Expressions of interest are now open to join a new online register of student wellbeing programs, which will enable NSW public schools to confidently select quality assured programs that support student wellbeing.
The register is the first of its kind in NSW with external providers required to meet evidence-based criteria to be included on the register.
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said the new online register will provide schools with confidence in the quality of ‘shelf-ready’ wellbeing programs for students, and wellbeing and counselling staff, who can provide immediate and ongoing mental health support for students onsite at schools.
“We are making the process of selecting high quality student wellbeing programs as simple as possible and helping to reduce the administration burden for our schools,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The NSW Government is committed to continuing to prioritise and invest in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our students.
“Schools play a key role in supporting student wellbeing, which is so vital to the development of children and young people, both socially and academically.”
The programs selected for the new register must meet a high-quality standard as assessed by a panel of experts against identified criteria and the priority areas of supporting positive student behaviour, developing resilience and strengthening students’ sense of belonging in their school community.
Schools will have the ability to directly select and procure student wellbeing programs and provide feedback on a program’s effectiveness and implementation through the new register.
Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said this program is another example of the NSW Government investing in the mental health and wellbeing of our young people.
“The NSW Government is injecting a record amount of funding into a range of new and innovative mental health and wellbeing initiatives for our young people like our Safeguard teams and school wellbeing nurses. I’m pleased that the new register will allow schools to access additional resources more easily,” Ms Taylor said.
“In addition to this, we work closely with a range of organisations such as headspace and Wellways to deliver suicide prevention programs for young people. Making these programs more accessible for NSW schools will be a game changer.”
Program providers are invited to submit their programs for review against set quality criteria through an expression of interest process, closing on 30 June 2022.
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