September News
Issue 9:KidsMatter eNewsletter… September, 2008
Editorial
Evaluation update
KidsMatter website
From Margins to Mainstream
Everyone is on the same page
Planting the seed
Sharing ideas leads to success
A positive school community
Social and emotional learning for students
Parenting support and education
Early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties
| Editorial |
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As you read this newsletter, planning for a very important last term will be well underway. You will no doubt be thinking about all you and your students want to achieve before the end of the year. However, it is timely to pause and reflect on all that you have done so far. There is much to be proud of and celebrate!
KidsMatter pilot schools and their communities have participated with enthusiasm and commitment in the mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention. The continued fantastic response by schools to the data collection by the Flinders University evaluation team is evidence of schools’ willingness to reflect on their professional learning and implementation of KidsMatter.
The cluster days held in each state and territory, some of which are outlined in this newsletter, have demonstrated the innovative work being done by schools across the country. These gatherings have enabled schools to form strong networks and to openly share their learning with each other. I have been privileged to participate in a number of these events and I have been impressed with the willingness of KidsMatter schools to support and encourage each other.
The web site provides a new opportunity for us to extend this collaboration and I invite you to ask children in your schools to contribute artworks and their thoughts about what KidsMatter means to them. Contact your project officer for more details about how to do this.
Best wishes as you work towards the end of the initial KidsMatter pilot project.
Kaye Johnson
KidsMatter National Coordinator
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Evaluation Update
The third wave of data collection has been completed and, once again, the response from teachers and parents to completing surveys has been fantastic. The fourth and final collection of survey data from teachers and parents will take place during the final school Term of 2008. This questionnaire data will provide a great overview of how KidsMatter is going and how it can be improved.
The data obtained through questionnaires will be complemented by more in-depth information that will be obtained when the KidsMatter evaluation team from Flinders University of South Australia visits 10 schools in the final months of 2008. Visits to schools will provide the evaluation team with an opportunity to hear firsthand about KidsMatter from members of the school community including school leadership, teachers, parents and student. The KidsMatter partners would like to thank the following schools for participating in these in-depth studies and assisting the evaluation team: St Josephs 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); Sacred Heart (VIC).
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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The website is finally here!
We are very excited to launch the new KidsMatter website!
In addition to providing the background information on the KidsMatter initiative, the website offers specific information for teachers and school staff, for parents and carers, and a separate page just for students.
Through the website, the KidsMatter resources will be available to all schools and parents and carers. By clicking on the Resources page you’ll find the complete list of KidsMatter resources and instructions and tips on how to use them. The resources are available to download in PDF format which makes for easy printing.
You can also read about what other KidsMatter schools are doing, access archived copies of the KidsMatter eNewsletter, keep up-to-date with the latest news, and provide feedback on the website or on any of the KidsMatter resources.
Important: The KidsMatter website is at www.kidsmatter.edu.au. Please update any links directed to the old website (www.apapdc.edu.au/kidsmatter).
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From Margins to Mainstream Conference
Introducing KidsMatter to the world!
From Margins to Mainstream, the 5th World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and the Prevention of Mental and Behavioural Disorders was held at the Melbourne Convention Centre on the 10-12th of September. As the aim of the conference was to explore new ways that individuals and organisations can promote mental health and prevent mental illness, this was a great opportunity to showcase KidsMatter and share the initiative’s whole school approach to mental health promotion with conference participants from all around the world.
A representative team from KidsMatter presented on Day 2 of the Conference. Lyn Littlefield, Director of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), introduced KidsMatter by giving an overview of the initiative. She was followed by Margot Trinder, KidsMatter National Coordinator at the APS, who talked about the implementation process and the tools and factors that had been found to enhance the implementation of KidsMatter. Helen Barrett, Tasmanian KidsMatter Project Officer, presented a case study from schools, sharing two schools’ stories and the highlights and challenges experienced in their journeys with KidsMatter. Barbara Spears, of the Flinders evaluation team, spoke about Project Officers as ‘agents of change’ in schools and Kelvin Gregory, also from the Flinders team, concluded the presentation with an evaluation report focusing on measuring student mental health.
The presentation was received well and sparked much interest from conference participants. There were also many positive references to KidsMatter in other presentations throughout the conference. The conference abstracts can be viewed at http://www.margins2mainstream.com/full-program.php
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Everyone is on the same page
A report from the Tasmanian Schools Sharing Day
The Tasmanian KidsMatter schools gathered at Laetare Gardens on the 25th of July as part of the Tassie Schools Sharing Day. The KidsMatter action teams from Distance Education, Richmond Primary, Rocherlea Primary, Lauderdale Primary, Waverley Primary and Kempton Primary, met with Tasmanian Project Officer Helen Barrett and National Coordinator Kaye Johnson to share their stories and insights regarding their journey in implementing KidsMatter so far.
A particular focal point of the day was discussing what had changed in schools since starting KidsMatter. Parents have reported back to the Tasmanian schools that their children now have a better understanding of emotions and are able to express them in more effective ways at home. This is a change that has also been noticed by staff at school. But what staff have found to be the most significant change in their schools is having ‘everyone on the same page’. Information about social and emotional classroom learning is passed on to families through school newsletters. School staff feel part of a team who as a whole are more confident in teaching SEL and more aware of their students’ mental health issues. Further, watching older students use social and emotional skills in the playground has been particularly useful for younger students as it provides them with real-life examples of the skills they are learning in the classroom.
The day ended with the action teams having a renewed enthusiasm for KidsMatter and new ideas and strategies to take back to their schools. They also offered the following ‘pearls of wisdom’ to new KidsMatter schools:
- take small steps – change takes time
- whole school involvement is vital for success – work hard to get all staff on board!
- collaborative planning is really helpful; teachers can modify strategies for their own classes
- make sure KidsMatter is a priority at staff meetings – it’s easy for other issues to take over.
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Planting the seed
A report from the South Australian Cluster Meeting
Despite it being the first day of school holidays (and terrible weather), 11 out 14 of the South Australian KidsMatter schools came together with SA Project Officer Lana Jankowiak on the 7th of July to talk about their KidsMatter experience. The theme of the day was taken from the Component 2 poster, “Knowing Me, Knowing You, and Getting Along Too”. Schools were welcomed fittingly by the ABBA song of a similar name.
Schools were invited to showcase all that they were doing as part of KidsMatter. The idea of ‘planting the seed’ was used to encourage schools to consider how they could complement what they are currently doing using the new perspectives provided through KidsMatter. Each school shared new ways they could add to their current actions. These stories and strategies were written down so that they could be distributed to all the KidsMatter pilot schools.
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Sharing ideas leads to success
A report from the Northern Territory Cluster Meeting
The first Cluster Meeting for all NT KidsMatter Schools was held in Darwin on August 1st, 2008, with representatives from all 6 schools attending. Since Michele Oliphant had commenced as a Project officer with KidsMatter only three months earlier this was her first opportunity to see all the schools in the one place. The meeting cemented her beliefs that the key to successful KidsMatter implementation is providing opportunities to network and share ideas and experiences.
Michele set the scene with a KidsMatter Trivia Quiz, designed to allow everyone to explore their KidsMatter knowledge and detail what they wanted to achieve over the day. This fed into an ‘All Schools Collective Component Plan’ which was a fantastic session of idea and information sharing about the four Components and KidsMatter Implementation. A document of what all schools are doing has arisen from this, designed to be a quick reference guide so schools can contact each other about any areas they would like support or further information on.
The NT Dare-To-Lead Consultant, Greg Jarvis, then provided a fantastic session on being culturally inclusive in the NT, offering schools many useful resources and ideas.
It was a wonderful day, with all schools sharing with gusto their KidsMatter journey thus far and looking to the future with ideas for sustainability and ways to assist each other.
Some highlights…
Jingili Primary: “There has been an overall positive reaction to KidsMatter at our school; we’ve been able to acknowledge the positive practices that were already in place.”
Howard Springs Primary: “Following our recent professional development activities, many staff have commented that KidsMatter is not as daunting as first thought as we already have many initiatives in place.”
Sacred Heart Primary: “We found going through the KidsMatter framework to be a very affirming exercise, as we realised that we already have strategies and structures to support each of the four components of KidsMatter.”
| A positive school community |
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A positive school community promotes feelings of belonging and protection for children, which are protective factors for mental health. In this newsletter we focus on what schools in the Northern Territory, Tasmania and South Australia are doing to create cultures of inclusion, connectedness and belonging. Here are just some of the many examples…
Waverley Primary School, TAS
To promote a positive school community, Waverley Primary held a Family Fun Day last term, in which families (all generations) were invited into classes and to participate in the activities across the school. The new student support room – The Butterfly Room – was opened for parents to see. Families also were able to watch slide shows of photos of recent school events on the new TV screen in the foyer. The screen also shows school information so parents can be up-to-date with what’s going on at Waverley Primary.
Kempton Primary School, TAS
The school held a healthy minds healthy bodies day in which students participated in a range of activities related to physical health or mental health. A number of parents and community members were actively involved in the day. The community police officer spoke to the students about bike safety and then started the bike course.
Sacred Heart Primary School, NT
Sacred Heart invited the whole community to celebrate their 21st birthday and 100 years of Catholic Education in the Northern Territory with them. They started their week-long festivities with a Liturgy lead by the Bishop, which was followed by presentations for outstanding service to the school community. A dance evening and a BBQ for families ended the celebrations. Both events really served to promote a positive sense of community among students, families and staff.
Some other ways that KidsMatter schools have promoted a positive school community are….
Howard Springs Primary School, NT, held a Father’s Day BBQ
Jingili Primary School, NT, held a Harmony Day in which each class organised and ran a stall with parent help
Distance Education Tasmania conducted a parent survey to explore how welcoming the school is and how the school could improve communication with families.
| Social and emotional learning for students |
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Since implementing KidsMatter, the staff at Rocherlea Primary in Tasmania have noticed a number of changes at the school. While previously reporting many angry and noisy outbursts from students, staff have observed that students are now able to express their emotions more appropriately and that interactions between students are mostly calm and safe.
When students learn to recognise and label their emotions, a fundamental part of social and emotional learning (SEL), they can then be taught to express their emotions in more effective ways. Further, providing relevant scenarios to practice will help students understand how they can use their new skills. Parents and carers also play an important role in promoting the effectiveness of school-based SEL. A collaborative approach, where parents and schools work together to promote SEL, is more likely to lead to significant improvements for children that are maintained over time. When taught in a systematic and comprehensive manner, social and emotional learning can have positive effects on behaviour, academic motivation and learning, and mental health. Read the example below to see how parents and schools can work together to promote SEL in children:
Lauderdale Primary School , TAS, is extending social and emotional learning for students beyond the classroom. They have put together parent resource bags on social and emotional learning that parents are able to borrow. Each bag targets a specific emotion, value or social skill. The resource bags contain 3 or 4 picture books for parents to read at home with their children and also laminated copies of the relevant KidsMatter resources that provide parents and carers with practical tips and information about child social and emotional development.
Some other ways schools are promoting social and emotional learning for students….
Sacred Heart Primary , NT, has implemented the Tribes program and the Friendly Schools and Family program. The school is currently looking to start Bounce Back.
Staff at Jingili Primary, NT, have seen changes in student behaviour after the school ran the Friendly Schools and Families program in 2007 and Bounce Back program in 2008.
| Parenting support and education |
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One way that schools can promote children’s wellbeing is to support the parents and carers of their students. A positive family environment plays an important role in child mental health. As schools have regular contact with families, they are well placed to assist parents and carers in their child rearing roles.
Component 3 resources are on their way!
A key part of KidsMatter involves increasing schools’ capacity to assist parents and carers to access parenting information and support. KidsMatter has developed a range of resources to help schools support and educate parents, with topics such as understanding children’s emotions, supporting children’s learning, effective discipline, and strengthening family relationships. Professional development is provided to KidsMatter schools to help them engage and connect with parents so that schools and families can work together to promote children’s mental health and wellbeing. The Component 3 resources are currently being printed, and will soon be available to all schools and families on the KidsMatter website.
Many schools have started supporting and educating parents already…
Jingili Primary School, NT
Jingili has introduced a playgroup for parents and their children under age 3. Each week the group meets at different locations – the school library, the preschool or the toy library. This group has provided a source of support for parents and has also been very successful in providing an introduction to the school for new parents.
Richmond Primary School, TAS, held a parent forum which was attended by approximately 30 parents. The forum gave the parents an opportunity to find out more about the social and emotional learning taught within classes. A local GP spoke about cyber-bullying and mental health, a topic that parents had expressed interest in.
Howard Springs Primary, NT
The Howard Springs school newsletter includes regular items 
about parenting. In addition, the school is using a number of strategies to support parents in their parenting role. The school has appointed a Parent Liaison Officer and has just opened a Parents Room. The school chaplain has been active in providing support to both parents and teachers on a wide range of issues. The school is also currently undertaking a project which involves surveying parents for their ideas and interests for topics to be covered at parent workshops.
| Early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties |
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When families and children can access mental health intervention early, it can make a significant difference in their lives. Schools’ role in early intervention for children is to identify the early signs of mental health difficulties and to assist families to access support services. Early intervention for students is more effective when parents, teachers and support services work closely together.
The Component 4 KidsMatter resources provide staff with information about the early warning signs for the most common mental health difficulties in students. Schools can also promote early intervention for students by making connections with community mental health agencies and support services. Through working closely with these services, schools can establish referral pathways for students experiencing mental health difficulties. When these pathways are made known to all staff, staff feel more capable in being able to refer students to the right services. A systematic referral process supports both staff and students in achieving early intervention for mental health difficulties.
Take a look at how other schools have been making connections with community mental health agencies to support early intervention for students…
Jingili Primary School, NT
At Jingili, the KidsMatter emphasis on early intervention has highlighted the importance of having an effective process of identifying and responding to children’s mental health issues. Jingili’s Kids at Risk team follows and supports teachers in using the Intervention Firs process outlined by the Student Services. This helps all school staff to be ‘on the same page’ when it comes to making support plans for specific students. External referrals are made if students cannot be supported within the school. The Kids at Risk team also help parents seek medical services such as paediatricians and speech therapists and refers parents to external agencies who offer counselling and support.
Howard Springs Primary School, NT
With the schools’ new Parent Room up and running, Howard Springs is in the process of setting up an information area that will provide parents with KidsMatter resources and information about community support agencies. The school already has a range of intervention strategies in place and has found that the Kids Hope program has been particularly valuable in providing ongoing support for at-risk students.
Some other ways KidsMatter schools have been promoting early intervention for students…
Sacred Heart Primary School, NT, aims to work with local agency Centacare to develop a set of referral pathways and strategies so that the school can support students and families with mental health difficulties. Centacare offers a range of support services for individuals, children and families.
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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
