Have you used your Student Wellbeing Boost funding yet? The one-off grant has been allocated to every school in Australia, to support the mental health and wellbeing of their students. Student Wellbeing Boost funds will need to be spent or committed to be spent by 31 March 2024.
What is the Student Wellbeing Boost?
The Commonwealth Student Wellbeing Boost aims to provide extra wellbeing support to students following the COVID-19 pandemic. The $192 million funding boost is being shared between all school sectors: government, independent and Catholic schools, including high schools and primary schools, across Australia. Each school can decide how to best use the funding to support their students.
“We know that early intervention and support is key to promoting positive mental health and that young people face their own unique challenges” said Federal Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Emma McBride.
Every school in Australia will benefit from the funding, with each school receiving an average of $20,000, depending on its need and size. State governments are deciding how the funding is allocated among schools.
Schools do not need to apply for the funding. The funds will be automatically allocated to the school’s account or passed on through the school’s approved authority.
The funding will need to be spent or committed to be spent by 31 March 2024. This means that schools need to have a plan in place for how they intend to use the funding by this date. Funds do not need to be spent all at once and can be used to support multiple initiatives in 2024.
Why choose Brainstorm Productions?
Schools can use their funding to purchase resources, initiatives and incursions that improve student wellbeing and mental health, including arts-related wellbeing activities. There is a lot of scope for schools to decide how to use their funding, based on their wellbeing priorities and the specific needs of their students.
Brainstorm Productions offers cost-effective, evidence-based wellbeing programs for primary and high school students, with live shows performed at your school. Theatre in education is a dynamic and engaging way to improve social and emotional wellbeing and provide education around issues such as online safety, (cyber)bullying, relationships and resilience. Our programs harness the power of storytelling, music, movement and humour to engage students in meaningful conversations about their mental health and wellbeing. The shows are designed to be a creative addition to your school’s wellbeing program and provide a fresh perspective on the wellbeing topics being addressed in the classroom.
Brainstorm Productions is listed as an evidence-based program on the Victorian Schools Mental Health Menu and endorsed by the eSafety Commissioner as a Trusted eSafety Provider. We are also an official R U OK? School Partner, delivering programs that encourage peer support and help-seeking in schools.
Each performance is supported by a Q&A and a suite of curriculum-linked classroom resources, developed by educators and a clinical psychologist. Brainstorm Productions is backed by 40 years experience delivering arts-based health promotion initiatives and educational theatre in Australian schools, receiving hundreds of positive reviews and testimonials each year.
Victorian government schools also have the option of using their Schools Mental Health Funding to purchase a live performance for their students, in addition to the federal government’s Student Wellbeing Boost.
Brainstorm Productions is now taking bookings for 2024, with limited dates still available in Terms 1 and 2. We are offering wellbeing incursions for schools in the Sydney region (including Wollongong, Central Coast, Newcastle and Blue Mountains), Melbourne (including Geelong and Mornington Peninsula), Brisbane (including Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba) and Adelaide (including Victor Harbor). We also visit schools in the ACT, North Coast NSW (from Grafton to Kingscliff) and parts of regional Victoria, including the Ballarat, Kyneton and Gippsland areas.
Call us on 1800 676 224 to speak to one of our Booking Coordinators or you can complete an online enquiry form.
