Life Skills GO

24/06/2026

The signs were always there.

That was the theme of one of the most important conversations we had during National Check-In Week.

Nikki Bonus , Dr Mark Williams OAM, Karen Robertson, Dianne Giblin AM sat down with The Honourable Julian Leeser MP, Federal Shadow Minister for Education and Indigenous Australians, to ask the question that sits at the heart of everything we do.

At what point do we have the courage to change the way Australia sees, responds and reports on its young people?

Julian spoke about noticing the signs. About what happens when we don't.

About why schools are one of the most important places we have to intervene early. And about what real system change might actually take.

The replay is in the comments.

NSW Department of Education Education Week ABC Melbourne Queensland Department of Education

24/06/2026

5,190 crisis calls to Kids Helpline in 2025. A 350 per cent rise since 2018.
These are not failures of care. They are failures of timing.

Australia spends $22.3 billion every year responding to problems after they escalate. One third of teenagers have experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviours in the last twelve months. Half of all young Australians with mental health problems never access treatment.

The signals are there long before the crisis. The question is whether we are set up to see them.

At Life Skills GO , we have spent nine years building the tools that make early identification possible, recording more than 15 million student wellbeing check-ins across Australian schools. What that data tells us, consistently, is that when schools can see their students earlier, outcomes improve. It is not aspirational. It is already happening in schools right now.

That is why the National Check-In Week Partner Collective — representing organisations, educators, researchers and advocates from across Australia — has taken this evidence to Parliament. We have placed six specific recommendations before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education. Among them: a national wellbeing baseline to sit alongside NAPLAN, student voice mandated as standard practice in every school, and a cross-sector commitment to joined-up child support that no longer leaves families to navigate alone.

The question is no longer whether this is possible. The question is who acts, and when.

Read the full article in the comments below. What do you think needs to change?

Kids Helpline says the number of young Australians needing immediate help is again growing after reaching a decade-high during the COVID pandemic.

An annual report by the organisation revealed 5,190 young people needed crisis intervention in 2025, which was triple the decade's lowest year, 2018.

Read more: https://ab.co/4eBdHkf

23/06/2026

Most student struggles don’t start with a crisis.

They start with signals that are easy to miss.

A shift in engagement. A change in connection. A quiet withdrawal from learning, belonging, and participation.

This webinar brings together leading voices in education and wellbeing to explore what it takes to see those signals earlier, and respond with greater clarity and care.

Hosted by Sally Webster and featuring Dr. Mark Williams OAM, Karen Robertson, Daniel Payne and Nikki Bonus, the session explores early identification, student voice and the science of learning, and how these intersect to strengthen wellbeing and engagement in schools.
Because prevention starts with visibility.

29th July
6:30pm AEST
Online via Zoom
Register via the link in bio

22/06/2026

A clearer picture of student wellbeing starts with one check-in.

Life Skills GO helps schools listen to student voice in a simple, consistent way, giving educators better insight into how students are feeling and what support may be needed.

One check-in may seem small, but over time, those moments can help schools understand patterns, respond earlier, and support the whole child with more clarity.

18/06/2026

Victoria’s profile highlights depression and psychological distress,
declining school belonging, loneliness, and online hate and harmful content as key student wellbeing
issues.

When belonging drops, risk rises. Systems need timely student voice and wellbeing insight to see what is shifting before young people disconnect.

Visit our website https://bit.ly/43DQtoH

16/06/2026

😞Australian teachers are exhausted.

75% are working more than 45 hours a week.

Behaviour challenges are increasing.

Administrative workload is at breaking point.

And the students who need the most support are often the hardest to see.

This is not a failure of commitment. Every teacher, school leader and wellbeing team we have ever worked with cares deeply. The failure is structural. The tools schools have been given were built to record what has already happened — not to surface what is quietly forming before it becomes a crisis.

By the time disengagement shows up in attendance data or behaviour incidents, early intervention is no longer early.

For nine years, inside more than 1,000 Australian schools, we kept asking the same questions.

📍What do teachers need?
📍What do students need?
📍What do families need?
📍What do wellbeing teams need?
📍What do school leaders need?
📍The answers shaped everything we built.

👉This article is that story — and a response to the problems we kept hearing, from the people living with them every day.
If this reflects what you are experiencing, share it with someone in your school community who needs to read it.

👇And tell us in the comments — what is the one thing that would make the biggest difference for the students in your school right now?

Read the full article here → https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/the-essential-resource-australian-education-has-been-missing

Explore the importance of understanding student behavior and fostering connection in education, as Nikki Bonus shares her personal journey and insights.

16/06/2026

A simple check-in can become a powerful moment of connection.

Every time a student is asked how they are feeling, they are given a chance to feel seen, heard, and supported.

Life Skills GO helps schools make those moments part of everyday wellbeing practice, giving students a voice and helping educators better understand what support may be needed.

Because sometimes, being asked “How are you?” can make all the difference.

11/06/2026

We identifies priority wellbeing issues, including cyberbullying and online harm, anxiety disorders, school refusal, sleep deprivation and school belonging deficits.

With 3,196 schools and 1,257,719 students, the scale is significant - and so is the opportunity to build systems that see the whole child sooner.

Visit us at https://bit.ly/4uph8An

10/06/2026

Attendance decline can be one of the clearest signs that something is happening, but it is rarely the whole story.

In this National Check-In Week webinar snippet, the conversation shifts the question from “Why aren’t they attending?” to “What has made attendance feel impossible?”

For many young people, absence may be the visible outcome of anxiety, emotional distress, disconnection, or other challenges sitting beneath the surface.

When schools look beyond the signal, they can better understand the student and respond with earlier, more meaningful support.

Watch the webinar highlights and continue the conversation on student wellbeing. Visit our website https://bit.ly/4uoLMtO