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The Response Ability initiative, developed by the Hunter Institute of Mental Health and funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, provides specialised resources and practical support to assist in the preparation of teachers and educators. www.responseability.org
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The Response Ability program is the winner of the 2014 Mental Health
Matters: Mental Health Promotion & Wellbeing Award
Response Ability is an internationally distinctive and highly regarded program that has been preparing teaching graduates since 1997, to
assume an active and influential role in shaping the mental health and wellbeing of children and
young people. It is an Initiative of the Hunter Institute of Mental Health with
funding from the Australian Department of Health.
The goals of Response Ability are to:
• Support the inclusion of mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention in the university pre-service training of teachers and the Vocational Education Training (VET) sector’s training of Children’s Services educators;
• Promote and advocate for mental health issues to be included in curricula for pre-service teachers and early childhood educators;
• Maintain partnerships with other initiatives and organisations that focus on the mental health of children and young people to enhance mental health.
This is achieved through providing:
• Free, evidence-based multimedia teaching resources to Australian tertiary institutions;
• Information through conference presentations, Response Ability website, stakeholder partnerships and collaborations with other organisations;
• Professional support to lecturers and trainers to integrate mental health content into their programs; and
• Updating and development of resources, including factsheets, pod casts and infographics.
Why children and young people?• The early years of a child’s life form the foundation for positive
development and wellbeing into their adult years, and can act to protect against the development of mental health difficulties or illnesses.
• Many mental health problems and disorders, such as depression and anxiety, have their onset in childhood or adolescence. We can address the impact of mental health difficulties in our community, both today and into the future, by improving mental health outcomes in children.
• We need to reduce the incidence or impact of risk factors, build up children’s protective factors and help children and adolescents to access early support if difficulties do arise.
Why teachers and early childhood staff?• Research suggests that promoting social and emotional skills and
resilience in educational settings contributes to improved health outcomes, behaviour and educational achievement.
• Educators and teachers have an important role to play in creating supportive learning environments, and promoting optimal social and emotional wellbeing of all children and young people.
• It is important that teachers and educators understand the key practices they can adopt in their daily practice, to support positive mental health, developmental and learning outcomes.
Why target pre-service training?• Through its unique position in the pre-service environment,
Response Ability is the first point of contact for pre-service teachers and educators with the key principles of social and emotional wellbeing, which lays the foundation for successful whole-of-school and community approaches to improving mental health and wellbeing.
• Response Ability is the only school-focussed program that has the capacity to integrate information to support the roll out of other initiatives addressing mental health and wellbeing, early identification and intervention for mental ill-health, suicide prevention and suicide postvention initiatives.
Resources and support• The Response Ability resources use a problem-based learning
approach to explore the roles of teachers in promoting resilience and wellbeing and in responding to students who may have particular needs.
• The content was developed collaboratively with teacher educators and health professionals throughout Australia and is available in two streams:
1. University: Australian universities who offer courses in Early Childhood, Primary or Secondary Teacher Education.
2. Children’s Services: Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) delivering Certificate III or Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care.
Response Ability offers free resources for the tertiary education of teachers and children’s services educators across Australia
Multimedia resources complete with custom films, tutorial activities and student handouts are provided
Guides for Teachers and Educators are also provided
The CHILD Framework explains the role of teachers and educators
Response Ability has an interactive website with information and useful links
Response Ability provides support for trainers and lecturers
Contact Us Email: [email protected] Telephone: (02) 4924 6900Website: www.responseability.org
Contact Us Email: [email protected] Telephone: (02) 4924 6900Website: www.responseability.org
Response Ability is an initiative of the Hunter Institute of Mental Health funded by the
Australian Government Department of Health.
