KidsMatter Primary framework
KidsMatter Primary aims
The KidsMatter Primary initiative aims to:
- improve the mental health and wellbeing of primary school students,
- reduce mental health problems amongst students, and
- achieve greater support for students experiencing mental health problems.
To achieve these aims, KidsMatter Primary promotes collaborative involvement across the health and education sectors. It provides a framework for mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention (PPEI) that is specifically oriented to primary schools, rather than presenting schools with a single defined program. Through the KidsMatter Primary framework, schools are provided with the resources to implement a comprehensive approach to addressing students’ mental health which is tailored to their local needs. In this way KidsMatter Primary builds on the work schools are already doing to address the mental health of their students through National, State, Territory and sector-based mental health initiatives and policies
The four components of KidsMatter Primary
KidsMatter Primary has identified four areas (components) where schools can help to strengthen their students’ mental health and wellbeing. These make up the core content of KidsMatter Primary. Dividing KidsMatter Primary into the four components is a way of making the task of improving students’ mental health and wellbeing in schools more manageable. It also ensures that the efforts that schools put into this initiative are being focused most effectively across contexts in children’s lives and involving all the significant people impacting on children’s mental health.
The four components are:
Component 1: A positive school community
Component 2: Social and emotional learning (SEL) for students
Component 3: Parenting support and education
Component 4: Early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties
For further information about the four components of KidsMatter Primary, click on the coloured buttons to the right.
