Overview

Alignment with Be You Domains

Mentally Healthy Communities

Alignment with Australian Curriculum

Health and PE

Target audience

Primary school
Secondary school

Target groups

Whole class

Aims

Decode Mental Health and Wellbeing is designed to increase the mental health literacy of students and teachers, supporting the identification of emerging problems, reducing stigma, and promoting help-seeking. The program explores diverse perspectives on mental health, including those of culturally and linguistically diverse people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with disabilities or neurodivergence.

Program theory

Decode Mental Health and Wellbeing is based on research findings and insights from MCRI. A robust program logic developed by MCRI researchers, former educators and curriculum writers informs the program structure and pedagogical approach.

Topics

The Decode Student Program explores a range of topics such as understanding mental health, brain development and how it informs our moods and behaviour, exploring emotional responses, understanding trauma, social media and online identity, friendship and bullying. Decode for Teachers features 9 15-minute podcasts, 6 with supporting lessons for educators. The podcasts address everyday classroom questions related to mental health and wellbeing with practical strategies. It covers topics such as: What is mental health?, inside the brain, emotions, teacher wellbeing, gender identity, cultural connections, First Nations identity and racism.

Cost

The program is available through the Education Perfect platform as an annual subscription on a per-student and per-teacher basis. Prices start from $11.50 per student for access to the program and implementation support. This includes full access to the Education Perfect platform, with resources in 8 subjects across more than 20 curricula from Years 4 to 12. Current Education Perfect Essentials customers can access Decode at no additional cost. For more details on pricing, please contact hello@matterworks.com.au

Program structure

The Decode Student Program is divided into 4 modules for upper primary and 4 modules for lower secondary. Each module has 8 video-led lessons that students can complete as self-directed learning and in a teacher-led classroom setting. Each lesson is designed to fit within a standard learning session or period of 40–60 minutes and features interactive quizzes and reflection questions to reinforce and measure knowledge acquisition. Lessons are sequential and build upon the previous ones. Teachers have flexibility within the Education Perfect platform to customise lesson content and assign lessons to particular students or cohorts. Teachers also have access to the quiz and reflection answers and can see student data such as what lessons or modules have been completed. Decode videos feature a range of social media creators and Australian sportspeople to deliver peer-to-peer, entertaining educational content to students to increase mental health literacy. This content is delivered in a style that reflects social media video, music and podcast formats to increase student engagement.

Instructor

Educator
Wellbeing leader

Instructor training

Each school or organisation is assigned a dedicated Customer Success Manager to support them with implementation and delivery. There is also extensive documentation available online to support implementation and on-call support from Education Perfect in Australia. There are no additional costs involved. The Decode Student Program is supported by the Decode for Teachers program, which forms a core part of the instructor training. This training does not have to be completed before instructors teach the program as it is designed to be completed in tandem with the student program. This includes 9 x 15-min podcasts, 6 with accompanying 30-minute lessons. The program supports teachers in building confidence to facilitate the student program and ensures students and teachers have a shared language around mental health and wellbeing. Instructors are also supported in program implementation by downloadable PDF Teachers Guides, comprehensive walk-throughs of how to best implement the program; from how to assign the Education Perfect content to suggested hands-on activities they can run with their students, as well as explicit curriculum links (35-40 pages per year level).

Supporting resources or materials available with program

Online webinars
Other (please specify)

Other materials

Decode for Teachers program, teacher PDFs via Education Perfect platform, teachers guides with classroom activities and worksheets, access to a Customer Success Manager, online documentation and on-call support 7 days a week. For more information about Decode for Teachers, visit: https://community.educationperfect.com/course/decode-mental-health-wellbeing-teacher-edition/

Ongoing support

Ongoing one-to-one support with a dedicated Customer Success Manager beyond implementation to ensure the classroom achieves a positive impact from the program.

Parent involvement

Parent handbook

Origin of program

Australia

Matterworks

Program authors

Matterworks, Education Perfect and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). In particular, Professor Harriet Hiscock, Professor Frank Oberklaid, Professor Vicki Anderson, Dr Ken Pang and Dr Simone Darling.

: c/o MCRI, 50 Flemington Road,Parkville VIC 3052 Australia

: +610410583299

: hello@matterworks.com.au

: Visit website

Ratings

2/4 Evidence

2/4 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	Pre-post cohort
Independence	Semi

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	Web based
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	Primary school Secondary school
Country of Study/s	Australia
Location of Study/s in Australia	VIC
Evaluation of program in culturally and linguistically diverse populations	No
Evaluation of program in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people	No
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: 2 October 2024