‘Essentials’ toolkit

The department has created an 'essentials' toolkit packed with self-care tips for parents and carers. In the toolkit, you will find top parenting books, apps, podcasts, websites and self-care tips. The ‘essential’ toolkit is available to download as an 8-page PDF booklet (PDF 1.51MB).

External Support

Sometimes you may need to access support outside of school to support your child's wellbeing or mental health, or your child may want to talk about how they are feeling with someone that they don't know. Your child may also feel more comfortable talking to someone over the phone or online.

There are many trusted organisations that are specifically available to support children and young people's wellbeing and mental health that can provide guidance to parents. No matter what is going on in your child's life, they can talk to someone who cares and will help them feel better.

Find out more about these organisations and how to get in touch.

• Beyond Blue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live
• Youth Beyond Blue a dedicated site for youth that provides information, resources and support for young people dealing with depression and/or anxiety
• headspace provides tailored and holistic mental health support to 12-25-year-olds. headspace has a focus on early intervention, working with young people to provide support to help get them back on track and strengthen their ability to manage their mental health in the future
• Parentline is a confidential phone and WebChat counselling service. Trained teams provide support, information, and counselling for parents of children aged 0-18 years. You can call them for the cost of a local call between 9 am to 9 pm Monday to Friday and 4 pm to 9 pm on weekends on 1300 1300 52.
• CAMHS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services provide a range of services in the local community to children, adolescents and their families with a range of difficulties that are seriously impacting on their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Most services are delivered by community-based teams, providing treatment and care close to people’s homes. Some services are delivered from the hospital in inpatient settings
• Student Wellbeing Hub provides high quality, age-appropriate information and resources targeted specifically to educators, parents, and students to support student wellbeing and safety
• If your child is being bullied, you can seek information and help
• If your child wants to talk to someone other than the school, or you think added support would help, you may refer them to Kids Helpline. They can also call for free on 1800 551 800
• If you are experiencing serious online bullying, the material can be reported to the eSafety Commissioner. For bullying on social media, the there is information on how to report online bullying directly to the social media service.