ABOUT THE SCHOOLS PROGRAM
The School Education Program works by bringing people with a mental illness, their families and friends into the classroom to work directly with students, using their personal experiences and insights within a set curriculum to provide an interactive framework for understanding and awareness of what mental illness means; of the types of issues faced by people with mental illness; their families and friends; and the support and the services available in the community.
The key focus and strength of the School Education Program is our volunteer presenters.
THE ORGANISATION BEHIND THE PROGRAM
The School Education Program began in Sydney’s Inner West in 1987 (under the auspice of ARAFMI) and continued on a totally voluntary basis for the next five years and began its funded operations in 1992 with a grant from the Australian Youth Foundation to develop the Program nationally. The Program became an independent incorporated association in March 1995.
THE PROGRAM IS UNIQUE BECAUSE
It has been developed and is presented by people with the personal experience of the effects of mental illness.
Class presenters are chosen for their personal qualities and life experience rather than academic qualification.
That our presenters are willing to discuss at first-hand, personal experience is a tribute to their courage and commitment, as well as a measure of the pressing need to bring mental illness into the open, and so take the first step towards dispelling the stigma so often attached to it.
The School Education Program is a grass roots activity in operation. It’s low-key style is non-threatening and informal.
STAFF TRAINING COURSE
This is the recognised basic training programme to obtain accreditation to present the many MIE Qld programmes (see page two). MIE Qld is in the process of registering as a Federal Government approved training organisation and this training programme as an accredited training package.
Course Details
- Totally cost free to trainees
- Course consists of seven, three hour training sessions with practical work
- Course conducted by accredited and experienced trainers
- Includes an RPL (Recognised Prior Learning) policy
- Flexible entry and exit levels
- Two levels of certification and graduates receive a “Completion” or “Graduation” certificate
- Care components
Course Outline
- Session One – Build personal portfolio for classroom presentations
- Session Two – What’s the classroom experience all about?
- Session Three – How to share personal experiences effectively
- Session Four – Communication skills to be effective.
- Session Five – Classroom protocol and live classroom work
- Session Six – Introduction to the other MIE Qld programmes
- Session Seven – Personal care section and then on to graduation
Delivery of this training programme is flexible and the timetable is negotiated with the training.
VALUE TO YOU
We have a proven outcome of skilling, motivating and empowering our trainees to not only present MIE Qld’s programmes but to also take these skills to use in other areas of their lives thereby enhancing their quality of life.
MIE Qld Inc
This is our core business and we operate throughout Queensland in the three education sectors (Qld Education Dept., Catholic and Independent education). These programmes are delivered completely cost free to Queensland schools.
Mission Statement
To promote a better understanding of mental illness among young Australians through education programs. To build supportive and socially just communities in which the myths, misunderstanding, prejudice and stigma surrounding mental illness are eliminated.
Primary School Program
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Primary School Programme is directed at grades 4 to 7 featuring 3 sessions per class with an hour duration per session. It is ideal to hold these 1 to 2 weeks apart although this is left to the discretion of the school.
The programme is aimed at providing basic, introductory information related to mental health, rather than getting into too much details about the various illnesses for example. With this information, children would be able to know where to go to find out more, get further help and to help and support each other.
High School Program
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The High School Programme is directed at grades 10, 11 and 12 featuring 1 session per class of 70 minutes. The focus of the programme for high-schoolers discusses the myths and realities of mental illness, the fundamentals of five major mental illnesses, the difference between psychotic and non-psychotic illnesses, and importantly the pathways to help. The session also features a question-answer segment which includes a session debriefing whereby students can provide feedback to the facilitators. Students are provided with literature supporting the session.
Youth Forums
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Youth Forum is directed at young people from 16 years on with the view to get feedback on whether the programmes delivered through MIE are effective and appropriate to engage their audiences. There are two versions of forums. One is at high schools in a region where volunteer students can attend. The other is aimed at young people at risk after they have attended school. The duration of the forum is around 4 hours for the one session.
Workshop / Panels Program
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Workshop programme is directed at young people generally, where the focus is on a particular issue. For example, a school requests a workshop on the topic of stress or bullying. Workshops go for an hour typically and are structured towards assimilating information from attendees. For this the workshop is broken down into smaller groups for discussion, and then the information is collated as a larger group through broader discussion. The driving factor of the workshop is to formulate recommendations. “Mind-Matters” resources are advocated through the workshop.
The Panel programme is also directed at young people, but in its case experts are brought in for a question-answer style session. Experts include a person who has suffered a mental illness, a carer, a psychologist/psychiatric nurse or the school health nurse/guidance officer. Schools are asked to collect questions from students prior to the Panel session, and the question box then forms the basis for the discussion. Students are encouraged to contribute to the discussion – the expert is not the only provider of the discussion.
Teacher’s Professional Development Program
In 2011 we are piloting our new mental illness awareness professional development training (PDT) for teachers and school staff. The PDT is specifically designed for teachers and involves understanding mental illness, its impact on students, including students living with a parent with a mental illness, and staff.
Following discussions with the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) we were advised that the pilot mental illness awareness PDT for teachers we are offering meets current College “Professional Standards “ and qualifies for a minimum of three hours PDT under the thirty hours per annum requirement for Queensland teachers. QCT also advised us to negotiate with individual principals to meet the specific needs at their schools.
Outline of Program
The pilot mental illness awareness PDT for teachers is conducted over three one hour sessions:
- Session One: “Understanding Mental illness” facilitated at your school by trained MIEQ staff.
- Session two: Web based mental illness awareness activities completed by participants individually or in groups.
- Session three: A synthesis of sessions one and two through the development of a mental illness awareness Action Plan for use by individual teachers or groups of teachers. This session is facilitated by MIEQ staff.
Goal of Program
All teachers participating will receive a certificate of completion of this three hour PDT program. The pilot will help us fine tune our teaching and learning strategies. There is no fee for schools participating in the 2011 pilot program. We anticipate offering the final PDT mental illness awareness program for teachers to all schools on a fee for service basis from 2012.
The catalyst for this MIEQ initiative came from principals and teachers from schools across Queensland that participated in our student mental illness awareness programs in 2010. Our goal is to produce a final mental illness awareness PDT program that teachers find valuable in their professional life and that schools find affordable.
We are specifically interested in ways we might best assist you to locate these programs within your school calendar and timetable and specific issues we might address in the programs to best meet the needs of your school community.
Second Session Activity
