Overview

Alignment with Be You Domains

Mentally Healthy Communities
Learning Resilience

Alignment with Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)

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

Alignment with Australian Curriculum

English
Health and PE

Target audience

Early learning
Primary school

Target groups

Small group
Whole class
Whole school

Aims

Grow Your Mind aims to enhance the social and emotional learning and wellbeing of children, school staff and families through supporting them to understand mental health and form habits of resilience. The program supports learning communities to develop a strong awareness of ways to protect and nurture wellbeing. This includes seeing children understand what a respectful relationship is and developing skills to foster a growth mindset. Grow Your Mind takes a whole-school approach.

Program theory

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.

Topics

Topics include an introduction to 5 key parts of the brain (each with an animal to represent it), resilience, emotional literacy, empathy, courage, helpful and unhelpful thinking patterns, confidence, character strengths, values, mindfulness, emotional regulation, growth mindset, benefit mindset, respectful relationships, conflict resolution, brain health and neurotransmitters, gratitude, cultivating joy and other positive emotions, kindness and self-compassion, perspective, movement and mood. Topics for educators include developing tools of resilience in a school environment, connection and fostering healthy relationships, awe, nature and curiosity, sleep hygiene and the importance of rest, generous assumptions, vulnerability, intentional feedback.

Cost

Educator single-subscription $180 per annum; whole-school licences from $900; staff professional development courses (wellbeing, resilience, implementation, and more) from $100. Positive education classroom resources from $5 to $199. Free introductory lessons with free worksheets all linked to NSW and Australian Curriculum. Free podcast delivered by children for children (teaching tool) and free themed colouring-in sheets.

Program structure

Grow Your Mind uses a blended learning approach with resources that incorporate explicit, collaborative, play-based and digital learning. The program can begin with 12 introductory lessons for explicit classroom teaching. Alongside this, educators can use more than 400 wellbeing activities (under 5 minutes) or more than 40 videos to support character strength development. Schools may wish to use the Grow Your Mind podcast (10- to 20-minute episodes) and student workbooks to introduce the program or continue learning. Educators can then choose from over 15 themed units of work.

Instructor

Not provided

Instructor training

1.5 hours of implementation training and 2 hours of staff wellbeing training. These can be combined or conducted at separate times.

Supporting resources or materials available with program

Manual
Online webinars
Posters
Workbook

Ongoing support

Email and phone support. Free wellbeing webinars.

Parent involvement

Attend information sessions

Origin of program

Australia

Grow Your Mind

Program authors

Alice Peel

: 1/31 Blandford Avenue,Bronte NSW 2024 Australia

: +61 402 356 768

: kristina@growyourmind.life

: Visit website

Ratings

2/4 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	Pre-post cohort
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, all instructors, 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	Primary 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: 18 May 2023