1 COMPONENT Positive school community 1 COMPONENT

1COMPONENTCOMPONENT Positive school community1COMPONENTCOMPONENT

I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians

of this land and pay my respects to Elders past, present

and future, for they hold the memories, the traditions,

the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander Australians.

Acknowledgement of Country

■To better understand the KidsMatter Primary framework.

■To build our understanding of what helps create a positive school community.

■To identify the practices your school uses to create a positive school community.

■To determine what works well, and what could be improved.

Professional learning goals 1COMPONENT

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Introductory activity: Option A

Form two circles

Three questions to come…

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Where would you rather be just now?

Everything felt ‘just right’?

Time flew past and everything ‘flowed’ for you?

Maybe a school moment, maybe another time?

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Can you think of a recent time when…

What makes them that way?

Is this a quality you have or aspire to have?

Think of a person who shows resilience or motivates you or is particularly positive…

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Form two circles

Three questions to come…

What makes your school

a positive school community?

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What is your favourite

sport/pastime and why?

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What would you like

to get from today?

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Introductory activity: Option B

How well do we know each other?

A national whole-school approach to mental

health and wellbeing that aims to contribute to:

What is KidsMatter Primary?

Encourage ALL staff to have a voice in contributing to planning for each component

KidsMatter Primary professional learning

Increase awareness and

understanding of eachof the four components

The KidsMatter Primary framework

The best interests of children are paramount.

Respectful relationships are foundational.

Diversity is respected and valued.

Parents and carers are recognised as the most important people in children’s lives.

Parents and teachers support children best by working together.

Students need to be active participants.

Schools, health and community agencies work together with families.

The guiding principles

The four components of KidsMatter Primary

KidsMatter model for mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention (PPEI) in schools

Whole-school community, staff, students, parents and carers, health and community agencies

All students (and their parents and carers)

Students experiencingmental healthdifficulties (20-30% of students) and the 3-12% of students with mental health disorders, and their parents and carers

Adapted from World Health Organization (1994)

Works with the whole community and provides

support and information to staff, parents and carers

Through the curriculum,creates opportunities to practise skills and

engages parents and carers

Supports children in school and develops clear

processes and referral pathways (by working

with parents and carers and health and

community agencies)

Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological Model of Human Development adapted for ARACY(The ARACY report card on the wellbeing of young Australians: Technical report 2008)

Socio-ecological influences on children’s mental health

Activity

What is mental health?

A state of wellbeing in which an

individual realises his or her own abilities,

can cope with the normal stresses of life,

can work productively and is able to make

a contribution to his or her community.

“There is no health without mental health.” WHO (2007)

“The capacity to enjoy and benefit from satisfying

family life, relationships, and educational opportunities, and to contribute to society in a number of

age-appropriate ways. It also includes freedom from problems with emotions, behaviours or social

relationships that are sufficiently marked or prolonged to lead to suffering or risk to optimal

development in the child, or to distress or disturbance in the family.”

RAPHAEL (2000)

Mental health (in the context of childhood)

Mental health is vital for learning and life.

Children who are mentally healthy:— are better learners and achieve more— are motivated and committed— have positive relationships— are better able to meet life’s challenges— contribute to their families, friends and society in ways

that are appropriate for their age— manage the transition to adolescence and adulthood

more successfully.

Why is mental health important?

Consider the following categories…

What may help and hinder children’s learning?

Activity

Risk and protective factors for children’s mental health

Risk factors – increase the chances of children developing mental health difficulties (for example, childhood adversities).

Protective factors – are associated with good outcomes for children and can protect them in circumstances where they are exposed to risk.

(adapted from Commonwealth Dept of Health and Aged Care, 2000 and Spence, 1996)

Risk and protective factors for children’s mental health

Session 1: Positive school community

Belonging and connectedness

Session 2: Inclusion

Session 3: Collaborative involvement

An outline of what’s to come

1COMPONENTCOMPONENT Session 1

Positive school community


Activity

What comes to mind when you think of a positive community?

What are three positive memories from your time at school?

What would have helped school to be more positive?

It is a protective factor for children’s mental health.

It affects student’s liking of school, learning motivations and school-appropriate behaviours.

It fosters a supportive environment for staff, which promotes their wellbeing.

It encourages families and the community to participate in and contribute to school life.

Why is a positive school community important?

Protective factors for children’s mental health that schools can impact on include:


These are also important for families and staff.

1COMPONENTCOMPONENT Session 1 (continued)

Belonging and connectedness

Belonging and connectedness are…

fundamental human needs that relate to feelings of being valued,accepted, respected and cared about by others.

Think about the student profile you have.

Answer a series of questions.

Diversity Walk

Activity

Think about the student you had in the

Diversity Walk.

What significant relationships is this student likely to have with:— School staff?

— Other students?

Relationships (or lack of them) have a strong impact

on our sense of belonging and connectedness.

Significant relationships

Is about building relationships with (and between) staff, students, families and the community.

Is essential for building a positive school community for all.

Allows school members to perform well and contribute to their school community.

A sense of belonging and connectedness...

Benefits of a positive school community

What might it look like?Being positive.

Being able to perform well.

Feeling safe.

Being engaged in school activities.

Coping well with life’s ups and downs.

Feeling strongly connected to the school.

Of course the opposite may be true if people feel like they don’t belong.

Belonging for students, staff and parents/carers

What do we do well?

Discussion

Give examples of what belonging and connectedness looks like in your school community for:students

families

staff.

Looking outward

Discussion

What are others doing well?KidsMatter Primary school storiesPhotos, DVD snippetsBest practice, for example, literature, websitesKidsMatter Primary resources:

– Component 1 information sheets

– Implementation Tools

– www.kidsmatter.edu.au

Moving forward

Discussion

Return to your small groups and focus on either students, families or staff.

Consider what you would like to see happen for them - set goals, raise any concerns.

The Action Team will incorporate your work into the Component 1 planning.

Next steps

Activity

What can I do as an individual? What can we do? What are our next steps

(Action Team)?

Three aims:— To promote student mental health.— To reduce mental health difficulties.— To increase support and assistance.

Risk and protective factors.

Four components.

Belonging and connectedness are important protective factors for mental health.

Relationships are key to building belonging and connectedness.

Summary


Inclusion

Three aims:— To promote student mental health.— To reduce mental health difficulties.— To increase support and assistance.

Risk and protective factors.

Four components.

Belonging and connectedness are important protective factors for mental health.

Relationships are key to building belonging and connectedness.

Key messages from last session

about respecting diversity

Inclusion is…

If you…

Activity

Planning together

Activity




What messages do we send about inclusion to our school community?Physical environment

Communication methods

Social involvement

School activities

Curriculum content

Relationships

Inclusion

Walk in my shoes

Activity

Who are they?

Who would feel most included?

Who would feel least included?

What would help everyone feel included?

Walk in my shoes: My school community

Checking out our school environment

Activity

Take a journey (real or imagined).

What are the key messages you get from:

— The physical environment?

— The personal environment?

How inclusive are our practices?

Activity

Start as pairs, then form groups.

How might your practices impact

on feelings of inclusion at school?

Use the handout and the prompt questions.

Discuss the questions and record responses.

The Action Team will incorporate your work into the Component 1 planning around inclusion.

Is a protective factor for good mental health.

Contributes to a positive school community as well as people’s feelings of belonging and connectedness.

Reduces issues of isolation and discrimination.

Meets people’s needs and concerns more effectively, enabling them to function better.

Inclusion…

Are sensitive to diverse cultures, languages, abilities and family circumstances.

Ensure that:— communications and activities are accessible— different skills and talents are embraced— school stories, music, art, etc are representative— beliefs are known, respected and celebrated.

Inclusive school policies and practices…

Component 1 information sheets, including topics:— About KidsMatter Primary

— Cultural diversity and children’s wellbeing

— Helping children with additional needs and their mental health

School stories

Implementation Tools

Enewsletters

www.kidsmatter.edu.au

KidsMatter Primary supporting resources

Next steps

Activity

Set a personal goal. Record it in your workbook.

Inclusion is an important protective factorfor mental health.

Inclusive practices promote a sense of inclusion.

Summary


Collaborative involvement

Inclusion is an important protective factorfor mental health.

Inclusive practices promote a sense of inclusion.

Key messages from last session

a dynamic process of consultation,participation and decision making for members of the school community.

Collaborative involvement in schools is...

Working together

Activity




Perspective-taking

Activity

Divide into two groups.

Each member receives a character card and a school activity or event.

Introduce your character.

Describe collaborative involvement from your character’s perspective.

Is closely linked to belonging and connectedness and (therefore) respectful relationships.

Builds on inclusive practices and policies.

Provides opportunities to contribute, creating feelings of value and empowerment.

Provides opportunities to foster support and connections.

Enriches school decisions and practices.

Collaborative involvement...

A school story about collaboration

Optional Activity

Listening:— understanding the needs and concerns

of the diverse groups— consulting appropriately— including those not usually heard— making involvement easy — considering power imbalances.

Remembering to think about the perspective of others.

Collaborative involvement includes...

Collaborative involvement

Activity

Form groups and focus on either students, families or staff.

Work through the questions in the workbook.

Record your key findings to share.

Moving forward

Activity

Think about the group you focused

on – students, families or staff.

Discuss the questions in the workbook

and record your responses.

Set a personal goal.




A quick review Component 1 professional learning

KidsMatter Primary framework— Overview of risk and protective framework.— Four components of KidsMatter Primary.

Belonging and Connectedness— ‘Positive school community’ activity.— ‘Diversity Walk’ activity.— The importance of relationships.

Inclusion— Inclusive practices.

Collaborative Involvement— ‘Perspective-taking’ activity.— Listening to and including other perspectives.

Improvements to student mental health:— Increased positive mental health.

— Reduced mental health difficulties.

— Students experiencing mental health difficulties showed significant improvements in their mental health.

14% more teachers strongly agreed that KidsMatter Primary led to improvements in students’ schoolwork.

Evaluation outcomes

Initial staff survey ratings high - schools

indicated they were already doing a good job.

Improvements in teacher self-efficacy for

developing a sense of belonging in the

school community.

Parents reported that they were more involved

in the school because of KidsMatter Primary.

Parents’ connection to schools strengthened

or invigorated.

Component 1: Evaluation outcomes

Documents

1 COMPONENT Positive school community 1 COMPONENT