Building personal strength through social connection
At Emerging Youth we are passionate about kids feeling connected - to their peers, supportive adults and their communities. Through a combination of games, activities and discussions, students learn about the power of community and connection, what healthy friendships look and feel like, and how they can access support and resources when required.
In Real Life: Strong & Connected is a program for students in Years 5-8, and can be run with a whole class, or with a small group of students. Available now!
Program Package
In Real Life: Strong & Connected comes as a ‘Mini Program Package’ - this includes the facilitator handbook, custom-made visuals, and digital resources with everything you need to organise and run the program, including printables for students and information for parents.
Who can help?
It’s so important young people know who they can approach if they need help with a concern or challenge.
What services are you aware of in your community that exist to support children and young people?
Session Information
In Real Life: Strong & Connected is structured a bit differently to our other programs. It’s a collection of activities that can be delivered in a whole-class setting, or with a small group. The program content can be delivered over a whole day, over multiple sessions, or you can mix and match the activities to suit the needs of your class.
Program Description
Over the course of this program, students will:
Explore the concept of connection, and what it means to live in community.
Identify concerns and challenges that are common for their age group, and reflect on the importance of asking for help.
Increase their mental health literacy, particularly around attitudes that promote help-seeking.
Identify the barriers which might hold a young person back from asking for help, and consider what might motivate someone to reach out.
Explore the concept of ‘strength’, and how family, peers, popular culture and the media influence ideas and perceptions.
Explore real life scenarios and strategies for responding to problems, identifying the appropriate people to go to for help.
Identify feelings associated with being helped, and helping someone else.
Reflect on their own support network, identifying friends, family and other individuals who positively influence them, as well as resources and services that are available to them.
Discuss the characteristics of healthy friendships/relationships, and consider how they can build a healthy support network.
Expand their knowledge regarding the support services that exist for young people in their school and local community.
Consider how they can use their own strengths to bring strength and encouragement to someone else.
In Real Life: Strong & Connected is aligned with the Australian Curriculum, and has been developed based on the CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning) Theoretical Framework.