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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-02-06 Daily Xml
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MINDMATTERS

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:27): Last year I met with Principals Australia to discuss a number of initiatives it has played a key role in implementing in various schools around Australia. One of those is MindMatters. MindMatters is a mental health initiative funded by the Department for Health and Ageing. It is designed to promote good mental health and wellbeing through promotion, prevention and early intervention. MindMatters was implemented in 2000 and has been rolled out to all schools with secondary enrolments in Australia.

An evaluation conducted of MindMatters in New South Wales in 2008 showed proportions of students reported: having ever smoked a cigarette reduced from 50 per cent to 27 per cent; being a current smoker reduced from 23 per cent to 11 per cent; binge drinking in the past four weeks reduced from 34 per cent to 17 per cent; and using marijuana in the last three months reduced from 16 per cent to 7 per cent.

The MindMatters initiative has been implemented in over 2,600 schools across the country. Schools that have implemented MindMatters within all aspects of their curriculum and school life and can show evidence of improving outcomes can apply to become MindMatters schools. In South Australia, seven schools have been recognised for their efforts over the past three years. Two South Australian schools were recognised as MindMatters schools in 2012. They were Marymount College and Bowden Brompton Community School.

Marymount College is a Catholic girls school for students in years 6 to 9, located in south-west Adelaide. The Marymount wellbeing team has led mental health and wellbeing initiatives across the school that include mapping the teaching of social and emotional competencies, facilitating parent and caregiver partnerships and building collaborative relationships using the MindMatters framework and tools. Mental health and wellbeing is a key priority of the school's strategic plan, with a strong commitment from its leadership team. Staff have developed their awareness of mental health issues, taking a more active role in supporting student wellbeing, and this is reflected in counsellor data.

Bowden Brompton Community School is a category 2 school that has been working with students who have been unable to effectively access education in traditional schools. Bowden Brompton Community School caters for students with social, emotional and mental health concerns who may exhibit extreme behaviours and may have experienced trauma. They may have also come under the attention of the juvenile justice system. Students at Bowden Brompton school attend from all over Adelaide with the majority being School Card holders and more than 30 per cent residing with non-primary caregivers.

Use of the MindMatters Youth Empowerment Process allows students to develop greater confidence, mentoring their peers, establishing greater links with students in other campuses and increasing work in the community. Implementation of MindMatters at Bowden Brompton Community School has supported improved attendance and a 34 per cent increase in the completion of SACE over the last three years. Explicit teaching of social skills has shown a 17 per cent improvement in 20 identified focus skills. This is also linked to an increase in literacy skills of 21 per cent. Staff morale has grown over the last three years, measured using the Psychological Health Survey.

The benefits of focusing on student mental health and wellbeing are not limited to secondary schools. Principals Australia Institute is also involved in another national mental health initiative called KidsMatter Primary. KidsMatter Primary is a partnership between the institute and the Australian Psychological Society and beyondblue, and is funded by the commonwealth government. More than 1,044 schools are engaged in KidsMatter nationally, 114 in South Australia, with a national target of 2,000 schools by June 2014.

Like Mind Matters, KidsMatter is seeing tangible and measurable improvements in student wellbeing. Both initiatives give teachers and schools the tools and support they need to enhance not only student health but educational outcomes as well. In closing, I commend and thank Principals Australia Institute and everybody involved in the implementation of these marvellous initiatives in our schools.

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