Overview

Alignment with Be You Domains

Mentally Healthy Communities
Family Partnerships
Learning Resilience
Early Support

Alignment with Australian Curriculum

Health and PE

Target audience

Secondary school

Target groups

Not provided

Program delivery

Whole year level

Aims

The batyr@school program suite aims to educate young people to take charge of their mental health and reach out for support when they need it. The programs aim for school communities that are free from stigma, have open and supportive conversations about mental health, and are equipped with the tools to promote mental health.

Program theory

batyr@school uses planned interactions between people with a lived experience of mental health issues or conditions and the public. Program outcomes map closely to the key components of mental health literacy including, an 'Ability to recognise specific disorders or different types of psychological distress' and 'Attitudes which facilitate recognition and appropriate help-seeking'. The program suite also maps to the Australian curriculum, with programs addressing the base levels of Bloom's taxonomy in relation to mental health literacy. While batyr@school is grounded in theoretical frameworks, it also has unique elements such as peer-to-peer program delivery and strengths-based education. The underlying pedagogy of batyr’s programs uses elements of Socratic method, reflection, collaboration, constructivism and IBL.

Topics

batyr@school programs topics include identifying signs and symptoms of mental health issues or conditions; basic strategies for dealing with stress anxiousness; talking about mental health, whether students are dealing with their own challenges or supporting someone else; increasing awareness of available services including treatment efficacy and how to navigate the mental health system; increasing knowledge of self-care strategies and how to maintain good mental health; and increasing feelings of emotional connectedness and reducing feelings of isolation. batyr has a range of more focused follow-up programs on topics such as looking out for mates, stress and anxiety, and the transition out of high school. batyr’s parent and teacher programs include content on how to support young people dealing with mental health conditions.

Cost

batyr@school core student programs (includes the batyr Standard, and follow-up programs Look Out For Your Mates, Stressed Out and Future Proof): single $700, multiple $500 each. Extended: half-day program $2,500, full-day program $5,000. batyr@school student leadership program (the Student Chapter) starts at $800. Parent forum $2,000. Teacher professional development starts at $2,000.

Program structure

The batyr@school core student programs are delivered face-to-face or online, via videoconferencing, to individual year levels. Programs run for 60 to 90 minutes. These programs have a flexible structure with one program delivered to a cohort each year, starting with the batyr ‘Standard’. A follow-up program is delivered each subsequent year. Students can be introduced to batyr with the ‘Standard’ in any year from Years 9 to 12. All student groups need to do the batyr ‘Standard’ program before the follow-up programs, and the follow-ups are designed to then be done in a prescribed order. batyr’s student 'Chapter' program is for student leaders and is delivered across a whole year. Teacher professional development sessions are 2 hours; batyr parent forums include an expert panel.

Instructor

External facilitator

Instructor training

The programs are delivered by peer-facilitators who deliver educational content and activities, and one or 2 young lived-experience speakers who are trained to share their personal experiences of overcoming mental health challenges. Peer-facilitators are inducted through group workshops and one-on-one training. Training topics include increasing knowledge of batyr, its programs and the evidence that supports them; mental health literacy; fundamentals of psychological safety; and skills for engaging groups of young people. Facilitators learn to manage responses from students, how to deliver content, and debrief. batyr’s speakers are trained to share their lived experience through batyr’s ‘Being Herd’ program, a 2-day workshop. They also do one-on-one story development training with a batyr staff member so the story is engaging, impactful and safe for them and the audience.

Supporting resources or materials available with program

Manual
Workbook

Ongoing support

batyr’s peer-facilitator training model includes ongoing one-on-one training throughout the facilitator's time at batyr. This includes post-program reflections and feedback, and an assessment against a skills and knowledge framework. batyr’s speakers are supported through batyr’s ‘Being Herd’ program with training, community building and wellbeing check-ins to make sure they are always in the best place to be doing lived-experience advocacy.

Parent involvement

Attend information sessions
Attend program sessions with child
Follow-up information provided after program

Origin of program

Australia

batyr

Program authors

Kayla Hicks, Josh Wiseman, Dr Tim Sharp

: 74 Pitt St,Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

: +61402576114

: hello@batyr.com.au

: Visit website

Ratings

3/4 Evidence

3/4 Implementation

Summary of evidence factors

This is a summary of the evaluation or research study characteristics that contribute to the program’s evidence rating.

Positive impact on at least one outcome for children and/or young people?	Yes
Link between program description and theory of change	Comprehensive
Study design	Randomised control trial
Independence	Completely

Summary of implementation factors

This is a summary of the program’s characteristics that contribute to its implementation rating.

Feedback sought from participants	Yes
Feedback sought from instructors	Yes
Groups program is not suitable for	Not assessed
Training provided during study	Face to face train-the-trainer in person
Ongoing instructor support provided during study	Yes

Context

This is a summary of the context in which the evidence for the program was established.

Study Participants	Secondary school
Country of Study/s	Australia
Location of Study/s in Australia	NSW
Evaluation of program in culturally and linguistically diverse populations	Yes
Evaluation of program in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people	Yes
Evaluation of program in low socioeconomic groups	No
Developmental based adaptations to program design and delivery	No
Evaluation of program in children and young people with disability and/or learning difference	Yes

Last updated: 11 July 2024