Government

Dates of project: January 2002 - present

Customer: Department of Communities (formerly Disability Services Commission)

Key researcher/s involved: Associate Professor Helen Leonard, Jenny Bourke, Professor Carol Bower

Partner organisations: Department of Communities, Department of Education WA, National Disability Insurance Agency

Intellectual disability is a neglected area of public health, with often sparse and inaccurate estimates of prevalence. There are differing criteria for inclusion and, in many cases, the cause of the condition is unknown. Establishing reliable data, from multiple sources, is critical to ongoing population-based ascertainment of intellectual disability. This database provides an infrastructure that facilitates the planning of services for people with intellectual disability. It also provides a foundation for research with the ultimate aim of implementing preventive strategies.

Since 2002, the Child Disability team at the Telethon Kids Institute have been engaged by the Department for Communities (formerly Disability Services Commission) to build on the existing Western Australian Intellectual Disability Database to improve data and thus maximise the ascertainment of intellectual disability in Western Australia. The IDEA database is a de-identified repository of data on all children born in Western Australia since 1983 who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability. Up to the end of 2020 there were 25,184 eligible individuals with intellectual disability born in WA since 1983. Additionally, 5294 individuals diagnosed with autism without intellectual disability were identified.

Linkage to other databases provides the potential to access socio-demographic, perinatal and clinical information for the population with an intellectual disability, and for ascertainment to include children with intellectual disability identified through the education system. Additionally, in 2020 the database was able to increase the ascertainment sources to include individuals receiving services through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

By improving the quality of data and how intellectual disability is ascertained in Western Australia, we are in a better position to investigate risk factors and neurodevelopmental outcomes among children with intellectual disability. This helps inform preventive strategies and planning of service provision to support people with intellectual disability and their families.

The IDEA database continues to be maintained at Telethon Kids Institute, to ensure ongoing population-based ascertainment of intellectual disability from providers of clinical and educational services and as a resource for data linkage studies with specific interest in children with intellectual disability or autism in their cohort.

Dates of project: 2019

Customer: WA Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway)

Key researcher/s involved: Dr Leanne Fried, Dr Robyn Johnston, Dr Jacinta Francis, Dr Karen Lombardi, Karen Forde, Sarah Falconer, Chris Lovering

Partner organisations: WA Ballet; WA Youth Theatre; Edith Cowan University

For children and young people to achieve positive outcomes in all aspects of their life, they need to be physically and mentally well. The arts are a promising way to promote the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people, for example, through engaging in music, drama, and visual art activities.

While it is well known that the arts improve various aspects of social and emotional wellbeing (including self-esteem and confidence), what is not known is how the arts do this and in which contexts, and what arts educators can do to improve the impact for all children and young people who are participating.

In 2019, the Telethon Kids Institute were commissioned by the WA Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway) to explore how young people’s social-emotional wellbeing can be fostered through arts education, and what arts educators can do to improve the odds that the impact is positive for all children and young people.

This project, undertaken by the School and Community Wellbeing team at the Institute, involved conducting a series of stakeholder and consumer workshops to inform the development of a resource, including a website, to support arts educators to promote the social emotional wellbeing of children and young people. The draft resource was piloted to determine whether it was appropriate, acceptable and useful for arts educators, and to determine how they perceive its potential to be effective in developing young people’s social and emotional competencies. As part of the pilot, arts educators undertook professional development (through an upskilling workshop), completed a pre and post survey using a purposely developed survey, facilitated program observation, and participated in interviews regarding resource implementation.

The arts were viewed by young people and their parents as having powerful potential to provide a supportive environment that allowed them to be themselves and connect with others. The draft resource was implemented in multiple ways in arts activities. Although the resource was acceptable to the participants, further trialling is needed to continue to shape its components and ascertain its effectiveness in building the social and emotional wellbeing of the arts community. Additional funding was also obtained as a result of this project to trial the resource with arts organisations in metropolitan and regional WA.

This project highlighted how multiple opportunities exist, through a variety of pedagogical approaches, whereby arts personnel can positively and intentionally teach and support children and young peoples’ social and emotional wellbeing. It is envisaged that, with further refinement, the resource developed through this project will increase opportunities for children and young people to develop social and emotional competencies during arts activities and guide them toward improved social-emotional outcomes.

Dates of project: 2020-2021

Customer: Wellbeing SA and South Australian Department for Education

Key researcher/s involved: Associate Professor Yasmin Harman-Smith, Ellen Harvey, Adrienne Gregory

Providing all children with the best possible start in life is one of the most effective ways to improve health, wellbeing and social outcomes in our community and reduce inequalities. However, over one quarter of children in South Australia start school with developmental vulnerabilities.

In 2020-2021, the Telethon Kids Institute partnered with Wellbeing SA and the South Australian Department for Education to map current programs, services, policies and environments that support the health and wellbeing of children and their families in the early years. This work informed planning being undertaken by Wellbeing SA and the Department for Education to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for children and families, from the pre-natal period to 5 years of age.

The project, undertaken by the Early Years System Evidence team at the Institute, involved a rapid review of the current evidence base on the critical components of a comprehensive and effective early years system. A desktop analysis was conducted of South Australia’s early years system (including relevant services, supports, programs, policies and environments) with a focus on government’s role in the system. The mapping spanned health, education, social support, and child protection domains. Interviews were also held with stakeholders and service providers to identify facilitators, gaps, and opportunities within the early years system.

The systems mapping process generated a range of complex and fascinating insights about how the early years system is functioning in South Australia and possible leverage points for change. The review identified several areas where the system is working well to support children and families in the early years, including the wide range of programs and services available to address known risk factors, and examples of effective collaboration across some sectors.

It also identified opportunities to strengthen levers in the system to ensure it is both equitable and accessible. These included shifting to a focus on prevention, investing in co-design processes with consumers, ensuring integration and coordination between sectors, improved outcomes monitoring and reporting, and increasing information available for families and service providers navigating the system.

Dates of project: 2019

Customer: New South Wales Department of Education

Key researcher/s involved: Dr Natasha Pearce, Professor Donna Cross, Dr Robyn Johnston

Supporting students’ positive behaviour in schools is critical to enable a productive educational environment and create the best opportunity for learning. Providing students with behavioural support and guidance is also fundamental for their health and wellbeing, such as developing social skills, and maintaining positive relationships. School behaviour management approaches and practices are also important to address the risk of challenging and unsafe behaviours (such as disruptive behaviour, bullying, truancy).

The Telethon Kids Institute were commissioned by the NSW Department of Education to synthesise the evidence that describes what works to address student behaviour needs, and how best to provide system-level implementation support to schools. This project aimed to determine what early intervention, prevention and individual approaches and strategies have been rigorously evaluated and found to be effective in addressing student behaviour. It also sought to identify what school and system strategies can best build the capacity of schools to implement effective interventions.

This project, undertaken by the School and Community Wellbeing team at the Institute, involved mapping the current policy and practice context to support student behaviour, as well as reviewing policy and practice across education settings nationally and internationally. Focus group and interview consultations were undertaken to determine educators’ current practice, capacity and context perspectives and experiences, and a Think Tank was held to consolidate evidence on existing international and national policy and practice. A review was also conducted of peer-reviewed published evidence on student behaviour interventions and system-level implementation supports.

This project identified principles of good practice for student behaviour management, and opportunities to strengthen support to schools to address strengths-based (i.e. social skills) and risk-based (i.e. aggressive) behaviours. It also outlined key drivers needed to strengthen school and system capacity to address student wellbeing and behaviour. In particular, this work provided the NSW Department of Education with evidence of ways to enhance social and emotional wellbeing and behaviour, beyond behaviour management, using a prevention approach.

It was also found that there is a clear need for whole-school multi-component approaches that address the complexity of student wellbeing, behaviour and learning needs and target the schools’ social and physical environment. This includes tiered support to develop the pro-social skills of all students and support for students identified as being ‘at risk’, as well as students requiring individual intervention.

This research informed the new New South Wales Education Student Behaviour Strategy, which emphasises prevention, early intervention and promotion of student wellbeing. The strategy was released in NSW in 2021, and prompted a suite of new policies and procedures to be implemented in schools as part of the Inclusive, Engaging and Respectful Schools package. Overall, this strategy will enable students to be better supported at school, to improve their wellbeing and behaviour outcomes. It also allows educational leaders, teachers and specialist staff to be better supported in their role, through increasing their access to and implementation of quality, evidence-informed tools and resources.

Dates of project:  January 2022 - October 2022

Customer: South Australian Department for Education

Key researcher/s involved:  Dr Tess Gregory, Yasmin Harman-Smith, Neida Sechague Monroy

In South Australian (SA) schools, students in Grade 4 to 12 are invited to participate in an annual survey about their wellbeing and engagement in school, known as the Wellbeing Engagement Collection (WEC).  Information from the SA WEC is used to guide planning and supports for student wellbeing at a school level, and within the public education system.

It is important to understand how representative the sample of students who participate in the WEC are of the full student cohort to make sure this planning reflects the needs of all students.  If some students (e.g., older students) are less likely to participate then wellbeing initiatives at a school and education system level may not meet their wellbeing needs.

In 2022, the Telethon Kids Institute was commissioned by the SA Department for Education to understand which students are less likely to participate in the WEC (e.g., older students, students in rural schools), as well as the barriers to participation at a school, class, and student level. The Early Years Systems Evidence team at the Institute conducted data analysis to understand how participation rates varied for students with different background characteristics (e.g., gender, grade level, geographical remoteness). In addition, focus groups and interviews with school staff in participating and non-participating schools and classes were conducted to understand the reasons for schools and classes’ non-participation in the WEC.

This project found that, while most schools and most classes participate in the WEC, not all students do. Older students and students from more socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds were less likely to participate in the WEC than other students. In focus groups and interviews, schools identified several challenges that they face in participating in the WEC, as well as some barriers to utilising the WEC data from their school reports.

Dates of project:  2013 - 2015

Customer: Commonwealth Department of Health

Key researcher/s involved: A/Prof Francis Mitrou, Dr Ha Nguyen

Partner organisations: University of New South Wales; Curtin University

headspace provide tailored, integrated and holistic services to improve the mental health, social and emotional wellbeing of young people aged 12-25 in Australia. The program has federal government support in recognition of the increased need for mental health services for young people in Australia.

In 2013, the federal government announced additional funding to expand the number of headspace centres, prompting the need for an evaluation of the service model. A consortium of researchers from the University of New South Wales, Curtin University, and the Telethon Kids Institute were commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health to undertake this evaluation.

The evaluation examined the extent to which the centre-based headspace program was meeting its funded objectives and to ensure program enhancements and future funding decisions were evidence based, with a specific focus on:  

• Young people’s access and engagement with headspace centres
• The centre-based service delivery model
• Outcomes of young people who have received services, and
• Cost-effectiveness of headspace centre services

A range of evaluation methods were used, including fieldwork and interviews at the centres, analysis of administrative and financial data, and surveys of clients, parents and centre staff. A comparison group of young people who didn’t attend headspace were included to compare outcomes between groups.

The evaluation demonstrated that headspace was making a positive difference to the mental health of young Australians. However, it identified several ways that headspace could improve its service delivery model to support access and engagement for vulnerable populations.

The evaluation also found that headspace was being accessed by significantly higher proportions of Indigenous young people and those living in regional areas. Through interviews with staff, the evaluation identified opportunities to make the service more culturally appropriate. headspace has since received targeted funding to support young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. 

Following the evaluation, the headspace funding and administration model was comprehensively restructured, decentralising many key tasks to become the responsibility of state-based Primary Health Networks, therefore ensuring more local knowledge in service design and allocation of youth mental health services. 

At the time of the evaluation (2013/14 financial year), there were less than 70 headspace centres operational across Australia. By the end of 2022 there were more than 150 headspace centres open for business, indicating much greater opportunity of access to headspace services since the evaluation was completed.