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Thriving Minds: Empowered Futures

Designed to increase students’ social and emotional development, focusing on emotional recognition and management.

  • Audience

    Primary School Year 3

  • Format

    Classroom

  • Program Fee

    Thriving Minds sessions 1 and 2 for students are free to ACT schools. Please contact MIEACT for session fees for Language Matters teacher professional development.

  • Duration

    2 x 1 hour sessions

The details

As schools strive to develop an environment that is inclusive, supportive and safe for their learners they require programs that enrich the holistic development of the child in all aspects of learning.

Thriving Minds: Empowered Futures provides schools with an initial touch point to open conversations about emotions that will build a student’s mental health literacy, sense of belonging, an understanding of themselves and others and provide strategies for effective help-seeking behaviours. The aim of this program is to address the different emotions children may feel as they grow and develop and to equip young learners with effective strategies to seek help if they ever find themselves needing to manage tricky emotions. This program is mapped to the Australian Curriculum.

MIEACTs dedicated educators empower children and young people through storytelling and evidence-informed strategies to take charge of their own well-being and to identify their feelings and the ways they can respond to emotional challenges they may face.

This program involves two sessions with students (in their classroom setting) and an optional session with teaching staff:

  • Session One – An introduction to emotions, how they impact us, what they look like and how we can manage them.
  • Session Two – A more in-depth exploration of our emotions and their management and a look into understanding other people’s emotions.
  • Teacher Training – Language Matters provide upskilling to school staff on creating mentally healthy school and classroom environments.

Curriculum Links:

Year 3/4

  • ACPPS033
  • ACPPS035
  • ACPPS037
  • ACPPS038

For more information or to enquire about having this program delivered at your school, please reach out through our ‘Make an enquiry’ button above!*

*During terms 3 and 4 of 2023 and terms 1 and 2 of 2024, MIEACTs Thriving Minds program will be going through a formal evaluation in partnership with the ANU.

Thriving Minds Session One

Students will be introduced to emotions and how they can impact us. Through the use of stories, and guided conversations, Year 3 children will begin to identify their feelings and positive ways they can respond to them. Students will also begin to discover ways they can seek help and explore how they can help themselves when they are experiencing an uncomfortable emotion. The aim of this session is to provide young children with a touch point to help them to begin to identify and articulate when emotions might be becoming a bit tricky and hard to deal with alone.

Time Required: 1 hr

Curriculum Links:

  • ACPPS033
  • ACPPS035
  • ACPPS037
  • ACPPS038

This session aims to (learning intentions):

  1. Explore different emotions and the physical feelings associated with them
  2. Explore the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable emotions
  3. Explore personal and interpersonal help-seeking strategies

By the end of the session students will be able to successfully (success criteria):

  1. Identify a variety of emotions and the physical feelings associated with them
  2. Explain and identify comfortable and uncomfortable emotions
  3. Understand how emotions differ in intensity and what this means for help-seeking
  4. Identify when to seek help for uncomfortable emotions
  5. Indicate personal and interpersonal help-seeking strategies
  6. Identify when to apply which kind of help-seeking strategies

Thriving Minds Session Two

Children will be given the opportunity to consolidate and practice what they have learned in session one and further discuss how we can manage our emotions when they are uncomfortable. Children will address understanding other people’s emotions, why it is important to know how others feel and the ways we can help support those around us. The aim of this session is to provide primary school children with an ability to practice emotion identification and regulation in a safe environment and begin to identify the emotions of others.

Time Required: 1 hr

Curriculum Links:

  • ACPPS033
  • ACPPS035
  • ACPPS037
  • ACPPS038

This session aims to (learning intentions):

  1. Explore situations where someone may feel uncomfortable emotions
  2. Explore possible warning signs of emotional responses
  3. Explore how emotional intensity impacts appropriate help-seeking options
  4. Explore the importance of understanding other people’s emotions
  5. Explore how to identify when someone else is experiencing an uncomfortable emotion

By the end of the session students will be able to successfully (success criteria):

  1. Identify emotions and the associated physical feelings in a real-world scenario
  2. Identify whether an emotion is uncomfortable and how intense in a real-world scenario
  3. Suggest appropriate help-seeking strategies for emotions in real-world scenarios
  4. Explain the importance of understanding another person’s emotions
  5. Begin to identify the emotions experienced by another person
  6. Suggest options for supporting another person

Teacher Training: Language Matters

Time Required: 2 hr

Teachers are major role models when it comes to how we teach children to speak and use language that is not stigmatised. The language that is used in the school environment matters and can lead to a greater understanding of mental health in the community. It can reduce society-wide stigma, decrease ignorance, and increase self-respect and self-esteem. In this session, information is given about the current state of mental health among children and young people, the latest recommendations on mental health language and approaches that build/foster a mentally healthy classroom will also be shared.

By the end of the session teachers will:

  1. Understand the importance of their language choices
  2. Understand the prevalence and incidence of mental health concerns among the primary school age group
  3. Describe ways they can create more mentally healthy classrooms
  4. Identify the ways that they can use their language to support student well-being in their classroom
  5. Identify ways that they can help seek for themselves and their students.

**Program delivery for this session can be flexible to work around the school schedule. This can be delivered with to a year-specific teaching cohort, for school leaders, or as a broader professional development opportunity for all teachers within the school. MIEACT is a registered TQI provider.