School Stories

These stories showcase schools and their experience of implementing one of the four KidsMatter Primary components.

We hope that these school stories will provide inspiration, information and ideas for other schools that are already involved in KidsMatter, or would like to be.

Each school story includes:

 a school profile  practical examples of how KidsMatter is being implemented  quotes from the principal or KidsMatter Primary coordinator  some photos. Australian Capital Territory Wanniassa School profile

 A pre-school to Year 10 school with three separate campuses – pre-school, junior and senior

 Enrolment of 500 students

 Focus on student wellbeing through Early Childhood KidsMatter, KidsMatter Primary and MindMatters

 Diverse socio-economic backgrounds including a high number of Indigenous families

 Opportunities for students to develop student leadership

Why Wanniassa School became involved in KidsMatter Primary

In 2010 when Wanniassa School became involved in KidsMatter Primary it had already developed the P – 10 Values Program based on the Federal Government’s nine values for schooling. This underpins the culture of leadership and pastoral care. Resilience is a key component for the school. The school staff wanted to provide an environment that encourages and nurtures students. KidsMatter Primary offered an opportunity to further embed the values with the school community. Staff have completed the first three Components and will begin Component 4 in Term 2, 2012.

The Action Team

The Action Team meets formally twice a term and has ongoing informal discussions about KidsMatter. Team members include: the Deputy Principal; two executive teachers; a classroom teacher; Counsellor; and the Chaplain provides extra support.

Parent Link offers parents and carers opportunities to access information, build links with each other and the school including the Pre-school. We want parents to feel safe there and we’ve made sure that they know that confidentiality is maintained. It’s already a success because parents asked for the hours to be extended even further.

Sonya Maybury, classroom teacher and KidsMatter Facilitator

A parent representative joined when the school did the training for Component 3. The classroom teacher, who teaches across the school, is allocated time for training and working with KidsMatter Primary, and guides the implementation processes.

Creating welcoming spaces

The school has developed welcoming spaces for children and parents to participate in the broad learning environment. Children’s Link, created in 2007, provides a space for students to access small group activities, participate in a Breakfast Club one day per week, and for informal conversations with the Chaplain. After completing Component 3, the Action Team created a new space, Parent Link.

KidsMatter has given a common language to parents, staff and students. We have brought mental health into the open. Staff, students and parents can talk about issues that were not discussed openly in the past. We say that all people experience some difficulties sometimes. With the focus on parents and carers in Component 3, the school has become closer to the community. We are building a supportive community in our school.

Jenny Tatham, Senior Executive School Leader

Parents now have a separate room with external access. It displays resources about: child development; various mental health resources; local agency services and government benefits. Parent Link was initially open for two hours daily, but because of increased interest, it is now open daily from 9-3.

Giving a language The Action Team was clear it did not want to ‘overload’ teachers when it introduced KidsMatter Primary. It has built on the work of the Values Program. Now mental health is an everyday topic and an agenda item in staff meetings.

We use the postcards to make small ‘deposits’ of positive recognition and give respect to individual students. The postcard initiative is an example of the way that we can efficiently generate positive connections between the school and home environments. The postcards were ready to use within three weeks of the idea being adopted.

Jenny Tatham, Senior Executive School Leader

‘A note from Wanniassa School’

After completing Component 3 the staff developed the KidsMatter postcard idea to communicate the achievements of students with parents and carers. A commercial printer developed a set of postcards using photos of student artwork.

We’ll revisit the ideas and make sure our resources are up-to-date. We’ll continue to give information through the ‘dripping tap’ process. We’ve made KidsMatter Primary our own and we’re helping to build up resilience in our students. We give them practical strategies to deal with life. We’ve empowered staff, parents and students with the knowledge and skills of the Values Program and KidsMatter Primary.

Sonya Maybury, classroom teacher and KidsMatter Facilitator

All teachers have a bundle of postcards and use the reverse side to write, ‘A note from Wanniassa School’ to parents and carers to recognise and support the achievements of students.

Maintaining KidsMatter Primary

The Action Team will keep KidsMatter Primary on the agenda even after completing component 4. They view it as a learning continuum in promoting the school role in supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing. They will review and evaluate directions as the needs of the staff, students and community change.

The Wanniassa School motto, ‘Partners in Learning’, also highlights the focus on mental health and wellbeing promoted through KidsMatter Primary. Staff members are more aware of the resources and services available to them to support students and families building capacity for resilience now, and in the future.

New South Wales

Cherrybrook Public School profile:

 Is 27 kms north west of the Sydney CBD

 Has an enrolment of 700 students

 Is celebrating 40 years of schooling in 2012

 Promotes its vision: To prepare our students for the whole of life

KidsMatter on the Internet

When teachers at Cherrybrook Public School expressed concerns about the increasing number of students experiencing anxiety, Beth Chant, at teacher at the school, found her way to the KidsMatter website and has been passionate about the initiative ever since. She quickly realised that it was consistent with the school’s approach to building a positive learning environment for each student. She saw it would also support the work already being done by the school’s Learning Support team. With Beth’s initiative and drive, the school began its journey with Kidsmatter in 2011.

Addressing issues for students

Kidsmatter Primary has raised awareness amongst staff about the connections between mental health and learning for students in the classroom. It has provided a wider perspective of the issues that students experience which are addressed by the Learning Support Team. The focus of this team is to provide support for students to enable them to achieve success in their learning. The Learning Support Team meets once a week and considers the type of assistance which could be provided to make it possible for individual students to learn with confidence.

Children who feel they belong at school are happier and more relaxed. A student’s sense of belonging at school is a protective factor for good mental health.

Dianne Basso, Acting Coordinator, KidsMatter Primary

First steps with KidsMatter Staff at Cherrybrook participated in two one-hour sessions on the pupil-free days at the end of Term 4 in 2011, and completed Component 1 at the beginning of 2012. Learning about perspectives on emotional health and wellbeing sparked a strong interest among staff. They were very interested in the statistics about mental health, and there was a strong focus on how to build a sense of belonging in the school. Staff found the information and strategies very useful – and even ‘inspiring’ in terms of how to assist students in the classroom. Some staff members described the feeling of being empowered when they understood how mental health affects student behaviour and their capacity to learn.

Belonging in the community

Through Component 1 activities, the staff developed their understanding of how students could feel more connected in the school community. They became more familiar with the vocabulary of wellbeing and ideas about ‘protective factors’. As Dianne Basso, Acting Coordinator of KidsMatter, acknowledged, they realised that children who feel that they belong, would feel more connected to the life of the school and what they do as students. Research resources on the KidsMatter website illustrate that a sense of belonging and connection at school are key protective factors for children to promote mental health and wellbeing, as well as academic achievement. The school was particularly interested in the research that shows that students who experience a sense of belonging and connectedness to school are more resilient and less likely to develop mental health problems.

A strategy for building community

The Action Team planned a simple strategy to build a sense of community in Component 1 activities for staff at the beginning of the school year in 2012. Teachers discussed with students at each year level, ideas about the uniqueness of every person, differences between individuals and how to belong in groups. A linked string of paper doll figures was given to each class. Every child enjoyed the opportunity to be creative and used bright colours to decorate an image of themselves. When classes finished their dolls, figures were joined as one continuous string of images and fixed around the walls of the school hall. Every time people go into the hall they are reminded that Cherrybrook Public School is a community made up of individuals.

Take it all on board!

As a school with a relatively new commitment to KidsMatter Primary, Cherrybrook teachers have some advice for other schools beginning the implementation processes. They say it is a ‘great initiative’, and it is important to take the time to introduce staff to the Components slowly. They think schools should take it all on board, and encourage staff to really understand the different aspects of the KidsMatter framework before moving onto the next Component.

Leaving no stone unturned

The school is taking initiatives to support the wellbeing of students in new and different ways. The newsletter will have a regular feature, KidsMatter at Cherrybrook. A Physical Education program highlights resilience in students, and the Parents and Citizens’ Committee has been introduced to KidsMatter Primary.

As teachers, we want the best for our students at Cherrybook. We do not want to leave any stone unturned in our goal to assist every student to feel that they belong in our school and support every student in their learning

Dianne Basso, Acting Coordinator, KidsMatter Primary

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Charlestown Profile

 Is located 10 kilometres south west of Newcastle

 Has a community made up of ten different cultural groups

 Has the motto: At St Joseph’s we celebrate, we hope we pray, in a nurturing environment of love, learning and service

We wanted to focus on resilience When staff at St Josephs’ were concerned about increasing numbers of students showing signs of anxiety, they wanted a broad approach to building resilience in students, and assisting parents to understand their children. At the end of 2010, the decision was taken to implement KidsMatter.

We thought it was important to have a philosophy that would fit with the positive ways we worked with children in our classrooms. We wanted to focus on resilience and it was clear that if we introduced Kids Matter, it would be more than buying a kit and using it in the classroom. It would help students to explore and understand their feelings.

Jennifer Edstein-Boyes, Principal

Everyone on board After attending a Briefing, the Principal introduced the concept of KidsMatter. Staff were enthusiastic about it, and within a short time, time was set aside for training in Components 1 and 2. Parents were informed about KidsMatter through the newsletter. Four parents responded to the invitation to join the Action Team, and a large number completed the survey. As Jennifer said: it was essential to get everyone on board at the start of implementing KidsMatter. The members of the Action Team include: the Principal; Primary Coordinator; classroom teacher; school psychologist; and two parents. They meet twice a term to plan the steps for implementing KidsMatter. The breadth of experience of the Action Team has been a great bonus in establishing the framework and analysing data from the surveys for Component 1.

Using the data from the survey Parents were generally positive in their responses to the survey for Component 1. The results confirmed the approach that staff felt they promoted – that students are the centre of their actions. However, the school identified some areas that would improve the sense of community and belonging.

A number of actions taken after the survey, reinforce St Joseph’s as an inclusive school. One example was to find a way to present student artwork in the school. Now, in the room where parents are interviewed for enrolment, 11 picture frames line a long wall to exhibit student paintings and drawings, and they are changed every few weeks. Another example is the placement of a tub with toys for smaller children to play with while their parents participate in enrolment interviews.

Recently when a Muslim family enrolled their child, it was an opportunity for the school to ask the parents about significant celebrations in their community so that they could be acknowledged in the school calendar. Further examples were about a new focus on inclusion and being a welcoming environment. For example, a sign that excluded casual teachers from parking in a particular area was removed. After an audit of the Library, new resources that were more inclusive of different cultural groups were purchased. The wording for a new school sign to be created is: At St Joseph’s, kids matter.

‘Community Builders’ awards At the end of each year, a Community Builders Award is presented to a student in each grade who shows that they care for, and include other people. The school believes that community building links to its focus on wellbeing and inclusion. The idea of the awards is to highlight the importance of individuals who contribute to the community by their actions. Throughout the year, teachers observe the activities of students who take responsibility and show awareness of, and respect for others in groups. Their actions and initiatives as community builders might take place in the school or in the wider community in groups such as the Scouts or involvement in activities such as the local Anzac Day procession.

Advantages of introducing KidsMatter The Action Team members agree that there have been significant benefits to having KidsMatter at St Joseph’s. They say it has raised awareness of the needs of students. It has increased community involvement. Time is now taken at staff meetings to reflect on how to support students who experience difficulties in the playground. KidsMatter has also enabled teachers to encourage parents to be aware of their children’s needs. The school is building a range of resources that assist parents to support their children. The strategies to promote inclusion have strengthened the community.

It is not a quick fix. KidsMattter takes time and planning. It is critical to involve all staff, and ensure that they are aware of the reason to implement a framework that builds wellbeing and resilience in students.

Jennifer Edstein-Boyes, Principal

Northern Territory

Humpty Doo Primary School

Humpty Doo Primary School became involved with KidsMatter Primary at the end of 2009. An important focus of the school is social and emotional learning – one of the three main areas of the curriculum along with Literacy and Numeracy. Leadership is also valued at Humpty Doo. Each class takes turn with leading the School Assembly where student awards are given out.

Queensland

Woongoolba State School profile

 44 kms south east of Brisbane in a rural setting

 Draws its population from families in farming, fishing and aquaculture communities

 Has around 200 students from Preparatory to Year 7.

When the school became involved in KidsMatter Primary in Term 1 2011, KidsMatter Primary was one of the components embedded in the four-year strategic plan. Another component was a new whole-school initiative, We are leaders, which is based on ‘The 7 habits of highly effective people’, the well- known text written by Stephen Covey. The Principal, David Cramb, introduced the concept that everyone in the school community can take leadership responsibility and developed the framework of We are leaders. Included in the framework is KidsMatter Primary, as well as other initiatives such as the school values; a pedagogical framework; a strategy for differentiation called, One child, One learner, and a reading program, Readers are Leaders.

Reasons for implementing KidsMatter Primary

The School Guidance Officer and the Principal were keen to address the mental health and wellbeing of all students. They were also concerned about some students and thought it would provide teachers with skills and knowledge. Of particular interest, was the evidence that KidsMatter contributed to improvements in mental health and also academic achievement.

We thought it would add weight to our school’s focus on social and emotional learning, and we liked the connection between training and assisting teachers to try new approaches to support students. It matched our vision of creating a culture of belonging and learning. David Cramb, Principal

Who is on the Action Team?

Members of the Action Team include: the School Guidance Officer; the Teacher/Librarian; the Prep classroom teacher; and the Principal. Two parents are in the regular email communication loop of KidsMatter in the school.

What has the school done so far?

Woongoolba State School has implemented Components 1 and 2, and parent representatives have been informed about Component 3. The Action Team hopes that initial training for all Components will be completed by the end of Semester 1 2012. The Action Team hopes it will enable deeper connections between the KidsMatter resources and planning for whole-school events such as Harmony Day and Leadership Week. It has been valuable to draw on KidsMatter for the social and emotional learning resources to complement the leadership focus of the school.

Fence friends

As part of the We are leaders initiative, the school invested time and other resources over six months in 2011 to develop a public visual display of images of community members. Every student designed and painted an image of themselves to display along the school’s front fence.

The Fence Friends Project developed over six months and the stages included: planning; purchase of materials; creation of working groups to sand and paint undercoat of images and production of students’ individual designs. The school purchased plywood for the images, and a local business cut the 90 cm x 60 cm templates. One of the most outstanding aspects of the project was the interaction between different groups in the school. Students worked in small groups with teachers to develop images. Teachers’ aides assisted in the preparation of the templates and design of the images on A4 sheets for each actual fence friend. Older students worked with younger students to develop ideas.

The Fence Friends Project provided opportunities for students to participate in a permanent public art exhibition. The images provided an innovative snapshot of the school community in 2011; a long fence line of 200 colourful images highlighting the positive and inclusive school culture.

Woongoolba State School: a community of participants

The focus on leadership and belonging is shared and promoted in classroom talk; meetings with students; playground activities and visual images throughout the school.

We are setting up an environment which is about a community of participants. What’s surprising is that students in Prep use language that demonstrates their understanding of leadership and belonging. David Cramb, Principal

Across year levels, each student regularly records educational and personal/social goals in a data notebook. The notebooks provide ongoing opportunities for students to communicate with teachers about their personal growth. The seven messages of highly effective people have been translated into the school context, and are written on signposts in the ‘streets’ of the campus. Instead of ‘rules’, the school supports students to develop habits like ‘put first things first’ and ‘begin tasks with the end in mind’.

Woongoolba State School engages with students and parents, and invites participation in positive contexts. The KidsMatter Team wants to embed in the community the processes associated with the school vision: innovate; participate, excel.

Trinity Anglican School – Cairns Profile

 Established in 1983 in Cairns with primary schools at two sites

 P – 7 enrolment at White Rock, south of Cairns is 340 with 48 Kindergarten students, and also a secondary school

 Enrolment at Kewarra Beach to the north is 300 P -7 students

 The school motto is teaching them to observe all things.

Introducing KidsMatter- in two sites

White Rock 2010 In April 2010, Barbara LaCoste, Head of the Junior School at White Rock, attended a Staff and Student Wellbeing Conference and discovered that KidsMatter Primary could support the school focus on social and emotional learning. Barbara thought it would assist teachers to respond to the diverse needs of students. The Action Team has been influential in establishing KidsMatter in the school, and its members are also on the Pastoral Care Committee which meets weekly. Barbara LaCoste, Head, Junior School, White Rock Campus has observed the positive effects of KidsMatter Primary in student interactions. Teachers in the playground do not spend as much time sorting out squabbles between peers. Even the youngest students at White Rock now use language that shows they are more able to solve problems. Students understand that ‘it’s okay to be caring.’

Kewarra Beach 2012 Head of the Junior School, Imelda Spence, has supported staff to work on Component 2 during Term 1 through training in Bounce Back skills. The school has a strong musical focus and within a short time of introducing KidsMatter Primary, a member of the Action Team composed a song with the theme, I matter. White Rock shares information about KidsMatter Primary with Marlin Coast. The school community has been informed about the new directions on social and emotional learning through introductions at assemblies, newsletters with information from KidsMatter Primary and library displays.

Communication At White Rock, communication between the school and families and carers is made simpler through eduKite, a communication hub that allows each student to have a personal webpage. Parents receive daily e-newsletters with information, photos, and resources that focus on classroom programs such as Bounce Back. Teachers can convert almost any content item into a portfolio item, and download homework and notices onto eduKite. A mirror is situated in the playground area at Kewarra Beach to enable students to look at their reflection. The mirror is surrounded by positive and encouraging words.

Some of our assemblies focus on creative ways of reinforcing wellbeing. Different classes explain and present ideas about wellbeing to the rest of the school in a creative way. The lower junior area is a social hub for parents involved in school activities such as assemblies and they can hear information about social and emotional health and wellbeing. Our weekly awards promote KidsMatter qualities: kindness; respect; helpfulness and honesty.

Imelda Spence, Head, Junior School, Kewarra Beach

Knowing about the school community When the Action Team at White Rock organised the Component 1 parent survey, they did not expect to find that one parent group felt isolated. The findings showed the international community was on the fringes. The school learned there were language barriers. Teachers worked on ways to include parents and carers from non-English speaking backgrounds. The English as a Second Language teacher teaches English classes to adults twice a week. She arranges interpreters for parent-teacher interviews and other meetings.

Another success was the International Camp we held for parents and families from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities. Now our Parent Community Group meets fortnightly to assist with the implementation of KidsMatter Primary initiatives. The group welcomes new families and invites guest speakers for coffee mornings.

Barbara LaCoste, Head, Junior School White Rock

Talking about mental health Both Barbara and Imelda agree that staff at their respective campuses were already aware of mental health. However; they see that they talk about it differently now. Both Heads value the new focus on mental health and wellbeing, and they are building it into the curriculum.

What’s different about KidsMatter? All sorts of materials sit on shelves from previous programs. But the KidsMatter framework allows us to develop an approach to student wellbeing that we can tailor – it is not a one-size fits all. It’s not a program but a ‘framework’ for the purpose of supporting students and their mental health.

Barbara LaCoste, Head, Junior School, White Rock

Weekly Action Team meetings include parent representatives and guide the implementation of KidsMatter. We’ve used Restorative Justice practices for some years, and we expect students to think about solutions for their relationships. We have the ‘I matter’ song, and students know the importance of giving respect. We decided to display photos of everyone in the school to strengthen the message that we are an inclusive community.

Imelda Spence, Head, Junior School, Kewarra Beach

South Australia

Tailem Bend Primary School profile

• Is located in 99 kms east of Adelaide on the River Murray • Has an enrolment of 163 • Is co-located with the Tailem Bend Community Library • Promotes its motto: to be positive and successful

Starting out with KidsMatter Primary

When it was first rolled out in schools in 2007, the then school counsellor at Tailem Bend Primary School kept in touch with KidsMatter and received newsletters and information about what schools were doing. This knowledge was a strong starting point when Tailem Bend Primary School made the decision to implement KidsMatter Primary in 2011. The school wanted an ongoing wellbeing focus.

Visiting another KidsMatter Primary school

The two teachers, who shared the school counsellor role in 2011, went to visit a school that had successfully implemented KidsMatter Primary. The teachers spent a day at Cobdogla Primary School at the end of the year to see how the students and staff worked with KidsMatter Primary. They were ‘completely inspired’.

Planning to introduce KidsMatter Primary

An Action Team was established consisting of the 2012 counsellor, the Special Education Coordinator, the Year 1 teacher and a critical friend, the local Community Mentor Coordinator (Department for Education and Child Development). The Action Team planned an event to launch KidsMatter. The main focus was to use ways to involve the community in the school. Part of the planning involved examining the local community and identifying the strengths which included a small but active community of businesses and volunteers. This enabled the Action Team to plan an inclusive and innovative launch.

Taking time to invite parents to the school

How could parents be attracted to participate in the school? The Action Team knew it would be a challenge because some parents had had a negative experience of school in their own lives. Many school families are isolated and do not have strong networks. The team spoke at the local Rotary Club meeting and mustered support from a local business for prizes.

The launch of KidsMatter

KidsMatter Primary was launched on the 2nd of March 2012. In the afternoon Year 6 and 7 students organised games for younger students and other activities on the oval. This included face-painting. When parents arrived they watched the DVD about Cobdogla Primary School and why KidsMatter Primary is an important aspect of the school community. Then parents moved around classrooms and listened to a series of information sessions from different local community health service agencies. These included: Child Adolescent Mental Health Services; Centacare; Tailem Bend Community Centre; Communities for Children program and Headspace.

Throughout the afternoon parents enjoyed cappuccinos donated by a local business which had brought its espresso machine into the school. Students joined parents for afternoon tea, and the State Project Officer gave a presentation about KidsMatter and wellbeing. Every student received a KidsMatter Primary Grab Bag that contained pamphlets from service providers that had been promoted in the information sessions and other items including some KidsMatter Primary materials. The intention was for families to discuss the items in the grab bag when they went home.

Welcoming parents

Over 40 parents attended the launch of KidsMatter Primary, and staff members were very pleased with the response. Staff wanted parents to feel welcome and valued as part of the school community.

This kind of attendance at a school event was almost unheard of at Tailem Bend Primary School. Parents took away the message that children are the focal point of our school. We wanted them to know that they could feel comfortable being in the space that creates a positive environment for their children.

Marie Flavel and Travis Schenke, Action Team members

Sandwich boards provide a focus in the campus

After the launch, the Action Team followed up the message – that all children need to experience emotional health and wellbeing. There are now three sandwich boards placed in the school grounds and messages are written on them. At first, staff were not sure if students would read them but it has become routine for them to check the messages that have included ‘every face has a place’. The messages are a way to build a common language in the school.

Trees in the classroom

Each classroom has been provided with a wooden tree about two metres high that is assembled easily from two pieces. Students can display images of themselves which reinforce the ‘every face has a place’ theme or other topics such as ‘people in my life’ or ‘what I like doing’. The trees are a great way to exhibit individual student work.

Advice for other schools beginning

Marie Flavel and Travis Schenke consider that it is important to take the steps for implementation slowly:

It was really important for us to see KidsMatter Primary in action in another school before we began our work. It was valuable to see how we could apply what Cobdogla had done in our context.

Tasmania Victoria

Benalla East Primary School profile

 Benalla is approximately 190 kilometres North East of Melbourne

 The population is 9,000. Enrolments at Benalla East Primary School are around 250 students, from Preparatory to Year 6

 The school motto is The family school where the individual counts.

Four significant features

1. Benalla East Primary School is the only Indonesian bilingual school in Victoria. Indonesian is embedded in the culture of the school, and half the students are bilingual by the time they are in Year 6. 2. The school currently teaches the Rock and Water Program to all Middle and Senior classes. The sessions are timetabled every week and the skills are practised in classrooms. Parents and carers are also invited to participate. The Program teaches awareness of self, body and emotions. 3. The school has a strong community links program. Students are involved in Anzac and Remembrance Day, Benalla Festival Parade and Junior Rotary awards. Many students participate in woodworking activities with the local Woodies group. Grade 6 students take part in an inter-generational program in Benalla. The students regularly visit elderly people in a nearby aged care home and invite them to school functions. 4. Benalla East is part of the Benalla Regeneration Program which will result in the amalgamation of three government primary schools and the secondary school in 2013. The Principal and Coordinator acknowledged the influence of KidsMatter Primary Initiative in articulating effective school practices in the ongoing processes of merging into one learning community.

Getting involved with KidsMatter Primary

The school became involved with KidsMatter Primary in 2010. Up to the end of 2011 teachers had completed the first three components. In early sessions teachers explored the context of developing respectful relationships in the school community. Each term the KidsMatter Team conducts parent surveys. The data provides details about what parents want and need from the school.

Staff commitment to KidsMatter Primary

When KidsMatter was first introduced there was concern that it might become another load for teachers. We were clear that we did not want to increase teachers’ workload. Teachers understood that we would do things differently with KidsMatter but it would not be in addition to what we were doing.

Louise McCloskey, KidsMatter Team Coordinator

The Action Team includes: the Principal; the Coordinator; a classroom teacher; and a Health Worker who delivers the Rock and Water Program.

Communicating across the airwaves

Survey results showed parent and carer satisfaction increased from 25% in 2010 to 75% in 2011. Through the KidsMatter processes teachers focus on strengthening connections with families, and the number of interactions increased during 2011. Teachers consciously build relationships and use a number of ways to communicate with parents and carers. These include:

 Text messages

 Emails

 Phone calls

 Face-to-face meetings.

The survey highlights that parents and carers are more likely to respond to text messages and emails than other forms of communication. Some changes in communication include teachers texting parents and carers when students achieve personal goals or complete a project successfully. Class teachers send texts to parents or carers the night before the school assembly when students receive a ‘Student of the Week’ award. Rick martin, the Principal says that teachers now feel more involved and the school is connected to all parents through technology ... there is positive ongoing communication rather than contact with families only when things are not going well.

What parents asked for...

When the staff began working with Component 3, a phone survey was conducted with 50 parents selected at random. A staff member asked what kind of information did parents and carers expect from the school.

The top priority identified by parents/cares in the survey was about bullying. They wanted to stop any incidence of bullying. We ran an information session about the issue of bullying, and we asked a health worker to facilitate it. We know that this initiative made a difference to the way parents felt about the services we can offer through our school.

Louise McCloskey, KidsMatter Team Coordinator

What’s next?

The plans for Benalla East in 2012 are to:

 Introduce Component 4: Early intervention for students experiencing mental health difficulties

 Develop processes for teachers and parents to support students at risk

 Host a cybersafety session for staff, parents and carers

 Provide information about mental health services on its website

 Review school behavioural policies and practices in relation to mental health and wellbeing.

We’ll continue to raise the profile of mental health in our school in 2012. It is sobering to hear statistics for primary school aged children who experience mental health difficulties. We now know that a school can be part of the processes to support children in their emotional growth.

Louise McCloskey, KidsMatter Coordinator

Coolaroo South Primary School profile

 Is in the northern suburbs of Melbourne about 19 kilometres from the CBD

 Has a diverse community – over 75% of students speak a language other than English at home

 Has a strong focus on bringing the community into classrooms

KidsMatter Primary gave us an opportunity …

The staff at Coolaroo South had had a lot of experience with building a positive school environment, and knew what it was like to have one-off events to build community. While there was progress, the links with the community did not necessarily deepen and grow.

The Principal saw that KidsMatter Primary was a new opportunity to have a structure that would integrate wellbeing into the school experience of students, and also build a sense of community. In 2010 the whole staff completed training for Component 1.

Ticking all the boxes

For Component 2 the KidsMatter Team looked for a program that would focus on values. The school chose Bounce Back for all students from Preparatory to Year 6. The whole school now spends one hour per week in classrooms on social and emotional learning.

We wanted a program that would enable all students from Preparatory to Year 6 to discuss; share; ask questions; explore themselves. We didn’t just want students to fill out questionnaires. We knew it would work better if they actually engaged in conversations about understanding themselves and the range of their feelings.

Karen Nicholls, Principal

Who is on the KidsMatter Action Team?

Members of the Action Team include: the Principal, Assistant Principals; a staff representative; an Educational Psychologist; Community Liaison person. The Team meets twice per term.

Involving students in promoting KidsMatter

When the school was planning to launch KidsMatter Primary, a group of parents suggested that it would have more appeal if students introduced the concept of mental health and wellbeing to the community.

Students designed invitations; each class prepared interactive presentations on social and emotional learning; and the number of parents who attended the event was larger than expected. At the launch, parents walked through the school observing how students were involved with learning about emotional health.

Bringing parents into the classrooms: ‘Twilight school’ During Education Week the school community celebrates learning and education in its context. The school wanted to invite parents to see the achievements of students and activities that build on learning in the classroom. The school changed the hours of the school day to 12.00 – 7.00 pm to have twilight hours. This extension of the school day allowed as many parents as possible to participate in the showcases in each classroom.

Parents had to come and pick up their children as it was dark when Twilight School finished. Every grade gave a Bounce Back presentation and during Circle Time, adults joined in the discussions. All families received a show bag with Bounce Back resources and an item that students had made in class. This meant that families could talk about social and emotional learning at home as they unpacked the show bag.

Letters from the heart’

Teachers at Coolaroo South encourage students to explore social and emotional learning through different ways. The school’s annual Writers’ Festival became a focus for this exploration at the beginning of Term 3 in 2011.

Teachers supported students to craft and develop their writing for the theme of the festival, Letters from the Heart. Every student wrote and illustrated a text based on the theme.

This activity provided students with the opportunity to express their feelings of appreciation and gratitude to a significant person in their lives. Students selected parents, friends, grandparents and other relatives as the recipients of letters.

The finished copies were displayed at an exhibition which drew large numbers of parents and relatives into the school to view the work of students.

Celebrating International Womens’ Day

The school community planned an event to celebrate International Women’s Day. It was another occasion that brought the community into the school. The aim of the event was to celebrate the achievements of women in the Arts. It was evident by the number of women who attended that the links with mothers had been forged in a new way. We show-cased the art of women along with that of senior students from the local girls’ school. We had an amazing mix of women including the mayor, mothers, workers and students with over 120 women in attendance. Workshops were conducted in marbling; jewellery-making; hand henna painting; photographics and cake decorating. The guests were entertained by female musicians resulting in a wonderful celebration of women in our community.

St Mark’s Catholic Primary School profile

 Is about 12 kms north of the City of Melbourne

 Has an enrolment 178 students

 Works with 121 families and 26 different languages

 Is a low socio-economic National Partnerships School

Why KidsMatter? The school became interested in implementing KidsMatter Primary in 2010. It was identified as a valuable way to engage students and their families and a way to create opportunities to develop a community where wellbeing was a highly prized goal. By the end of 2011 all staff had been trained in the four Components. The school employed a Wellbeing Leader who works two days a week and promotes activities and approaches that give attention to emotional health.

We enroll the whole family Principal, Michael Bourne, has a belief that when he enrols a new student, he is actually welcoming and engaging all members of the family. The leadership team has explored a range of opportunities to involve parents in a wider perspective of what the school can offer them. Parent Conversation hours are run twice a term. The topics, determined by parents, have included: cyber bullying, Restorative Practices, and presentations from local health services.

We want to bring services into the school to make sure that we involve parents and carers in the learning environment. We now run a playgroup; art lessons; Italian conversation classes; Maths and literacy classes for parents. We also have on-site counselling. I really want staff to know the context in which families are living and so I take staff around the local community to understand our school’s neighbourhood.

Michael Bourne, Principal

Other initiatives to bring parents into the school include services such as play group; on-site counselling and computer and art classes. The school has introduced Italian conversation classes and Maths and Literacy classes for parents. Class sizes vary but on most occasions between 10% - 15% of the families attend any one of these sessions.

Staying on message The school’s unofficial motto is ‘happy children, friendly families’. This phrase is an important focus for the school community. Messages about valuing children and respect for all individuals are observed in the weekly newsletter in the section about ‘Value of the Week’ and the KidsMatter Primary term focus. In Term 2, 2012, the focus was empathy.

Each week an A-frame board greets students and families at the school entrance. On the board is written ‘the value of the week’ which is emphasized in classrooms and the playground. For example, when ‘cooperation’ was the value, students were specifically encouraged to think about and practice ways of sharing and negotiating, and playing fairly. The week’s value is also published the weekly newsletter so it can be highlighted at home. This encourages all members of the school community stay on message.

As Michael says: if you want to increase student results: KidsMatter. If you want to improve staff morale: KidsMatter. If you want to engage with the community: KidsMatter.

Making leadership visible At St Mark’s the vision of leadership is consistently made visible. Year 6 students take responsibility for working with younger students. Examples of cross-age interactions include lunchtime clinics for students who have the opportunity to develop skills such as football for prep students or netball for Year 3 students. Other clinics have focused on art and craft activities such as: drawing, play doh and origami.

We love parent excursions The school has a commitment to working with parents in a range of ways and excursions for whose first language is not English have been a successful venture.

We want to build the capacity of families to partner with the school. An example of a successful excursion was a visit to the Melbourne Aquarium with 78 non- English-speaking parents and grandparents. We had 78 adults who mainly spoke Arabic, three teachers and two bilingual aides. We love these excursions with parents.

The KidsMatter vision The Leadership Team has built the four Components of KidsMatter into the identity and vision of the school. The commitment to integrating Kids Matter is a strategy to ensure that it will survive when the Principal moves on. New staff members are inducted into KidsMatter and the quickly acknowledge the priority to support mental health and wellbeing for students. They are assisted to strengthen the links between establishing a positive learning environment and supporting students in their learning achievements.

We want our school to ‘live’ the KidsMatter vision and we want all staff and students and their families to know and own it. KidsMatter is not just another program that will loose energy and focus in a few years time. It is a framework bigger than anyone person, and has become a corner stone for the St Mark’s Primary school vision.

Western Australia

Lance Hold School profile:

 A small community school in the heart of Fremantle

 Established in 1970

 Has a strong reputation for participating in the local community and encourages family involvement in school activities and programs

 Has an enrolment of 120 students from Kindergarten – Year 7.

Themes and threads of student wellbeing

One of the core shared values of Lance Holt Schools is respect and concern for others and their rights which is a theme that threads through the activities of the school. In 2007 the school applied to participate in the KidsMatter pilot because the focus on health and wellbeing reflected the school’s values and philosophy of supporting students in their learning. Having access to professional learning about mental health in the context of a school community was a particular attraction.

The staff wanted to support students, and also provide assistance to parents who asked for ideas and strategies about parenting. Staff members have been trained in all four Components. The school priority on student wellbeing means that KidsMatter Primary will continue to provide an ‘umbrella’ for all other aspects related to social and emotional learning. It builds the sense of belonging to the school community for students and parents.

Recently I downloaded an article about children and anxiety. I feel confident when I give parents a KidsMatter information sheet because I know it has been well-researched. I can download one or email it as a pdf, and refer parents to the website. I also pass on the sheets to Learning Support staff, where applicable, so that they can understand more about what affects interactions in the classroom, and why we take an approach to working with particular students.

Kathryn Netherwood, Coordinator

Educating the school community in wellbeing

The school believes it is essential to provide parents with high quality information about mental health and wellbeing. Information sheets and articles accessed through the KidsMatter Primary website are valuable resources.

Sharing learning with the community

The school offers a range of opportunities to involve the community and reinforce Component 3. Students prepare for a Learning Journey event annually at the end of Term 1. Students prepare a presentation on work that has been important learning and share it with an adult family member whom they invite into the school. They work in pairs for the first part of the morning and come together as a class before a whole-school celebratory morning tea.

Talking the same language

KidsMatter Primary in Lance Holt School provides a framework for all the work in mental health and wellbeing across the school. In every classroom students learn about social and emotional learning (SEL). Teachers researched programs as age-appropriate, and there are three SEL programs: Promoting alternative thinking strategies (PATHS) program is used in Kindergarten to Year 3; Bounce Back is for Years 4 and 5, and Aussie Optimism is part of Years 6 and 7 curriculum.

KidsMatter really draws together our focus on being a ‘connected’ school and developing rights and responsibilities. Teachers and students are talking the same language. Previously, we reacted to friendship issues in Year 4 and 5 girls’ groups. Now we use the skills in the social and emotional learning programs to build understanding and skill the children with strategies they can use with friendship issues before they arise as difficulties.

Kathryn Netherwood, Coordinator

Building student leadership

By the time a student leaves Lance Holt School she or he will have chaired at least one ‘Morning Meeting’. The whole school community participates in this meeting to share stories; celebrate achievements; communicate information; perform; and learn new things. Students learn skills and strategies required to manage the meeting, and the chair may be as young as six years old. This is an opportunity to develop leadership skills and support the experience of belonging and inclusivity described in Component 1. Kathryn said that the responsibility for running Morning Meeting gives children a voice and it enables them to learn about other students in different age groups. Students receive support from other students and teachers in the role of chair, and they become more connected and confident in their leadership skills.

Contact with parents

The school has regular contact with parents. Through class newsletters parents learn about what students are doing in lessons. This is particularly helpful in social and emotional learning classes. For example, a teacher emails parents with tips on friendship after a lesson on ‘belonging’ and what it means to be a good friend. Regular email contact has become an effective source of communication. It is also a way of educating parents about the social and emotional curriculum and the KidsMatter Primary framework used across the school.

Belmay Primary School profile

 Is in inner metropolitan Perth

 Runs the Kids Hope Mentoring Program

 Shares its site with the South East Metropolitan Language Development Centre and hosts a satellite class

 Focuses teaching and learning through the motto, Choose respect.

Let’s do this!

Belmay Primary School had a taste of KidsMatter Primary before Pippa Gillett became Principal in 2010. Chris Leed, the previous Principal, took two teachers to Victoria to learn about implementing KidsMatter.

The school started by looking at what was already happening in terms of individual students, classes and whole-school, and found the KidsMatter process reflected the school planning that was already taking place.

Pippa and the staff saw KidsMatter as a process rather than a program that could develop a positive school community. Pippa reported that there was a strong feeling among staff about taking the steps to implement KidsMatter: ‘Let’s do this!’

Starting at the beginning

The school was already focused on building community, and it methodically embedded thinking and talking about how to engage with parents, carers and grandparents and highlight wellbeing. Staff began reflecting on their practices at the beginning of Component 1.

Pilot school for KidsMatter Early Childhood – transition to school life

Belmay Primary school was one of 100 Australian pre-primary schools that participated in the pilot of KidsMatter Early Childhood to strengthen children’s mental health and wellbeing, and assist parents making the transition.

We also became aware that our own mental health and wellbeing was important as we talked about how to implement KidsMatter and worked through Component 2. We saw that there were opportunities for supporting students, and working in classrooms to focus on positive practices, and we investigated new strategies.

Pippa Gillett, Principal

In 2011, 16 families were involved. In the second year, the parents and grandparents made up a smaller participant group. Staff have worked on processes of engaging with families. They see the benefits of encouraging and building connections when students and their families make their first contact with the school. The KidsMatter Transitions Program has provided great support for staff.

KidsMatter Family Fun Afternoons

In 2011 a new initiative was developed to take the place of an after-school sports program which had become difficult to organise because of the shortage of volunteers. Staff members wanted to invite parents and carers with their children to participate in activities that could promote the value of learning together in a supportive environment.

Last term we had an Arts Tabloid which involved adults and children moving through four 15-minute activity stations: visual arts; impromptu drama; dance; and music. Over 70 people participated in the event and dinner. I always give a KidsMatter message and we hand out promotional material about mental health and wellbeing. Next term, professional artists and musicians will lead parts of the event, and parents and children will learn new skills together.

Teachers who had skills in sport, drama and visual arts planned an event for each term which comprised two hours with an activity focus and a shared meal.

Spreading the message

Signs around the campus are reminders of the values that are emphasised in the school community.

There are huge values flags in the internal courtyard that communicate ‘belonging’, ‘teamwork’, ‘respect’.

The flags are in vibrant colours and promote strong messages that reinforce social and emotional wellbeing.

We believe in children helping children rather than relying on adults for everything. In first semester 2012 the focus of the leadership training was optimism, and the following semester it will be resilience. The senior students are growing in their leadership skills, and there is a more settled culture in the school. The leadership and peer support program provide another layer of building a constructive environment for the school community. It’s seriously positive!

KidsMatter Primary ties together all the initiatives in Belmay as a positive learning and social environment.

Leadership and peer support – it’s seriously positive

At Belmay, peer support is very significant. Around 80% of the Year 6 and 7 students are involved in being peer leaders or co-leaders. Students participate in training for the senior leadership program and prepare lessons and create teaching aids during the ten-week program that operates every Friday over a semester.

Hannans Primary School Profile Hannans Primary School (Kindergarten – Year 7):

 Is in Kalgoorlie, 600 kms east of Perth

 Has 410 enrolments and 250 families from a range of cultural backgrounds

 Enables all Year 7 students to take on formal leadership roles

 Celebrates its 20th birthday in 2012

How do students see their school? When students were asked to answer the question, 'How does Hannans Primary School feel, sound and look?' students replied, 'It's calm, warm, welcoming and comfortable. It's very friendly, like laughter or cheering. There are lots of open grassy spaces and colourful murals.' These are statements on the school website.

Starting out with KidsMatter Primary Hannans became involved with KidsMatter Primary in 2009. Staff had heard about the pilot schools, and it was a case of being the right time for introducing a coordinated approach to social and emotional learning (SEL). They knew that KidsMatter came with resources and a sound professional learning program which would fit with making improvements across the school. Through the KidsMatter implementation process staff also identified the need to develop their confidence to teach social and emotional skills and knowledge to students.

Completion of components The school has implemented all four components since 2009. Component 1 and 2 were a natural way to develop the coordinated approach to social and emotional learning (SEL). The school selected Bounce Back as the social and emotional learning program that provided a skeleton for teachers’ professional learning. The Deputy Principal, Mel Taylor, thought it was helpful to have whole school conversations about ways to build on the SEL work already begun in the school. It was important to enhance the relationships with parents so that they also felt comfortable to communicate effectively with the school. By this time teachers had grown in confidence to teach skills that helped students manage their emotions and students were developing a core language for communicating thoughts and feelings.

It’s in print! Along with literacy and numeracy, social and emotional learning (SEL) is another whole-school mechanism that builds the vision for motivating and engaging students.

With KidsMatter, there are now three priorities for motivating and engaging learners at Hannans: literacy, numeracy and social and emotional learning. We have annual operational plans for SEL, and we’re building a pathway and a common vision about student wellbeing. It’s in print! We’ve got targets for SEL learning.

Mel Taylor, Deputy Principal

Inviting parents into the school The parent room operates in an unused classroom and is open all day. It has various uses: a location for groups such as the support group for mothers whose children have some learning challenges; the uniform shop; the venue for Parenting WA and for agency information about families and parenting. A private interview room is provided for one-on-one counselling sessions. Parents feel welcome to engage in school activities, and know that their interests are important.

Engaging with agencies When the staff worked with Components 3 and 4 they investigated the range of services agencies that were available to the school community.

We wanted to engage more with agencies in Kalgoorlie. We knew that we could not provide everything at the school and our referral processes were not widely understood. We were exploring ways to support parents and caregivers and thought that there were agencies that could help us. So we linked with agencies and we invited some of them into the school to provide outreach services in the school.

Staff from Parenting WA provides a one-day per week free service on campus for parents and carers who can self-refer to a counselor. They also run forums and offer advice on developing specific parenting skills.

We’ve seen success! Since introducing KidsMatter Primary, the school has experienced benefits. Teachers are more confident about teaching SEL skills and knowledge across the curriculum, and students understand these. The Action Team meets twice a term and includes a parent representative, chaplain and members of learning teams across the school. Involving all groups in the school community has made a difference to strengthening the positive learning environment.

We’re all in … it’s a whole-school coordinated approach. We see the connections between mental health and wellbeing and academic success. We’ve seen success with safe and happy students who are achieving more in different ways. The success drives staff to do more in KidsMatter.