For some students and families, barriers related to health, wellbeing and social services can significantly hinder their access to learning. Creating a school hub is one solution. In today’s article we find out more about the Mirrung Program at Ashcroft Public School – a bespoke model that’s meeting community needs and having positive impacts for everyone involved.

Each year, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Australian Teacher Workforce Data initiative collects data from higher education providers, teacher regulatory authorities and teachers themselves on topics important to the national teacher workforce. In today’s article, Dr Gillian Clark, Alex Allan and Dr Susan-Marie Harding from AITSL provide a snapshot of some of the latest data. 

As a teacher, you’ll likely remember your first few years in the profession and the support that made a difference to you. But what does the research say about how schools can best support early career teachers? Ebony Malzek from Monash University joins Dominique Russell in this podcast to discuss new research in this area. 

For more than 20 years, ReachOut Australia has been helping young people access support as they experience mental health challenges. Free, anonymous and confidential, ReachOut is a safe place where young people can express themselves, get a deeper understanding of what's happening in their lives, connect with judgment-free support, and build resilience to manage their challenges now and in the future.

In this episode of Behaviour Management, Teacher’s Dominique Russell is joined by Associate Professor Brendon Hyndman from Charles Sturt University to share 6 key areas of consideration for schools to support student wellbeing by setting up for healthy play behaviours at school. 

‘We need to make sure through that data that we’re finetuning our programs so we’re actually meeting the demands and the needs of the students.’ In today’s article, Careers Advisor at Arthur Phillip High School Stephanie Malnar joins Teacher to share how she supports students with their career development. 

The Song Room’s Social and Emotional Learning through the Arts program is a place-based, trauma-informed, and strengths-based program that uses the arts to explicitly teach social and emotional skills. At Wantirna Primary School in Melbourne’s east, this arts-based social and emotional learning has become a key part of the school’s wellbeing strategy.

Research shows that higher wellbeing in young people is linked to strong connections with others and well-developed social-emotional skills. The Social-Emotional Wellbeing (SEW) survey is a valuable resource for schools aiming to understand and support the wellbeing of students. Find out more in this article.

Schools play a critical role in supporting student mental health and promoting wellbeing initiatives. The Australian Council for Educational Research has produced the Wellbeing Program Guide – a comprehensive catalogue of 233 wellbeing programs designed to help teachers and schools find suitable programs that are evidence-based, locally relevant, and practical for educators to implement.

Adolescence is a period of rapid development. To support students through various challenges during this time, educators need effective tools to help them understand how they’re coping – and how they can do so more effectively. Find out more about the Adolescent Coping Scale for Schools (ACS-S) in this article.