., Dix, K.L., Slee, P.T., Spears, B.A., Lawson, M.J., Owens, L.D., Gregory, K. (2008) Early challenges in evaluating the KidsMatter national mental health promotion initiative in Australian primary schools. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion. 10(2): 35-44
Available at: http://www.ijmhp.co.uk/
Graetz B, Littlefield L. Trinder M, Dobia B, Souter M, Champion C, Boucher S, Killick-Moran C, Cummins R. (2008). KidsMatter: A population health model to support student mental health and wellbeing in primary schools. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 10(4) 13-20. Available at: http://www.ijmhp.co.uk/
Katherine L Dix, Helen Askell-William, Michael J Lawson for the Centre for Analysis of Educational Futures, School of Education, Flinders University, South Australia. Different measures, different informants, same outcomes? Investigating multiple perspectives of primary school students’ mental health. Paper presented at the annual Australian Association for Research in Education conference, Brisbane 2008. Available at: http://www.aare.edu.au/08pap/dix081015.pdf
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The programs guide is now available online!
All schools now have access to the KidsMatter Programs Guide on the KidsMatter website. The Guide was developed to assist schools in making informed choices when selecting programs that target children’s mental health and wellbeing. The Guide provides evaluative information for over 70 school-based mental health programs that can be used to support KidsMatter components. It provides extended information for each program, including its target audience, evidence base, and contact details for how to obtain the program. Schools can consult the Guide when selecting new or additional programs to implement in their school or to assess programs which are currently being used. Go to: www.kidsmatter.edu.au/resources/programs-guide.
The KidsMatter Program’s Guide complements the full range of KidsMatter information resources, the KidsMatter Overview booklet and the KidsMatter eNewsletter, available to all school staff, parents and carers, and members of the community on the KidsMatter website.
National KidsMatter briefing
A national KidsMatter briefing was held in Canberra on Wednesday 18th February attended by senior education representatives from each State and Territory and across all three education systems as well as by health representatives from most jurisdictions .The briefing provided an overview of the KidsMatter Initiative and invited collaborative partnerships with State and Territory education systems to: explore models of delivery that would enable more schools across Australia to formally implement and maintain KidsMatter; link the Initiative with local policy and priorities; and further build and strengthen education – health partnerships.
The KidsMatter Initiative in 2009
In 2009, KidsMatter aims to engage more schools across Australia in implementing the initiative. Education sectors have indicated interest in KidsMatter and the KidsMatter consortium is now working with Government, Catholic and Independent Education Sectors in each State and Territory to determine the best way of engaging new schools in KidsMatter in each of these sectors.In the meantime, schools can visit the KidsMatter website to find out more about the Initiative and make use of the resources available to all schools on the website. Go to www.kidsmatter.edu.au. Keep an eye out for two more resource packs coming soon!
KidsMatter is also pleased to report that almost all schools involved in the pilot have decided to continue on with KidsMatter. KidsMatter wishes to sincerely thank the pilot schools for their commitment, efforts and hard work in implementing KidsMatter over the past two years, especially for their assistance in the KidsMatter evaluation. The KidsMatter pilot evaluation report is likely to be publicly available around September this year. KidsMatter will keep you posted!
Welcome Aboard!
We would like welcome our newest member, Heidi Erickson, to the KidsMatter team. Heidi is the new NSW Project Officer and is currently liaising with Government, Catholic and Independent Education sectors to help KidsMatter become available to more schools in NSW. Heidi is a registered psychologist who has previous experience working in national youth mental health initiatives. She has spent the last year working with headspace as the Clinical Service Integration Manager for the Riverina region.
We would also like to welcome Jenny Snelling who is the Senior KidsMatter Coordinator based at the Australian Psychological Society. Jenny brings a wealth of experience to the role and to the KidsMatter team. She has spent the last 8 years working at the Royal Children’s Hospital (Melbourne) Educational Institute as the Manager: Major Projects. Before this, Jenny held numerous roles in the Victorian Department of Education in the areas of primary teaching, gifted education and education consultancy.
We are thrilled to have both Heidi & Jenny on board and look forward to working with them as KidsMatter moves forward!
| Feature: Supporting children who have experienced trauma |
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Many people have been affected by the trauma of the bushfires in Victoria, ranging from those directly exposed to the fires to those with contact only through what they have seen in the media. There are others who have been similarly affected by the floods and extreme weather conditions in Queensland. Families may have lost their homes, their possessions, family members or friends, or may have been witness to stressful or horrific events.
People cope with trauma in different ways and there is no typical pattern of how people respond to traumatic experiences. Even people who been witness to the same traumatic event may respond to the stress of this in different ways, and this often occurs within families. It can be very difficult for individual family members to understand when another member is responding in a different way to them. This can also add to the distress the person is feeling because they cannot understand “How can he/she be reacting in this way?”
Children often do not show the same reactions to stress as do adults. Children may not have the skills or the capacity to express the complex feelings that they may be experiencing in the same ways that adults can. It is therefore very important to look out for changes in children’s behaviour that suggest they are unsettled or distressed.
Children are also really good at picking up when something is different about a parent or carer, or another member of their family. This can also be unsettling to children, who may know that something is wrong, but are not sure what, or understand why. Therefore it is important that parents and carers look out for themselves too, and seek information or support when needed.
The following resources may provide helpful information for school staff and parents and carers to support children and families who may have been affected by trauma.
The information sheet, ‘Help your child make sense of natural disasters’ information sheet by Michael Grose from Parenting Ideas, provides information on how to support children who may have been affected by natural disasters and is relevant for both the floods and bushfires. Go to: http://www.parentingideas.com.au/uploads/Natural%20Disasters.pdf
The Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development website provides useful information on how to support children and school staff who may have been affected by the Victorian bushfires. Go to: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/bushfires/default.htm
The Australian Psychological Society’s Bushfire Resources webpage offers information for people of all ages that may have been affected in some way by the bushfires, but also has a specific section for supporting children. Go to: http://www.psychology.org.au/bushfire/public/. Parents and carers may find the following information particularly helpful: http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/Guidelines-Bushfires-Children.pdf
| A resource for school staff and other adults who work with children |
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The Hands on Scotland website offers a toolkit of helpful responses to encourage children and young people’s emotional wellbeing. It is available to anybody working with children and young people.
It provides general information on a range of topics such as anger and aggression, self-esteem, anxiety, sadness and fear, overactivity and inattention, and helping children deal with life events such as bereavement, separation and divorce, and trauma. Most topics also include information on things to think about in trying to understand what may be causing the child or young person’s behaviour, thinking about your own response and how that may be affecting the child or young person’s behaviour, what you can do, and when to seek further support and help.
The website also offers some techniques that can be used with children who may be experiencing mental health difficulties. Many of these techniques require extensive training; however school staff may find the information on behavioural and self-reflection techniques useful. If you have any interest in these techniques, or think they may be useful for a child in your school, you might like to discuss them further with your school’s guidance/wellbeing officer or school counsellor.
The pages on self-esteem, anger, bullying, sadness and fear, and anxiety may be particularly helpful. As the website is for people working with children and young people, KidsMatter advises that not all information on this website will be applicable to primary school-aged children. If you are unsure of whether the information may be relevant, you are encouraged to discuss it with your school counsellor. The Hands on Scotland website can be found at www.handsonscotland.co.uk.
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 Principals Australia and supported by the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund.
