All-School Visible Wellbeing Program
- Visible Wellbeing is an endorsed program on the Victorian DE School Mental Health Fund Menu, the South Australian DfE External Wellbeing Programs Directory and the Be You Programs Directory .
- Become a Visible Wellbeing School in 2025 -
“Visible Wellbeing has given our students a vocabulary and assisted them in developing the tools to cope and flourish.
We took the program on in recognition of the importance wellbeing has in engaging our students in learning...Visible Wellbeing provides the backbone of our ‘Values Lessons’ the whole school does three times every term. Our students develop and grow their understanding and use of the SEARCH framework to better manage their emotions and themselves. Visible Wellbeing is embedded in our Individual Education Plans for every student. Lea and the team have expertly guided and supported us through this journey.”
- Graeme Forrester, Executive Principal – Chaffey Secondary College, Mildura
A Whole-School Approach to Positive Education
Visible Wellbeing is a whole-school, evidence-based program tailored specifically to address the wellbeing needs of Australian youth Schools and
Based on the science of Positive Psychology, Visible Wellbeing aligns with FISO 2.0 to provide both staff and students with a toolkit of strategies to support wellbeing and buffer against mental illness.
VWB creates a unified and consistent approach to wellbeing across the whole school. The program trains all school staff (teaching and non-teaching) in a suite of mental health strategies that builds their capacity to implement wellbeing practices into daily life at school.
Your school will gain an evidence-based framework, tools to measure the wellbeing of students and staff, resources to print and use with students, 250+ activities tailored to all age groups from K-12, wellbeing guides for periods of remote learning including 120+ wellbeing activities that can delivered in virtual classrooms, newsletter excerpts and education for parents, a teaching rubric and on-demand orientation modules for new staff.
Visible Wellbeing has proudly been working with Australian schools since 2015.
How does the VWB Program work?
The VWB training consists of a combination of All-Staff Workshops (virtual or in-person*), asynchronous coursework for all your staff to learn about the SEARCH Framework, and one-on-one coaching for your VWB Leader.
Attend the All-Staff Workshops as a cluster with other schools via Zoom, or choose to run the Workshops with in-person at your school*.
Staff then take a deep dive into Professor Lea Waters’ SEARCH Framework via the On-Demand SEARCH Modules on their VWB Portal (approx. 2 hours per pathway), or you can opt to run the 1-hour SEARCH overview sessions with all of your staff, which we provide your VWB Leader…or do both!
You can choose bespoke dates for your training (if opting for in-person delivery*), or join the two set intakes per year (if opting for virtual training).
The VWB Program takes approximately 18 months to complete, but you retain access to all of the online resources and training for 4 years.
Please see below an example VWB Program schedule.
*additional charges apply if undertaking the program in-person, with bespoke dates, or as an individual school.
Research Evidence for Visible Wellbeing
Visible Wellbeing has been evaluated and published in peer reviewed research journals since 2015.
Outcomes of Visible Wellbeing include:
Stress recovery
Student resilience during COVID-19
Staff wellbeing
Emotional regulation
Culture of wellbeing
Wellbeing literacy
Enhancement of strengths
Positive classroom behaviour
Academic motivation
If you’d like to know more about Lea’s research click here.
Fees and Add-Ons
The base cost for the All-Staff VWB Program is $16,500 (inc GST) for virtual delivery.
There are a number of approved add-ons that can be purchased which include:
In-person all-staff workshops with bespoke dates.
Option for 3 x SEARCH pathways delivered in-person (as opposed to completing the SEARCH modules online).
Strategic Leadership Preparation Workshop.
VWB Strengths-Based Teaching for Lower Primary (Foundation to year 3) Workshops.
VWB Understanding Trauma and Student Wellbeing Workshop.
Indigenous Wellbeing Workshop.
Connect with us to find out more about pricing for the add-ons and see what might be the best fit for your school.
“Armed with ample resources and engaging presentations, our school found practical and accessible ways to bring wellbeing to life.
Putting the SEARCH Framework at the centre of key decisions and innovations supported our school community to discover alternative ways of thriving, that will continue to support better educational outcomes long after we’ve returned to a ‘Covid normal’ school life.”
- Simon McIntosh, Assistant Principal,
Yarra Primary School, Melbourne
FAQs
How does our school join the VWB Program?
Download our info pack to learn more about the VWB approach.
Book a discovery call to connect with our team to find the right fit.
Compete the required Department paperwork.
Confirm your place in the VWB Training!
How much staff release time is required?
The program consists of All-Staff Training, in addition to dedicated coaching and training for your school’s VWB Leader.
You will appoint your own VWB Leader, this is best suited to a person in a position of leadership and/or with links to wellbeing/pastoral care of your school community.
All-Staff Training Release Requirements
All-Staff Workshop 1 - 3 hours (plus 20 minute break)
All-Staff Workshop 2 - 3 hours (plus 20 minute break)
SEARCH Modules (if staff are completing via the VWB Portal) - 13 hours (max) over the course of 18 mths, OR…
SEARCH Modules (if staff completing via the provided 1 hour SEARCH overview sessions) - 5 hours over the course of 18 mths
VWB Showcase - 90 mins
VWB Leader Release Requirements
Orientation session - 1 hour via Zoom
Coaching - between 3 and 6* x 1 hour sessions across the 18mths via Zoom
Sustaining Change Workshop - 1 hour
Community of Practice (CoP) Professional Development Webinars - 1 hour each semester (optional)
*Depending on Program Tier
Do all our staff, teaching and non-teaching, really need to be at all-staff training sessions? What if they can’t make it?
Yes, the aim of the Visible Wellbeing approach to to create a common language and culture of wellbeing across all areas of your school, in the classroom, staff room, co-curricular areas, administration teams and beyond. We up-skill all adults in your school community with the tools to support their own wellbeing first, and for this reason we highly encourage all your staff to attend the two live, virtual modules.
We also acknowledge that things don’t always go according to plan, so if some staff are unable to make it on the day, we provide orientation modules for staff who missed the training, or for you to induct new staff to VWB.
How does VWB align with FISO 2.0 & other wellbeing initiatives?
VWB has been used in DET schools since 2015 and was developed to support FISO and FISO 2.0. Each of the 5 key elements of FISO 2.0 are actioned through the VWB teacher training, student resources, assessment, rubric, coaching and family communication tools.
VWB has also been designed to work alongside, unify, and bolster your existing wellbeing initiatives, which often align with a pillar in the SEARCH Wellbeing Framework. Lea and the VWB Team have mapped all of the most common wellbeing approaches and initiatives in Australia to the VWB approach. Book a discovery call with us to learn more about how Visible Wellbeing can
