‘The reality is, teaching can be really tough, and teachers, more concerned with the health and wellbeing of their students, can often put their own wellbeing last,’ Julia Gillard writes in her latest Teacher column.

Most people would argue that children should feel safe at school. For some children, school is possibly the only place in which they feel safe. In her first column for 2019, Dr Sue Thomson explores student perceptions of school safety.

OECD Director of Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher explains there are several factors that impact student wellbeing, and much comes down to teachers, parents and schools.

In her first column of the year, Julia Gillard discusses a new national mental health initiative from Beyond Blue. The program spans mental health promotion, prevention, early intervention and also provides a critical incident response service in the event of a suicide.

A regular school day for a school girl in Malawi looks vastly different to what her peers experience in Australia, as Julia Gillard witnessed firsthand during a trip to south-east Africa.

As a Year 8 Advisor at a secondary school in New South Wales, David Williams works with students on their wellbeing and social and emotional development. He uses Teacher magazine to stay informed about the latest research on student welfare.

‘In school communities we are indeed “all in this together” however, that does not mean one context fits all.’ In today’s article, Dr Helen Street discusses the importance of acknowledging students’ different experiences, the need for positive relationships, and providing opportunities for autonomy and agency.

What is epilepsy? How does the condition impact on a student’s learning? And what do school leaders, teachers and anyone with a duty of care in K-12 settings need to know? In this Q&A, Teacher speaks to Wendy Groot, President of Epilepsy Australia, to find out more.

Professor Pasi Salhberg from the Gonski Institute at UNSW Sydney joins Teacher to discuss the findings from Phase 1 of the Growing Up Digital Australia study. It’s an ongoing research project that explores how the widespread use of media and digital technologies is impacting the wellbeing, health and learning of Australian children.

In our latest reader submission, Dr Joanne Blannin says the move to remote learning is an opportunity to develop substantial online learning skills for our students and see them as digital citizens who can use the internet safely and responsibly for learning, play and fun.