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How In-School Wellbeing Workshops Can Promote Student Mental Health
Studies show that young people are lonelier and more anxious than ever.
August 2, 2024
Studies show that young people are lonelier and more anxious than ever. Over the course of 22 years, the University of Melbourne has surveyed Australians to find out how we’re doing. And while older generations are more connected today than in the past, younger Australians are increasingly struggling with their mental health.
But, there is hope. In-school wellbeing workshops can support female students in building emotional resilience and improve their mental health. They can provide participants with tools for connecting with their peers, developing healthy habits and cultivating self-compassion.
Making Student Wellbeing A Priority
Boosting student wellbeing is at the heart of young people’s health, happiness and academic performance.
Strengthening Students’ Health
We know that young women and girls in Australia are particularly likely to struggle with their mental health.
Promoting student wellbeing means helping young women to better manage their stress levels. A student with good wellbeing isn’t overwhelmed by worries about homework. They know when to ask for help, and use tools like mindfulness and expressing their emotions.
They eat well, get enough sleep and stay active. When they feel sad or angry, they understand these are normal feelings. Instead of turning to self-criticism or harmful behaviour, they practise self-care.
Promoting Student Happiness And Social Health
When schools can boost student wellbeing, young Australians benefit from improved self-esteem, stronger friendships and healthier relationships.
Imagine a teenager with the self-confidence to set boundaries with friends and partners. She can speak up for what she wants and hear “no” without it damaging her self-worth. She is not afraid to do something that others might judge uncool. She’s authentically herself, and as a result, she’s able to build strong relationships based on respect and love.
Boosting Students’ Academic Results
We’re long past believing that school is just a place for young people to learn maths and biology.
Data from the Australian Council for Educational Research shows that school-based wellbeing programs have the same impact on academic results as an additional three months of learning.
A student with good wellbeing is better able to study. They can come to the classroom calm, relaxed and able to pay attention to what’s being taught. They can concentrate for longer. And, they are more likely to find the subject matter interesting since their headspace is clear.
They also have the ability to set study goals, the energy to create exam revision plans and the emotional resilience to keep going even if they get a bad mark. And of course, a student who feels well is more likely to attend school.
Health And Wellbeing Programs In Schools
Mental health and wellbeing is a key part of the F-10 Australian Curriculum, often taught in PDHPE classes. And of course, the Australian Student Wellbeing Framework and the Student Wellbeing Hub are valuable resources for schools.
But we recognise that wellbeing can be hard to effectively address in a 40-minute class, especially when there’s so much material to cover. Dedicated wellbeing workshops are one way that schools can boost student mental health and wellbeing.
What Are Wellbeing Workshops?
Wellbeing workshops support students’ mental, social and emotional health. They do so by providing a safe space for students to discuss their experiences, learn about healthy habits and relationships, and practise self-care.
Common focuses for wellness workshops are mental health, stress management and resilience, social and emotional learning, relationships, communication, self-esteem and identity, and goal setting and decision-making.
Wellbeing programs for primary schools may focus mostly on relationships with friends and family members. But as students get older, wellbeing workshops can take on more serious topics, such as consent or body image.
In these workshops, teenage girls and young women are able to talk honestly about their challenges, relationships, and hopes and fears for the future.
Benefits Of Integrating Wellness Workshops In Schools
For many schools, a wellness workshop supplements their own health and wellbeing programs. It allows them to bring in expert voices. And, perhaps most importantly, it lets young people step outside the student-teacher relationship to discuss the big issues affecting them.
International research shows that young women respond well to peer-driven support. Collaborative workshops give students the chance to talk openly about their own lives and learn from each other. While facilitators lead the workshops, it’s often the peer discussion that best enables participants to open up and connect.
External wellness workshops offer a structured, time-tested syllabus. This makes them highly effective. And, it can reduce some of the pressure on teachers and school leadership.
Health and Wellbeing Are The Foundations for Tomorrow’s Women
Tomorrow Woman’s six-module student wellbeing program supports female students in years 10 to 12 in developing confidence and self-awareness. Participants learn practical tools for setting boundaries, silencing their inner critic, connecting with others and uncovering their personal agency.
Our workshops also align with the Respect Matters section of the Australian Curriculum. They promote the concepts of Understanding Respect, Relationship Skills, Evaluating Options and Respectful Actions.
Nine out of ten participants said that our workshops will enable them to deal with the pressure of gendered expectations and narrow stereotypes in a better, healthier way.
We also run teacher training workshops to support teachers in talking about wellbeing with their students.
Find out more about our workshops.
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Tomorrow Woman is a social enterprise in partnership with Tomorrow Man and Tomorrow Architects. Our offices are located in Sydney and Melbourne – and we travel everywhere across Australia.
Acknowledgement of Country
We respectfully acknowledge the first custodians of the land on which we live and work, the Wurrundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. We pay respects to Elders past, present and emerging and to all First Nations People. Sovereignty was never ceded and treaties were never signed.
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