HEALTH & WELLBEING // MACKILLOP INSTITUTE
The Seasons for Growth programs have expanded to meet the increasing needs of communities in Australia.
Helping students overcome change and uncertainty THE CUMULATIVE IMPACTS OF DROUGHT, FLOODS AND BUSHFIRES, COMPOUNDED BY RECURRENT COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED MANY COMMUNITIES. THESE SUCCESSIVE DISASTERS HAVE TAKEN A TOLL ON THE WHOLE SCHOOL COMMUNITY, INCLUDING SCHOOL TEACHERS AND LEADERS WHO ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE SCHOOL AND PROVIDING THE SAFE COMMUNITY HUB.
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The MacKillop Institute is committed to supporting school professionals to support children and young people impacted by uncertainty and significant change and loss experiences with its Seasons for Growth evidence-based programs to help them understand and respond to adverse life experiences. The Seasons for Growth (SfG) children and young people’s program was developed in mid1990s in collaboration with Professor Anne Graham AO, Director of the Centre for Children and Young People, Southern Cross University. SfG General Manager, Fiona McCallum tells Education Matters that SfG is an Australian evidencebased, early intervention program that is trauma informed, and delivered to small groups of children and young people over eight weeks. “SfG is based on the belief that change and loss are a part of life, and grief is the normal response to these losses. Often people think about grief as a response to the death of someone we care about – in our work, we describe grief as a response to the major life change and loss,” McCallum says.
education matters secondary
“The last 18 months has been challenging for many school communities with the devastating impacts of bushfires and floods and the additional uncertainty and complexity with the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent research suggests that 85 per cent of parents have reported changes in their children during the COVID-19 lockdown. “Victoria’s Commission for Children and Young People recently cited one third of young people surveyed reported psychological distress as a result of the e pandemic. The experiences can negatively impact young people as it affects their development and overall social and emotional wellbeing. We also know that young people are more likely to adapt well given the timely and appropriate information and support.” Other experiences that trigger feelings of loss can include family separation, death, parental unemployment or imprisonment, loss of a pet, illness, change of house or school. These losses can trigger additional impacts including losses of routines, safety, dreams and traditions.
