REBOOT effectively educates students about these five constructs through many accessible mediums, such as games, talks and activities.

PICTURE THIS... The lunchtime bell goes, and students enter a room set aside, especially for the REBOOT program. They’re greeted at the door & welcomed in. The REBOOT leader and volunteers run fun introductory games to build the 'hype'. Then it’s REBOOT TIME! This is where evidence-based wellbeing principles are introduced in a fun and engaging way.

An invaluable aspect of the success of the REBOOT program is its intentional use of trained volunteers. The interpersonal connections that community-sourced volunteers, trained by the REBOOT team, can form with students have the potential to foster long-lasting, positive consequences for individual student wellbeing outcomes. Research indicates that “relationships provide the emotional scaffolding to our lives” (Australian Unity, 2021, p. 24). See the button below to download the report. In response, REBOOT can become a part of that structure for students and schools, facilitating significant connections among all involved. There’s nothing like seeing a student’s face light up when welcomed by name, accompanied by the realisation that other significant adults care about their welfare.

The type of volunteering facilitated by REBOOT has also been demonstrated to positively impact volunteers, helping to increase “purpose and meaning in life” (Mellor, D et al. 2008, p. 68). Indeed, results from “accumulated studies relating to volunteerism are that volunteers consistently report higher well-being than non-volunteers” (Mellor et al., 2008, p. 62). Furthermore, “participation in volunteer activities can provide many opportunities for increasing self-validation, building skills and confidence (psychological resources), and trying out new roles and expanding one’s social sphere (social resources)” (Mellor et al., 2008, p. 63). Recognising this, the REBOOT program’s structured involvement of trained community volunteers is beneficial for the wellbeing of both students and volunteers beyond educational content alone.

Personal wellbeing’s important and influential role in an individual’s life cannot be overstated. However, according to the Australian Unity Wellbeing Report, research from around the world, including extensive research conducted by Deakin University as part of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, demonstrates that this importance extends beyond the individual. Personal wellbeing also greatly influences broader communities and the nation.” (Australian Unity, 2021, pg. 15). It is therefore hoped that the REBOOT program can have positive implications for not just individuals, both student and volunteer, but also the broader social structures they are a part of, including the immediate school community.

Likewise, the addition to the program of the REBOOSter reels enhances the quality of student experiences in the REBOOT program. These reels are designed to facilitate an interactive REBOOT experience at home through online content. Each short video provides a succinct summary of the key learning from the corresponding REBOOT day. This allows students to interact with and retain the key information from the recently attended session.

Delivering this key information in a new and vastly different format allows students to recode the knowledge they have received from the program. The recoding of knowledge through methods such as this has been demonstrated to increase the retention of meaningful information and deepen engagement with the presented ideas.

Building on the points listed above, these videos create a space for voluntary challenges to be issued to students by the REBOOT program, with the opportunity to earn prizes during the next REBOOT session. Challenging students to respond to the information they have just watched in yet another form, encourages their brains to recode the information, promoting additional knowledge retention. Given that the REBOOT program is designed around voluntary student attendance, the chance to collect prizes during the next REBOOT session also serves as a mechanism to incentivise student retention.

An additional advantage to this approach is the facilitation of home-school connections. A student’s overall wellbeing does not exist solely within the classroom but is influenced by all aspects of a student’s life. By seeking to connect students with their parents/carers around the key wellbeing principles being investigated, parents/carers are being simultaneously educated about ways to support their child’s wellbeing. This may create opportunities for discussions around how parents can assist their children in promoting these wellbeing principles at home. Furthermore, REBOOSTer recaps may also allow parents to feel connected to their child’s schooling experience. Connections such as this have been shown to have a wide variety of educational benefits for students and the school community.

Finally, the gradual release of these videos to students, focusing on succinctly recapping key wellbeing principles alongside a practical application, creates an online reference library that students can refer to whenever they want to refresh their knowledge about how to care for their wellbeing or even when looking for an idea about how to assist the wellbeing of someone else they care about, for example, a friend or sibling.

The team at Youth Dimension will provide training, support, and resources to help you run the REBOOT program in your local school.

Why REBOOT’s “scattergun" approach is effective:

Programs like REBOOT, promoting accurate information about mental health literacy to entire cohorts of students, foster some advantages over more individually oriented approaches. Whilst individual interventions are effective and often required, programs created to cater to entire classes or year levels quickly and effectively disseminate accurate information time-efficiently. This is particularly beneficial for students who may not have ready access to individual interventions for any number of personal or logistical reasons. Additionally, programs such as REBOOT are usually a significantly more cost-effective method of delivering this information.

By creating a safe and supportive place for all students to receive this information, an important opportunity is created to shift attitudes and break down harmful stereotypes about mental health at the level of an entire school community (Marinucci, Grové, & Rozendorn, 2022; Patafio, Miller, Baldwin, Taylor, & Hyder, 2021; Seedaket, Turnbull, Phajan, & Wanchai, 2020). This has the added benefit of normalising help-seeking behaviour, potentially alleviating any social stigma felt by students deciding to pursue individual help. Given that mental health and wellbeing are already a priority for most schools (Allen, Kern, Vella-Brodrick, & Waters, 2018), school programs such as REBOOT provide an effective opportunity to address the mental health needs and concerns of many students, with potential positive impacts to entire school communities and cultures.

REBOOT Contact

REBOOT Contact