Overview

Alignment with Be You Domains

Mentally Healthy Communities
Family Partnerships
Learning Resilience
Early Support
Responding Together

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

Health and PE

Target audience

Early learning
Primary school
Secondary school

Target groups

Individual
Small group
Whole class
Whole school
Other (please specify)

Program delivery

Schools are able to decide how best to deliver the program, based on their specific needs.

Aims

Switch4Schools aims to transform communities through supporting better emotional health for school-age children and young people.

Program theory

The program draws from the field of behavioural economics, in particular, the work by Kahneman and Tversky, Dr Paul Eckman's work on universal emotions and the lifelong emotional research by Dr Antonio Domasio. It is also heavily influenced by modern attachment theory research (in particular, psychologist Sue Johnson), which looks at attachment styles in human relationships and lifelong behavioural impacts on anxiety management, trust and interpersonal relationships. At the heart of the program is the Switch4Schools Emotion Wheel, which gives us the language to help us understand and manage emotion.

Topics

The Switch4Schools Emotion Wheel uses Dr Ekman's words to map arousal to anger (annoyed/frustrated/fury), sadness (disappointed/hopeless/grief/despair) and fear (nervous/dread/panic/terror). The model continues to be refined based on new research and user feedback. By growing our emotional intelligence, mastering our emotional reactivity, and improving our emotional health, we can solve most of the big challenges we face at an individual, family and societal level.

Cost

$10 per student account per year. Teachers can access it for free when the schools subscribes. There are no extra costs for additional professional development or support that might be required.

Program structure

Through regular (mostly daily) student check-in (tracking tiredness, emotion, emotional intensity and teacher chat), Switch matches real-time and intuitive data for teachers with insights (bolstered by AI) and proactive ‘things to do’ (or ‘switches) for better self-regulation and wellbeing.

Instructor

External facilitator
Psychologist
Educator
Wellbeing leader

Instructor training

The program is designed to be intuitive enough that it doesn't require specific training or expertise to use or deliver.

Supporting resources or materials available with program

Manual
Online webinars
Posters
Workbook
Other (please specify)

Other materials

There are more than 200 brain tricks and activities (called switches), more than 100 lesson plans mapped to the ACARA framework, more than 150 videos, and hundreds of other resources and activities, all ordered in a way that is easy to use and quick to access. These include digital and printable resources.

Ongoing support

Switch4Schools provides technical and onboarding support. The program is designed to be intuitive enough that it doesn't require specific training or expertise to use or deliver.

Parent involvement

Attend information sessions
Attend program sessions with child
Written information provided to parents
Parent handbook
Online resources

Origin of program

Australia

Switch4Schools

Program authors

Psychologist Phil Slade and digital learning and development expert Roshelle Weir

: 413 Priestdale Rd,Rochedale QLD 4123 Australia

: 61403767201

: phil@switch4schools.com.au

: Visit website

Ratings

1/4 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	None
Study design	Pre-post cohort
Independence	None

Summary of implementation factors

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

Feedback sought from participants	No
Feedback sought from instructors	No
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	QLD
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	No

Last updated: 14 October 2024