We’ve reached 21,000+ educators and 315,000+ students across Australia
Approved as a Student Wellbeing Program by NSW Education and Be You (Beyond Blue)
Our approach
We support your whole school community to build the foundational knowledge and skills essential for looking after mental health.
Create a common language to make wellbeing visible Our program gives teachers and students a shared language that can be used in the classroom, staffroom, playground and at home, allowing everyone to take part in a simple yet effective way.
Encourage teachers to prioritise their own wellbeing Looking after others begins with looking after yourself and that is exactly where our program starts. We encourage school staff and leaders to learn and prioritise their own wellbeing.
Build a thriving wellbeing culture School staff who feel good about coming to work, have healthy relationships with their colleagues, communicate & collaborate in a clear and kind manner will be more effective employees. Our program aims to bring a higher level of energy into the classroom, and to provide the tools for staff to demonstrate greater resiliency when confronted with adversity.
Create a common language to make wellbeing visible
Our program gives teachers and students a shared language that can be used in the classroom, staffroom, playground and at home, allowing everyone to take part in a simple yet effective way.
Encourage teachers to prioritise their own wellbeing
Looking after others begins with looking after yourself and that is exactly where our program starts. We encourage school staff and leaders to learn and prioritise their own wellbeing.
Build a thriving wellbeing culture
School staff who feel good about coming to work, have healthy relationships with their colleagues, communicate & collaborate in a clear and kind manner will be more effective employees. Our program aims to bring a higher level of energy into the classroom, and to provide the tools for staff to demonstrate greater resiliency when confronted with adversity.
“Grow Your Mind strongly supports the foundation of the NSW Department of Education’s Wellbeing Framework – Connect, Succeed,Thrive. [It] has been embraced by our school community across students, staff and parents owing to its many strengths. The resources have enabled us to teach our children a strong understanding of emotional wellbeing and how this enables them to be productive, life-long learners.“
Nicole Molloy | Principal, Woollahra Public School
“Grow Your Mind helped me a lot because I used to be one of those shy kids where I wouldn’t want to say anything when the teacher says a question like, for example “What’s 1 plus 1?”. I would be one of those kids who didn’t want to answer but do know the answer. Now (Grow Your Mind) has helped me be more confident”
Student
“I think if I had to explain Grow Your Mind to somebody who had no exposure to it and didn’t know what it was, I think I would say that it is a program that nurtures your soul. It teaches you about yourself and it teaches you how to make sense of the world.”
Year 5/6 primary school teacher.
“My favourite part about Grow Your Mind is that you learn the animals and you know when to focus. Now when I get upset I breathe and when I overreact I try to calm by guard dog down”
Student
“I love Grow Your Mind because it’s a fun way to educate yourself on brain and mental health… Sometimes I do actually say if I’m doing some maths tests … my guard dog gets all worked up that you want to finish it on time to get to the next level (so) sometimes I do some deep breathing and remember it’s just a little multiplication test and my guard dog doesn’t need to stop and fight against what’s happening.”
Student
About the program
The Schools Program is an annual digital subscription that provides guided access to more than 1500 tools and resources to promote positive mental health.
1: Sign up and get started right away Immediate access to the program and a pre-recorded implementation training so you can get started straight away.
From here you can follow our clearly outlined gold standard approach to wellbeing and can plan ahead by choosing from our varied and popular professional development courses. As a school or individual teacher you could complete a minimum of one a year.
2: Tools & Techniques Guided access to over 1500 digital tools & resources
– Content and tools for teaching 45 different curriculum-aligned wellbeing topics including Emotional Literacy, Character Strength, Healthy Relationships, Perspective Building and Brain Awareness. – 35 units of work and over 150 lesson plans. – Digital content in engaging formats including over 100 videos, animations, audio clips and slideshows. – Printable tools to support digital lessons, including posters, handbooks, reflection journals and colouring pages. – Direct access to our award-winning podcast, supporting material and learning activities. – Recommended reading list with over 200 books – 1000 Grab 5 activities (requiring under 5 mins to run) – Impact measurement tools to monitor program efficiency.
Note: Content and resources are regularly refreshed and updated.
3: Embedding the Program Follow the 10 introductory lessons for 30 – 45 mins / week
Plus our University of Wollongong research informed gold standard approach looks to further embed the program in other KLAs. Simple ways to embed micro moments of wellbeing throughout the day
4: Continuum of Learning Fill your own cup with dedicated learning tools and resources, as well as flexible class outlines and learning activities.
We value flexibility and want you as an educator to respond to the needs of your students. If you wish to follow a set learning of continuum we have created an outline that you can follow that clearly outlines the learning activities, units of work and focus wellbeing areas for each stage. We also offer self led professional development courses and NESA accredited courses to support your own growth and development.
5: Parents & the Community Resources for parent & community webinars
There are a range of ways you can share what the students are learning as part of the Grow Your Mind program and support your families to extend the Grow Your Mind language at home. We have newsletter tips, free home resources your families can sign up for, the Grow Your Mind Podcast, as well as the presenter notes to run your very own Grow Your Mind evening. Some schools choose to engage us to run a Grow Your Mind parent evening, which is always such a cup filler for us. Contact us for more information.
Example of the many Teacher Resources
Introductory Lesson in Progress
Grow Your Mind is designed to be engaging and interactive in the classroom
Please note: Online access is set up by us within 48 hrs of purchase; you’ll receive an email with your login instructions. This subscription is per user and is set to auto-renew every year. You can manage your subscription online and opt out at any time. See terms and conditions of use.
FAQs
all the detail you’ll need to know
What principles is the Grow Your Mind program based on?
The program is built upon four pillars to promote mental health and wellbeing: positive psychology, social and emotional learning, public health and neuroscience. The program draws on the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning’s (CASEL) model of the 5 social and emotional learning competencies (self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, and relationship skills) to help children. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) underpins the pre-primary and primary school curriculum.
What are the 45 wellbeing topics covered by this program?
Emotional regulation Character strengths Emotional literacy Healthy friendships Mindfulness Daily positive mental health habits Helpful + unhelpful thinking styles Positive affirmations Mindsets: growth, fixed plus benefit Music and mood Movement and mood Books and wellbeing Positive emotions Emotional check-in techniques Resilience DOSE – the role of neurotransmitters Gender stereotypes Focus and goal setting Grief Flourishing invitations Mental health and the brain Signature strengths Daily wellbeing questions on 25 topics Consent Help seeking strategies Power dynamics Boundaries Generous assumptions Curiosity Values Kindness in action Conflict resolution Connecting with conversation starters Making friends Perspective Naming and reframing emotions Gratitude in action Problem solving Decision making Talking it out Respectful communication Anxiety vs feeling anxious Special calender days and linking it to Grow Your Mind (Reconcilation Week, Harmony Day, Disability Awareness) Staff wellbeing Parent wellbeing
What research and evidence is the program based on?
The program is based on 4 key pillars of research:
– Positive Psychology – Public Health – Social and emotional learning – Neuroscience.
We have also completed an external evaluation of the program with UOW Psychology researchers.
We are committed to track our impact and help you see the positive changes that can come from using Grow Your Mind. We have impact measurement tools that we use to support this and are very happy to share impact reports with you.
How does the program align with the national curriculum?
We are most closely linked to Personal Development and Health curriculums.
Are you aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework (ELYF)?
You bet and this is where it links:
– Children are confident and involved learners – Children are connected with and contribute to their world – Children are effective communicators – Children have a strong sense of identity – Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
How do I implement the program in my classroom or school?
We like schools to choose how they deliver Grow Your Mind, however, our educator’s information flyer outlines the gold standard should you wish to follow it.
How does the program progress through the different year groups?
After completing the 12 introductory lessons educators there are scope and sequence ideas and learning continuum journeys that you can follow as a teacher and a school.
Each year we encourage educators to choose a wellbeing focus for their year group. There are units of work and activities throughout the platform to support this. An example may be: Year 6 will focus on values and being a leader, Year 4 will focus on healthy friendships, Year 1 on emotional regulation etc.
We also have 4 seasons of the award-winning Grow Your Mind podcast to listen to as well as student workbooks to complete, and lesson + resource lists to follow.
My school already has a wellbeing program, will GYM complicate things?
No! It will not!
The majority of Grow Your Mind schools already have an existing program. Grow Your Mind gives wings to 99% of all wellbeing programs. The only wellbeing program we would clash with would be one that focused purely on self-esteem and suggesting children should be happy all of the time. Grow Your Mind is instead about learning the skills to navigate life’s ups and downs. We want children and adults to look for evidence based character strengths in themselves and others and to name and feel a range of emotions.
We use the ”Positive Behaviour for learning” (PB4L) framework at our school, can Grow Your Mind complement this?
YES!
The Grow Your Mind program can provide you with a wide range of resources to use when teaching skills to explicit behaviour expectations.
We have a number of sample frameworks from PB4L schools available to our subscribers & support can be provided to guide you in this process.
My school is religious – is there anything that would contradict their values?
None of our content has any religious affiliations. We do however promote and share the common values of kindness, compassion, love and service.