Inquire sensitively about a child or young person’s circumstances
Educators have a role to play in providing early support for mental health issues.
After you’ve noticed a child or young person might be experiencing a mental health issue, the next step is to have a conversation with them or with a family member.
There is a need to approach conversations in a carefully considered way. However, keep in mind that starting conversations about mental health shows you care and are prepared to listen.
This can make all the difference in ensuring children and young people get any support they might need.
This module can help you feel prepared for those conversations.
Who is this module for?
This module is one of three modules that make up the Early Support domain.
Be You recommends you complete the Notice, Inquire and Provide modules in this order. If you haven't already, consider completing Notice before you begin this one.
This module, Inquire, is for educators who wish to understand their role in having conversations with children, young people and their families about the mental health and wellbeing of the child or young person.
It outlines the responsibilities of an educator to inquire (within the boundaries of your role) and provides strategies that can help you prepare for and have those conversations with a child or young person and their family.
Professional development
This module contributes to the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and ACT Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) accredited professional development hours, addressing the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
In the ACT, completing Inquire will contribute 90 minutes of ACT Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) accredited professional learning addressing standard 4.4.2 Maintain Student Safety of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
In NSW, completing the Inquire module will contribute 90 minutes of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) accredited professional development in the priority area of Student/child Mental health addressing standard descriptor 4.1.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW. Educators can complete modules individually and receive accredited hours.
In line with NESA’s changes to professional development requirements, this module will be accredited by NESA until 17 November 2025.
All registered teachers in every state and territory must ensure they have added their teacher registration number and state/territory to the My Profile page.
Please see FAQs for more details on the Be You Professional Learning upload process and time frames in which participants can expect their learning to be recorded with their relevant organisation.
See National standards on the Be You website to find out more about how the Be You Professional Learning aligns with other national frameworks and standards.
Learning outcomes
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- appreciate that educators play a role in supporting early intervention through inquiring about mental health issues
- understand the educator's role and the importance of confidentiality during inquiry
- be able to use strategies to inquire about the mental health of children and young people
- take steps to prepare yourself for potential inquiries about the mental health of children and young people.
Using the Notepad
If you’re a PC or Mac user, there’s a notepad feature for you to record notes, actions or discussion points for each topic. If you’re sharing a computer with your team, your notes will be available for everyone to view. If you wish to keep your notes private, please save and delete your notes each time you finish your session. There’s more information in the Notepad user guide on the right.
Using this module
The Be You Professional Learning modules are designed to be used flexibly in the way best suited for you and your learning community.
Consider one section at a time within the modules. At the end of each page, you will be prompted to explore additional resources within Be You that relate to the content. It is suggested that you complete one module at a time and use these prompts to identify future opportunities for learning.
You will be prompted to take breaks throughout; this can aid your learning and retention of the content.
You can further your learning by using the reflection questions provided throughout the module. Use these questions in ways that suit your learning community’s ways of working and broader professional development. There are also resources, such as the Be You Action Plan and Be You Actions Catalogue, that can be used to further facilitate these discussions.