The Tim Fairfax Family Foundation is pleased to announce, in conjunction with our collaborators – the Queensland Department of Education, the Queensland Brain Institute at The University of Queensland, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership – the launch of the Brain Health in Queensland Schools (BHiQS) strategic initiative.

The BHiQS initiative has been designed to equip children and young people, their families, and teachers with the skills they need to live their best lives. It will employ knowledge of childhood brain development, and an understanding of the developmental significance of the school years, to improve the life trajectory of Queensland’s children and young people.

BHiQS will initially be delivered in rural Queensland schools, to both optimise child development and prevent the onset of mental health issues.

The delivery of this initiative will see:

• schools more equipped to promote student learning and wellbeing and support teacher wellbeing
• mental health and wellbeing services and supports more accessible for schools and families
• a common language regarding mental and brain health
• families empowered to advocate for their child’s learning and wellbeing needs
• ultimately, students equipped for lifelong learning and wellbeing.

About 138,000 Queensland children aged 0-14 experience mental ill-health, a number that increases throughout adolescence. Suicide remains the leading cause of death for young people, with incidences higher in places characterised by limited specialised mental health services, such as rural and remote areas. The case for prevention is clear.

Smiling Mind’s 2024 State of Mind Report, which explores the mental wellbeing of Australian children aged 4-12 and their parents and caregivers, concludes that the childhood years are the optimal time to equip children with the knowledge, skills and confidence to identify and manage challenges as they arise, laying the foundations for resilience and a mentally healthy life.

The National Children’s Mental Health Strategy identifies education settings as ideal environments to build resilience, prevent the onset of mental illness and optimise development in pursuit of lifelong wellbeing as well as academic success. Schools are relatively universal, non-stigmatising environments where children can be engaged over time, which is particularly true in rural and remote communities. Rural schools are often also community hubs, with strong partnerships with families and community organisations that have great potential to support student wellbeing.

Brain Health in Queensland Schools intends to build a prevention-focused whole of system response that increases the capacity and capability of schools to support student and staff wellbeing, whilst also establishing clear pathways for referral for students requiring assessment and intervention.

The initiative is multi-faceted and will be piloted for the first time in Queensland through a collaboration between Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and partner, the University of Melbourne, and the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland; implemented as a significant part of the Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership Brain Builders initiative.

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne designed and deliver the successful Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative, which is currently being rolled out across all Victorian primary schools with the support of the Victorian Department of Education.

Support from TFFF has enabled the Mental Health in Primary Schools team  to collaborate with the Queensland Department of Education’s Partnership and Educational Precincts Initiative to co-design and pilot a version of this initiative tailored to the needs of Queensland schools, families, and young people.

Following the assessment of possible precincts to participate in the trial, and in ongoing discussion with the Queensland Department of Education, Mount Isa was identified as a suitable location to undertake the pilot program, and community consultation began.

Several trips, and many conversations, later, all schools in the Mount Isa Precinct have agreed to participate in the first ever pilot of this groundbreaking initiative, and were engaged in the first co-design workshop, held last week in Mount Isa.

Alongside this work, the Queensland Brain Institute is co-designing a workforce development package with Independent Schools Queensland and regional Catholic schools, which includes guidance for schools when selecting existing evidence-based neuro-informed programs.

The Brain Health in Queensland Schools initiative was officially launched in October when all parties involved came together for a symposium to scope out and plan initial steps. A rural launch is planned for June in Townsville, which will involve a showcase of best practice and dedicated time for co-design.

The TFFF would like to thank the schools in the Mount Isa Precinct – Barkly Highway State School, Happy Valley State School, Healy State School, Mount Isa Central State School, Mount Isa School of the Air, Mount Isa State Special School, Spinifex State College - Junior, Sunset State School, and Townview State School – for their participation, and for the opportunity to pilot such an important initiative.

Brain Health in Queensland Schools is a strategic initiative supported through the Futureproof stream.