Resources and stories
View our latest stories, news items and program resources.
New funding opportunity available for Power to Kids program
The Residential Care Learning and Development Strategy (RCLDS) is now offering a scholarship opportunity for implementing the Power to Kids in Out of Home Care program. RCLDS is offering to fund up to 80% of an organisation's implementation of the Power to Kids program, up to a maximum of $44,000.
View articleEmpowering aged care workers to tackle vicarious trauma
After interviewing aged care staff, researchers at RMIT found that 93 per cent of respondents had experienced physical violence at work. Despite this, the experiences of aged care workers are often overlooked. We spoke to Milly Kuranage, Head of Residential Care at Brotherhood of St Laurence Aged Care, who arranged for her staff to undertake our preventing vicarious trauma training.
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Strengthening Wellbeing and Resilience in the Aged Care Sector
Aged care workers are essential to our communities, delivering critical services while navigating daily challenges. As employers, it's our responsibility to empower and protect them from vicarious trauma and foster a trauma-informed environment for clients. Express your interest to join our workshop, "Combatting Vicarious Trauma for Aged Care Providers," available online or in person, to learn effective strategies for creating supportive workplaces.
View articlePositive Schools Big Workshop 2024
Join Positive School’s unique two-day workshop-style event and walk away with practical strategies you can implement. The Big Workshop is designed to help you create positive cultures in your classrooms, schools and communities through actionable strategies that support wellbeing for staff and students.
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ReLATE National Program Director Wins National Education Award
The MacKillop Institute is thrilled to announce Justin Roberts, National Program Director of ReLATE has been recognised for his unwavering passion and commitment to successful outcomes for children and young people by The Educator as 'Most Influential Educator 2024'.
Schools
Teachers
Awards
Recognition
Building a Whole-School Culture of Wellbeing for Students and Staff
Our National Program Director of ReLATE Justin Roberts and ReLATE Practice Specialist Yvonne Lindross discuss how to build a whole school culture that supports the wellbeing of both students and staff.
Schools
Education
Wellbeing
New professional learning opportunities for education professionals launched
Explore our professional learning opportunities, designed to respond to the needs of today’s educators and school leaders. Topics include school refusal, teacher wellbeing and challenging behaviours in the classroom.
Education
Holy Cross Primary School: building school culture alongside ReLATE
Holy Cross Primary School opened its doors for the first time in 2021. With a brand-new school and a new team all starting at the same time, Holy Cross had a unique opportunity: a chance to build school culture from scratch and make intentional decisions on what that would look like. We spoke to Holy Cross Principal Mark Miatello and Deputy Principal Gemma Gowland about their journey with the ReLATE model.
Education
Monash study reveals trauma-informed teacher training can prevent teacher burnout
A groundbreaking study by Monash University has revealed how prevalent trauma and burnout are among Australian teachers. The first known comprehensive study on the nature and extent of secondary trauma among teachers in Australia, highlights the benefits of trauma-informed teacher training.
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Changes for the Power to Kids Out of Home Care Program
Power to Kids is embarking on the next exciting phase of its journey. In 2024, we’re excited for Power to Kids to transition to a new service model that will enable us to continue to deliver high-quality training and increase our focus on embedding implementation into practice. We will continue to build on the incredible achievements and learnings from the past two years and offer partner organisations a range of flexible and customised options to meet individual needs, budgets and timeframes.
Education
Preventing sexual exploitation in residential care homes
Children living in residential care homes are at a greater risk of sexual exploitation, their vulnerable status making them a target for criminals and unwanted behaviours from peers. Since 2021, the South Australian Department for Child Protection has rolled out the Power to Kids program to help child and youth workers gain the skills to identify and prevent sexual exploitation of children and young people in their care.
Out of home care
Senate report on school refusal
The recent senate report on school refusal has identified a range of recommendations aimed at tackling the rising issue of school refusal. Trauma-informed practices in schools were identified as a key recommendation to support schools to re-engage students in learning without causing further distress.
Education
Tackling workplace wellbeing with Sanctuary
Long regarded for its ability to create safe, trauma-informed environments, the Sanctuary model has been applied to health and human service organisations for over four decades. This article explores how the Sanctuary Model can combat common barriers to positive workplace wellbeing.
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Is your workforce exposed to trauma?
Workers that support those impacted by trauma, are at risk of developing vicarious trauma. With workplace regulations around psychosocial risks changing in many Australian states and territories, it’s important to consider what you can to do to reduce the risk of vicarious trauma.
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It’s time to rethink residential aged care
In partnership, the University of Melbourne and The MacKillop Institute are calling for a whole of sector rethink about the delivery of residential aged care in Australia. We should conceptualise residential settings as ‘intentional communities’ that provide a home ‘sanctuary’ for residents.
Recommended reading
Trust: the essential prerequisite for team building
Why is it we trust a flight attendant when in the air and hit turbulence? Learn how the conditions of reassurance, physical safety and psychological safety are similar when it comes to creating trust in schools and workplaces.
Education
