Connect to support mental health and wellbeing
A mentally healthy learning community is characterised by strong, supportive relationships between the people of that community.
In this module, you will learn about the importance of social connection on mental health outcomes. You will also learn about your role in fostering an environment that promotes connectedness and belonging and how to support the development of positive relationships.
By the end of this module, you will feel empowered to take steps to build a welcoming and connected learning community.
Who is this module for?
This module is for educators wanting to understand their role in fostering a learning community that promotes connectedness and belonging.
It will help you:
- build your understanding of the role connectedness and belonging play on positive mental health outcomes of children and young people to use strategies that support children to develop positive connections
- better understand your role as an educator in creating connected learning communities
- take steps to build and strengthen positive relationships in your learning community.
Accreditation
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 Connect will contribute one (1) hour 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 Connect module will contribute one (1) hour 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.
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.
Learning outcomes
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- appreciate the influence positive social interactions, connectedness and belonging in learning communities have on mental health outcomes
- understand the central role social connectedness and belonging play in positive mental health outcomes for children
- apply strategies to support the development of positive and respectful connections in your learning community
- feel empowered to create an environment where children feel a sense of connectedness and belonging.
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. You can 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.