The Victorian government has invested $217.8 million over four years to support student mental health and wellbeing, including $200 million over four years and $87 million ongoing to create a Schools Mental Health Fund (the Fund). Underpinning the Fund is the evidence-based Menu (the Menu). The Menu provides schools with opportunities to purchase evidence-based programs …

Victorian schools can access OurFutures for free through the Mental Health Menu Read More »

In this webinar, you will hear from Australia’s leading experts on what works in school based drug education. Find out the best way for your school to provide good alcohol, tobacco, vaping and other drug education to ensure teens make the right choices now and for life. Our best practice programs are evidence based and …

WEBINAR: What Works: Alcohol, Tobacco, Vaping, and Other Drug Education in Schools Read More »

The OurFutures Vaping Program is a school-based eHealth program co-designed with young people, teachers, and experts in the field, to prevent vaping and cigarette smoking among adolescents. The program is being evaluated in a cluster randomised controlled trial with 42 schools across NSW, QLD and WA. This is the first rigorous evaluation of a school-based vaping prevention …

VAPING: The first rigorous evaluation of a school-based vaping prevention program in Australia. Read More »

What if there was a key that held the answer to improving the mental health of Australian adolescents? Well, it turns out this might not be such an implausible idea… Except instead of one key, it’s six. Cue “The Big Six modifiable factors for youth mental health,” an article featured in InSight+ by Dr Lauren …

The Big Six modifiable factors for youth mental health Read More »

How often do we hear fire alarms and practice drills in schools, workplaces and apartment buildings? We practice these drills all the time so that we know what to do in an emergency. If we’re informed of what to do when there’s no immediate threat, we’re prepared for when it comes to an actual emergency. …

The Importance of Prevention in Mental Health and Substance Use Read More »

For better or worse, alcohol and other substances are part of many of our cultural rituals, that probably won’t change. But preventing young people from setting off on a self-destructive path by equipping them with information about the dangers associated with intoxication and illicit drugs has to be a good thing. Experimentation with substances use …

Education Today reviews OurFutures Institute Read More »

At 7-year follow-up, students in all 3 intervention groups reported reduced odds of alcohol-related harms compared to the control group (odds ratios [ORs] = 0.13−0.33), and the Climate (OR = 0.04) and Preventure (OR = 0.17) groups reported lower odds of hazardous alcohol use. The Preventure group also reported lower odds of weekly alcohol use compared to the …

The 7-Year Effectiveness of School-Based Alcohol Use Prevention Read More »