New education resources to support R U OK? Day

A new suite of R U OK? Education resources have been developed to help educators from all sectors including early education, primary and secondary to  learn how to navigate R U OK? conversations in an age-appropriate way.

Complementing the existing library of freely available R U OK? Day resources, the new collection builds on recommendations made in the Resilient Youth: State of the Nation report which recommended that a concerted effort to address wellbeing at an earlier age may be the best strategy to mitigate increasing youth mental health problems at a population level.

“The resources released today cater to all age groups from the early years to primary school and secondary school,” Katherine Newton, R U OK? CEO said. 

“We want to ensure young Australians feel confident to start having meaningful conversations early in life and develop their interpersonal skills to consider how others are feeling and what they can do to help friends navigate life’s ups and downs. It is important we guide them and provide the right tools to build their confidence.”

The R U OK? Education Resources are a mix of lesson plans, activities, and videos. Each level of education can access the free resources specific to their needs as follows:

• Early Education, a series of activity plans designed for educators to use in the pre-school or early education setting.

• Life Ed’s Healthy Harold takes primary students through a ‘choose their own adventure’ interactive video journey designed to help them navigate feelings and choices during R U OK? conversations. 

• Pro Basketballer and R U OK? Ambassador, Isaac Humphries talks to teens on how to be a good friend and the challenges in high school, offering tips, supporting a lesson plan and Good Friend Player Cards.

“Learning how to support their peers and show interest in how a friend is feeling, through whatever life is throwing at them, is an important life skill,” Dr Hannah Brown, Education and Young People Manager at R U OK? Explained.

The R U OK? National Day of Action will take place on 12 September 2024, and Dr Brown hopes the new resources will help educators, “with their ever-growing workload” to support the building out of lesson plans and increase students’ capacity to look after their peers by having meaningful R U OK? conversations.

Visit ruok.org.au/education to access these new resources and for free tips and tools to build an R U OK? culture.