The Response Ability program, initiated by the Hunter Institute of Mental Health and funded by the Australian Department of Health, aims to enhance the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people by preparing educators through its training programs since 1997. It provides free, evidence-based resources and support to universities and training organizations, focusing on early intervention and prevention strategies. The program advocates for the integration of mental health promotion in teacher training curricula to support optimal developmental outcomes for students.

1. The Response Ability program is the
winner of the 2014 Mental Health
Matters: Mental Health Promotion &
Wellbeing Award

2. Response Ability is an internationally distinctive
and highly regarded program that has been
preparing teaching graduates since 1997, to
assume an active and influential role in shaping
the mental health and wellbeing of children and
young people.
It is an Initiative of the Hunter Institute of Mental Health with
funding from the Australian Department of Health.

3. The goals of Response Ability are to:
• Support the inclusion of mental health promotion, prevention and
early intervention in the university pre-service training of teachers
and the Vocational Education Training (VET) sector’s training of
Children’s Services educators;
• Promote and advocate for mental health issues to be included in
curricula for pre-service teachers and early childhood educators;
• Maintain partnerships with other initiatives and organisations that
focus on the mental health of children and young people to
enhance mental health.

4. This is achieved through providing:
• Free, evidence-based multimedia teaching resources to Australian
tertiary institutions;
• Information through conference presentations, Response Ability
website, stakeholder partnerships and collaborations with other
organisations;
• Professional support to lecturers and trainers to integrate mental
health content into their programs; and
• Updating and development of resources, including factsheets, pod
casts and infographics.

5. Why children and young people?
• The early years of a child’s life form the foundation for positive
development and wellbeing into their adult years, and can act to
protect against the development of mental health difficulties or
illnesses.
• Many mental health problems and disorders, such as depression
and anxiety, have their onset in childhood or adolescence. We can
address the impact of mental health difficulties in our community,
both today and into the future, by improving mental health
outcomes in children.
• We need to reduce the incidence or impact of risk factors, build up
children’s protective factors and help children and adolescents to
access early support if difficulties do arise.

6. Why teachers and early childhood staff?
• Research suggests that promoting social and emotional skills and
resilience in educational settings contributes to improved health
outcomes, behaviour and educational achievement.
• Educators and teachers have an important role to play in creating
supportive learning environments, and promoting optimal social and
emotional wellbeing of all children and young people.
• It is important that teachers and educators understand the key
practices they can adopt in their daily practice, to support positive
mental health, developmental and learning outcomes.

7. Why target pre-service training?
• Through its unique position in the pre-service environment,
Response Ability is the first point of contact for pre-service teachers
and educators with the key principles of social and emotional
wellbeing, which lays the foundation for successful whole-of-school
and community approaches to improving mental health and
wellbeing.
• Response Ability is the only school-focussed program that has the
capacity to integrate information to support the roll out of other
initiatives addressing mental health and wellbeing, early
identification and intervention for mental ill-health, suicide
prevention and suicide postvention initiatives.

9. Resources and support
• The Response Ability resources use a problem-based learning
approach to explore the roles of teachers in promoting resilience
and wellbeing and in responding to students who may have
particular needs.
• The content was developed collaboratively with teacher educators
and health professionals throughout Australia and is available in two
streams:
1. University: Australian universities who offer courses in Early
Childhood, Primary or Secondary Teacher Education.
2. Children’s Services: Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) delivering
Certificate III or Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care.

10. Response Ability offers free resources for the
tertiary education of teachers and children’s
services educators across Australia

11. Multimedia resources complete with custom films,
tutorial activities and student handouts are provided

12. Guides for Teachers and
Educators are also
provided

13. The CHILD Framework explains the role of
teachers and educators

14. Response Ability has an interactive website with
information and useful links

15. Response Ability provides support for trainers
and lecturers

16. Contact Us
Email: education@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au
Telephone: (02) 4924 6900
Website: www.responseability.org
Contact Us
Email: education@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au
Telephone: (02) 4924 6900
Website: www.responseability.org

17. Response Ability is an initiative of the Hunter
Institute of Mental Health funded by the
Australian Government Department of Health.