Student Resilience & Wellbeing School Program
Building resilience in students to improve their quality of life inside and outside the classroom.
What is the RAMS Program?
The RAMS school program exists to build resilience and promote wellbeing in secondary school students enrolled throughout Australia. We focus on building self-esteem, critical reflection skills, and social-emotional intelligence in each participant.
The year-long program is comprised of seven full-day sessions, and is available for years 8 to 11 inclusive. All Australian schools are eligible to apply.
How We Build Student Resilience Over Time
For each of the seven sessions, the selected students are gathered together in a safe, encouraging learning environment. Students are presented the goal of learning a new, resilience-building skill on each occasion.
The first half of a program day introduces the concept of the resilience skill to the students and helps them apply it. Worked examples are presented, outlining how this can benefit them in day-to-day life. Then, students practice the skill through a series of games and collaborative group activities.
The second half of a program day reinforces students’ understanding. A guest host with relevant experience, or RAMS facilitator, presents a visual and/or interactive application of the skillset.
The final session’s day ends with a celebratory activity (e.g. paintball (thrown & splashed), tree surfing). Graduation packs are given to every student to instil a sense of accomplishment and to welcome them into the RAMS community.
No more than two sessions run each term, minimising the negative academic impact on students caused by missed school days.
Program Guest Hosts For 2023
The MAT Program
Teaching therapeutic martial arts techniques to teach students how to respond to situations well, rather than reacting.
Canine Comprehension
Using therapy dogs to benefit children by helping them self-regulate, concentrate and encourage optimism.
Worthy
Angela Michel, founder of Worthy, shares the importance of community and those around us, through storytelling.
Horses for Hope
Fostering self-efficacy, empathy and emotional management through working with both humans and horses in a therapeutic and safe space.
Time-proven, Research-based Program Structure
The RAMS program is designed to help students explore and develop the seven resilience factors identified by Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatte (2002). RAMS also adopts parts of the Reach Out Australia program, and serves to complement schools’ existing wellbeing initiatives.
We know that simple measures can have a great impact on student resilience. Young people frequently face adversity and change, and it is vital that they acquire the skills to cope effectively with these challenges. Each session teaches students one skillset identified as a resilience factor. By the end of the program year, each individual is equipped and empowered with a foundational understanding of how they can develop resilience in themselves.
Ongoing support for program graduates is provided through our growing collection of student resources, written by psychologists and topic experts.
The RAMS program undergoes continual development and improvement. As such, after each session, we seek to understand how individual students perceived the day. Upon program completion and in the months following, we collect feedback from teachers and parents to gain insight into the program effectiveness over time.
The RAMS Program Outcomes
Click on a Resilience Factor to Learn More
Emotional Awareness & Self-regulation
Emotional Awareness & Self-regulation
Key Message
Resilient people do show their emotions. It’s a normal part of life to feel sad, scared, or anxious when going through a tough time. Expressing how you feel can help move you forward.
Outcomes
- Students will learn to value the positive expression of their emotions.
- Students will learn how to make a record of how they feel in different situations to gain self-awareness of their emotions.
Empathy
Empathy
Key Message
Empathy is the ability to recognise another person’s feelings, and to respond accordingly and respectfully.
Outcomes
- Students will learn that empathy requires acceptance that their emotions can differ from someone else’s.
- Students will understand that empathy is a skill that can be practiced.
- Students will understand how empathy is different from sympathy.
Flexible Thinking
Flexible Thinking
Key Message
Thinking flexibly, actively listening, and being able to accept other people’s points of view is key to developing resilience.
Outcomes
- Students will learn the value of actively listening to others’ opinions.
- Students will learn the value of having multiple solutions to a problem.
Optimism
Optimism
Key Message
Optimistic people are happier, more engaged, succeed more often and are better problem solvers. Optimism skills can be learnt.
Outcomes
- Students will learn that optimistic attitudes need to involve realistic ideas.
- Students will learn that self-talk assists in developing optimism.
- Students will understand that negative thoughts can be overridden with positive thoughts.
Impulse Control
Impulse Control
Key Message
Being resilient doesn’t mean that we don’t feel impulsive; rather, it means that we learn to control our impulses.
Outcomes
- Students will be more aware of the varying kinds of impulses that can be controlled.
- Students will have the ability to think through how they might react to how they feel.
Connectedness & Reaching Out
Connectedness & Reaching Out
Key Message
Actively making meaningful connections with people and nurturing friendships will provide you with support in hard times.
Outcomes
- Students will gain an understanding of how social/friendship groups can be a source of emotional support in times of hardship.
- Students will be more capable of connecting with people and organisations who can provide support.
Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy
Key Message
Having success in something, and then using that as a personal reference point for ability and working on that, can create further success, achievement, and a belief in yourself.
Outcomes
- Students will understand that believing in their abilities will improve their resilience.
- Students will learn that recording and reflecting on past experiences will equip them with the skills needed during tough times and when striving for greater achievements.
Wellbeing for Students in Schools
Improved Wellbeing & Engagement in the Classroom
Teachers report improved concentration, overall grades, behaviour, and attitude towards learning from students, months beyond the completion of the program.
Better Interaction with Peers
Students’ will advance their social skills through implementing the resilience skillset learned. They will communicate more effectively, to a wider peer group, and be less prone to conflict.
Improved Student Mental Health
Resilience increases students’ ability to cope with the negative, stressful situations they often face. This enables students to learn and develop ways to live a healthy and happy life.
rEPORTS From Schools & Students
Reports range from mid-program to 6 months after program completion.
“There were observed changes in each of the students who took part. From a better understanding of emotion, to developing friendships and better communication with peers and staff at school.”
Bonnie Williams, Wellbeing Coordinator
Wallan Secondary College
“RAMS made these students feel special and privileged… They walked out of school with a spring in their step on each RAMS day. I absolutely support this program … particularly in a post-COVID world. School-refusing students will need incentives to join the mainstream again and RAMS is an excellent program to do this.”
Lorna Hopper, Teacher
St Mary’s College
“Students reported that the RAMS resilience program helped build their social skills and relationships with students in their school they did not know well, as well as relationships with students from other schools in the area.”
Ashlee Walker, Welfare Worker
Wallan Secondary College
Upon following up, at the end of and in the months following the program, students self-reported that they feel more equipped to deal with life’s hardships.
Improve Your Students’ Ability to Cope with Hardship
RAMS Sponsors & Partners
Frequently Asked Questions
Up to 35 students are accepted at this time, to maximise the effectiveness of the program for each student. As more facilitators join RAMS, this number will increase.
Expressions of interest are encouraged year-round.
Based on the participating schools’ locations, we run the program in a convenient, centralised town, bringing students together in one place. This is often at a school or a local community centre.
We work with the staff of participating schools to pick dates and times that will minimise any negative academic impact on students. No more than two sessions are run per term and each session runs for five hours.
Morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea are all provided for students.
We can do so if you prefer, though we find that taking the participants off-site removes barriers that a student may be confronted with, if at school. For example, students not participating in the program can see what the RAMS participants are doing and make them feel nervous about participating in the program.
Contact A RAMS Coordinator
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