With the federal election campaign now in full swing, APC is calling for fully funded student wellbeing and mental health support to be a top priority for the next government of Australia.

As a parent group, we can see first-hand the enormous impact of COVID and lockdowns on young people. We know that demand for mental health support has skyrocketed, and the shortfall in service provision needs to be urgently addressed. Fully funding mental health services is an investment in our children’s and Australia’s future.

Every child has the right to and should be supported to develop positive mental health. The 2021 National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy recognises this. However the strategy also reported that more than 50% of children experiencing mental health challenges are not receiving professional intervention.

APC would like to see the next government of Australia:

• Review the school chaplaincy program to explore and strengthen preventative mental health capacity. The review should address how to ensure school chaplains adopt evidence-based practice and are professionally trained and credentialled.
• Support the creation of unified mental health services in school communities to bridge the division between education and health service provision. These could be modelled on family hubs at schools, like the FamilyLinQ hubs in Queensland, which provide mental health services for children and young people where parents are also involved. This integrated approach enables schools, health professionals and families to work together to support children and young people.
• Ensure universal, timely and direct access to mental health services, programs and wellness support both in school and the community, that are fully funded and resourced. This should include access to school counsellors and mental health services provided by qualified professionals.
• Continue to support a consistent and ongoing focus on mental health and wellbeing in the curriculum and the pastoral care of students, including the provision of teaching and support resources for teachers, school staff, students and parents.

Mental Health support is the first of five priorities that APC we believe will improve education outcomes for all children in Australia. Our 2022 Federal Election Statement outlines the following priorities:

1. Easily accessible mental health support for children and young people
2. Positive measures to build and enhance strong partnerships between teachers, schools, parents, carers and community
3. A national strategy to improve the status of the teaching profession
4. Digital equity for all students and school communities
5. Fair and equitable funding based on need for every child.

Australian parents will soon have access to new tools to better support the mental health and wellbeing of their kids, as part of a $40.6 million Australian Government funded Parenting Education and Support grant.

The extra support will be delivered via Triple P – Positive Parenting Program - which provides free, universal, easily accessible and interactive online resources.

Announcing the program last month, Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the program will be available nationally and address different parenting needs as children progress through key development milestones from ages 0-11 years.

“A recent study found 65% of Australian parents were not confident they could identify signs of social or emotional problems in their children, and a similar percentage didn’t know where to get help.

“It will give parents a better understanding of their children’s mental health and wellbeing, help them identify potential behavioural problems, and outline when and how to access help.”

"Triple P provides parents and caregivers with a range of strategies for supporting children’s healthy development including ways to create the best environment for a child’s development; addressing child behaviours, promoting new skills, and helping emotional self-regulation; raising happier, more confident and capable children; and improving your relationship as a family."

A report released by the Australian Human Rights Commission in April highlights "how important it is for governments to listen to children and families when making decisions about services and government policies that affect them." 

The Keeping kids safe and well – your voices report, led by National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds, follows a request from the Australian Government Department of Social Services to find out what children and their families think would help keep children safe. It reported on various mental health conditions among children and young people, as well as how they use services. 

In the report, the top three things children, young people and families said they need to feel safe are: 

• help with housing
• mental health services
• help with basic needs, like food, clothing, transport and school supplies. 

“Many children and families said it can be hard to find the help they need and sometimes the right help isn’t there for them. They emphasised the value of more co-ordinated ‘wraparound’ services and service providers whom they can trust,” Commissioner Hollonds said.

“Better coordination across service systems aiming to help children and their families should be a priority for all governments. We want to ensure that all children in Australia reach their full potential by growing up safe and supported, and those who need extra help are able to get the help they need.

The report involved face-to-face and online consultations and surveys between May and July 2021.

NAPLAN 2022 will take place between Tuesday 10 May and Friday 20 May. All students are expected to sit NAPLAN Online this year. 

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) advises parents that ''NAPLAN tests are constructed to give students an opportunity to demonstrate skills they have learnt over time through the school curriculum, and NAPLAN test days should be treated as just another routine event on the school calendar. The best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure them that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to advise them to simply do the best they can on the day.'

You can visit ACARA’s public demonstration site to find out more about NAPLAN Online.

Information on NAPLAN is available on the ACARA parent and carer support webpage, or you can read ACARA's leaflet with information for parents.

From 2023, NAPLAN is moving to March. Read about the change here.

The eSafety Commissioner is offering free webinars for parents and carers on how to set up devices and apps to keep young people safe online.

The hour long sessions are suitable for parents and carers of young people aged 4 to 13 years old.

The webinars include practical tips, demonstrations and advice including:

• the benefits and limitations of parental controls
• how to safely set up iOS and Android devices
• how to safely set up popular games and apps, like YouTube and Roblox
• family tech agreements and other parenting strategies to manage online risks
• how eSafety can help you when things go wrong.

Session dates and times
(Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

• Tuesday 10 May 7.30 – 8.30 pm
• Thursday 19 May 12.30 – 1.30 pm
• Tuesday 31 May 12.30 – 1.30 pm

Register here https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/8442552073867182349

The eSafety Commissioner also provides some great online resources for parents and carers on a range of online safety topics for parents here.

Do you have a budding poet in the family?

This year’s optional theme is ‘in my opinion’.

The Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society is offering awards in a range of categories. These include:

• awards for students from small and regional schools
• students in Assisted Learning programs
• awards for schools with an overall high standard of entries.

Cash and book prizes will be presented at a national ceremony in September and the Society will produce a booklet of all the winning poems.

Further information on the competition, as well as poetry writing resources, is available via the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society Facebook page or webpage, or you can save or share the poster below.

Come and join out special interest Facebook groups - designed to connect and inform parents and carers, who give their time and energy at their children's school and help build their school community.

COVID has underlined for all of us that connectivity matters, and there has been a whole lot of innovation going on in schools when it comes to parent events, fund raising and community building lately. So we decided to provide some dedicated independent platforms, where members from different schools can share ideas and problem solve.

To ensure these are 'safe spaces' they are 'members only', but we encourage you to send us a request to join if you are interested in connecting with other parents, carers and/or board members.

You can find our more and request to join by following these links:

We're very happy to invite you to become a friend of the Australian Parents Council. You can join us as an individual, a school or an organisation. You don't have to be part of a particular school sector and can come from anywhere in Australia. The single most important qualification for becoming a friend of the APC is that you are passionate about education.

As an organisation, we believe that active and empowered parents and carers can, and do, make a significant difference to children’s achievement.

We have a proud tradition of supporting and advocating for parents going back to 1962. We are not-for-profit, non-denominational and non-party political, funded by parents and supported by government. We are not controlled or appointed by a school sector, although we do work closely with government and education providers. We are fiercely independent, as we believe this enables us to provide an authentic parent voice. 

We provide a genuine parent perspective on education issues, and we are widely consulted.

We advocate at a national level for:

• school choice
• parent voice
• equity in access and funding
• quality education for all students.

Friends will go onto our mailing list to receive all our newsletters, and other publications like media releases and reports. We will also invite our friends to share their insights and feedback on a wide range of issues affecting school parents.