Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund project recipients

Primary school-aged students

FlyHigh Billie Limited – Capacity Building	resilience
Enhancing Wellbeing through kindness-centred early intervention among primary school children in Queanbeyan. Expanding the existing evidence-based wellbeing programs with a focus on empowering primary school children through early intervention, making them kinder, empathetic, and compassionate, towards reducing mental health issues, bullying and suicide.

FlyHigh Billie Limited – Capacity Building

resilience

Enhancing Wellbeing through kindness-centred early intervention among primary school children in Queanbeyan.

Expanding the existing evidence-based wellbeing programs with a focus on empowering primary school children through early intervention, making them kinder, empathetic, and compassionate, towards reducing mental health issues, bullying and suicide.

Gotcha4Life Foundation - Seed Funding	resilience
Gotcha4Life Primary Schools Mental Fitness Program Creating the Gotcha4Life Primary School Mental Fitness Program to teach children in years K-6 how to develop skills that help them bounce back from life's challenges. Building on the success of Gotcha4Life's High School Mental Fitness Program which takes a preventative, non-clinical approach to wellbeing to help students learn practical tools for resilience.

Gotcha4Life Foundation - Seed Funding

resilience

Gotcha4Life Primary Schools Mental Fitness Program

Creating the Gotcha4Life Primary School Mental Fitness Program to teach children in years K-6 how to develop skills that help them bounce back from life's challenges. Building on the success of Gotcha4Life's High School Mental Fitness Program which takes a preventative, non-clinical approach to wellbeing to help students learn practical tools for resilience.

Students Transitioning

Healthy Cities Illawarra – Seed Funding	sense of belonging
Hi Mate Delivering 'Hi Mate', to Year 6 students in Warrawong Community of Schools. Hi Mate is a physical activity-based program to help students transition to high school. It’s co-designed with Healthy Cities Illawarra and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District’s Schools Team and draws on the local healthy lifestyle and resilience programs taking a trauma-informed approach.

Healthy Cities Illawarra – Seed Funding

sense of belonging

Hi Mate

Delivering 'Hi Mate', to Year 6 students in Warrawong Community of Schools. Hi Mate is a physical activity-based program to help students transition to high school. It’s co-designed with Healthy Cities Illawarra and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District’s Schools Team and draws on the local healthy lifestyle and resilience programs taking a trauma-informed approach.

Mission Australia – Capacity Building	sense of belonging
Strong, Smart, Settled Program Expanding Mission Australia’s Strong, Smart, Settled Program to support the primary school students transition to high school in the Great Lakes Learning Community, focusing on improving students' wellbeing and sense of belonging within the school setting. The program will adopt a student-led approach to program design, where students are engaged in co-designing the program to ensure it is responsive to their needs

Mission Australia – Capacity Building

sense of belonging

Strong, Smart, Settled Program

Expanding Mission Australia’s Strong, Smart, Settled Program to support the primary school students transition to high school in the Great Lakes Learning Community, focusing on improving students' wellbeing and sense of belonging within the school setting. The program will adopt a student-led approach to program design, where students are engaged in co-designing the program to ensure it is responsive to their needs

Fairfield Community Resource Centre known as Community First Step – Capacity Building	resilience
Big School Big Minds Expanding the Big School, Big Minds program to include additional modules for parents and carers, update home-based activities and incorporate social-emotional learning to support pre-school aged children transition to school. The Big School, Big Minds program is a practice-based evidence school readiness program sensitive to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, focusing on vulnerable children 4-6 years of age and their families in South-West Sydney.

Fairfield Community Resource Centre known as Community First Step – Capacity Building

resilience

Big School Big Minds

Expanding the Big School, Big Minds program to include additional modules for parents and carers, update home-based activities and incorporate social-emotional learning to support pre-school aged children transition to school. The Big School, Big Minds program is a practice-based evidence school readiness program sensitive to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, focusing on vulnerable children 4-6 years of age and their families in South-West Sydney.

Students living in rural and remote areas

Trustee for Top Blokes Foundation – Seed Funding	behaviour
Train the Trainer – Adapting the Top Blokes Mentoring Program for Regional and Rural Communities Adapting of the existing Top Blokes Mentoring Program for male students in primary and high schools in Goulburn. This program variation will be co-deigned for delivery by the Goulburn Mulwaree Council Youth. The Top Blokes Mentoring Program currently addresses topics such as mental health, respectful relationships, and online behaviours, and seeks to improve positive social behaviours, social connectedness, and personal and physical wellbeing.

Trustee for Top Blokes Foundation – Seed Funding

behaviour

Train the Trainer – Adapting the Top Blokes Mentoring Program for Regional and Rural Communities

Adapting of the existing Top Blokes Mentoring Program for male students in primary and high schools in Goulburn. This program variation will be co-deigned for delivery by the Goulburn Mulwaree Council Youth. The Top Blokes Mentoring Program currently addresses topics such as mental health, respectful relationships, and online behaviours, and seeks to improve positive social behaviours, social connectedness, and personal and physical wellbeing.

Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship – Capacity Building	resilience
Scaling Social Enterprise Schools Effectively re-engaging young people with learning by empowering and building resilience. The program focuses on regional and rural NSW, and Sydney, helping young people through the process of setting up their own social enterprise. It brings students, teachers, local entrepreneurs and the community to develop students’ skills, build confidence and make a positive social impact.

Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship – Capacity Building

resilience

Scaling Social Enterprise Schools

Effectively re-engaging young people with learning by empowering and building resilience. The program focuses on regional and rural NSW, and Sydney, helping young people through the process of setting up their own social enterprise. It brings students, teachers, local entrepreneurs and the community to develop students’ skills, build confidence and make a positive social impact.

Mission Australia – Capacity Building	student behaviour
Wellbeing Coordination Group Implementing Mission Australia’s Wellbeing Coordination Group across schools in Broken Hill and surrounding communities using a hub-and-spoke model of support. The program supports students in several wellbeing elements, including harmful risk-taking behaviour, emotional wellbeing, cyber safety, and resilience.

Mission Australia – Capacity Building

student behaviour

Wellbeing Coordination Group

Implementing Mission Australia’s Wellbeing Coordination Group across schools in Broken Hill and surrounding communities using a hub-and-spoke model of support. The program supports students in several wellbeing elements, including harmful risk-taking behaviour, emotional wellbeing, cyber safety, and resilience.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia Limited – Capacity Building	sense of belonging
Tumut Supportive Friends & Mentoring Program Delivering Big Brothers Big Sisters’ and Stride Education’s Tumut Supportive Friends Mentoring Program to students at Tumut High School. The program is a combination of one-to-one mentoring and wellbeing workshops focusing on positive relationship-building and social and emotional wellbeing by addressing the growing issues of bullying, isolation, and negativity experienced by some students.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia Limited – Capacity Building

sense of belonging

Tumut Supportive Friends & Mentoring Program

Delivering Big Brothers Big Sisters’ and Stride Education’s Tumut Supportive Friends Mentoring Program to students at Tumut High School. The program is a combination of one-to-one mentoring and wellbeing workshops focusing on positive relationship-building and social and emotional wellbeing by addressing the growing issues of bullying, isolation, and negativity experienced by some students.

Students from target cohorts

Matterworks Pty Ltd – Capacity Building	Students with additional needs and or disability
Decode Mental Health and Wellbeing - Extended Program Expanding the Decode Mental Health & Wellbeing Core Program for neurodivergent students and students with a physical disability. Decode Mental Health & Wellbeing Extended Program will also focus on the transition from upper primary to high school for these students, drawing on the experiences and input from young people with lived experiences

Matterworks Pty Ltd – Capacity Building

Students with additional needs and or disability

Decode Mental Health and Wellbeing - Extended Program

Expanding the Decode Mental Health & Wellbeing Core Program for neurodivergent students and students with a physical disability. Decode Mental Health & Wellbeing Extended Program will also focus on the transition from upper primary to high school for these students, drawing on the experiences and input from young people with lived experiences

MacKillop Family Services – Capacity Building	Aboriginal students
Seasons for Growth Producing co-designed resources to strengthen and better reflect the cultural dimensions of wellbeing for Aboriginal children and communities. Seasons for Growth is a psycho-social education program that helps children and communities to cope with grief, loss, and change. The program has been tailored to support people who have experienced various forms of loss and change, including natural disasters, forced migration, and incarceration.

MacKillop Family Services – Capacity Building

Aboriginal students

Seasons for Growth

Producing co-designed resources to strengthen and better reflect the cultural dimensions of wellbeing for Aboriginal children and communities. Seasons for Growth is a psycho-social education program that helps children and communities to cope with grief, loss, and change. The program has been tailored to support people who have experienced various forms of loss and change, including natural disasters, forced migration, and incarceration.

Hey Lemonade Pty. Ltd. – Seed Funding	Aboriginal students, students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and female students
Hey Lemonade High, Student Wellbeing Trial Piloting the teen wellbeing app ‘Hey Lemonade High’ to Year 9 and Year 10 students. Hey Lemonade High is a stress and motivation app to help students circuit break modern day problems. The app contains 3-4 minute, evidence-based talks to quickly manage stress, increase confidence, and build resilience via solution-focused therapy. Talks are written about specific issues, guided by solution-focused coaching experts, and reviewed by psychologists.

Hey Lemonade Pty. Ltd. – Seed Funding

Aboriginal students, students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and female students

Hey Lemonade High, Student Wellbeing Trial

Piloting the teen wellbeing app ‘Hey Lemonade High’ to Year 9 and Year 10 students. Hey Lemonade High is a stress and motivation app to help students circuit break modern day problems. The app contains 3-4 minute, evidence-based talks to quickly manage stress, increase confidence, and build resilience via solution-focused therapy. Talks are written about specific issues, guided by solution-focused coaching experts, and reviewed by psychologists.