Get your school involved in R U OK? Day

Information to support students

ReachOut.com has useful content that you can share with you students. Circulate the below fact sheets with your students to make asking R U OK? a whole lot easier:

• How to ask a friend if they’re ok: Check out a few different ways that you can ask a mate how they’re doing.
• Tips for communicating: Learn how best to have a difficult conversation with someone you know.
• What to do when someone doesn’t want help: Find out why someone might not want help and what you can do to support them.
• Caring for yourself while caring for others: Learn more about the importance of practicing some self-care while helping a mate.

Involving Parents and Carers

Young people often turn to their parents during tough times. You can help your parent community in connecting and supporting their children through sharing tips, tools and fact sheets.

Communications with parents and carers

A great way to involve parents and carers in R U OK? Day is through your schools newsletter or social media channels. Simply copy and paste the copy below to spread the word to your schools parent community:

The second Thursday of September is R U OK? Day – a day dedicated to inspiring and empowering everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them by asking the simple question “Are you OK?” Now could be a great time to ask your child “Are you OK? and to support them in the event that they are struggling.

However as we all know, having a meaningful conversation with teenagers can be tricky. That’s why ReachOut Australia has created resources to help parents help their young people. Find out how you can effectively communicate with your child and some practical things to try to engage your teenager in a meaningful conversation.

Fact sheets for parents and carers

You can also support you parent community by sharing these ReachOut Parents fact sheets on supportive conversations at school events where parents are in attendance:

• How to have a great conversation: Get tips that might help to keep the channels of communication open with your child.
• Ask questions that encourage your teenager to talk: Find out how to actively listen to build rapport, understanding and trust.
• Effective communication and teenagers: Find out how to communicate effectively to help you and you child feel happier and more connected.
• How to communicate effectively with your teenager: Learn more on how to keep your relationship strong with your child through effective communication.