Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. From Term 3, 2023 parent/carer consent will be required for student participation in Kids Helpline @ School sessions and this can take a few forms. You may elect to utilise the global consent form that is signed at the start of the school year for activities deemed low risk by your school administrators. You may prefer to seek specific consent for participation in Kids Helpline @ School sessions and can utilise the document we provide which offers an 'opt out' choice or you are welcome to create your own consent document. When booking a session, you can select whether parental consent has been obtained at that point or you can tell the Kids Helpline @ School counsellor within the free pre-session consultation.

No. When booking a free Kids Helpline @ School session from Term 3, 2023 teachers can select a digital or hard copy student survey. When the session is complete, an email will be sent with a link to the digital teacher survey and digital student survey. For those who opted for a hard copy student survey, the email will contain the digital teacher survey link and hard copy student surveys will be mailed to you with a reply-paid envelope for their return. In the interest of continually improving the program, we value your feedback and any surveys completed are gratefully received.

You can reschedule a session by logging into your ACCOUNT and following the prompts on your summary page.

If you would like to cancel a session, please CONTACT US.

A pre-session consultation is a great opportunity to discuss the session content with a counsellor and tailor it to better suit your class. It is also a chance to ensure the technology will work on the day of your session. If you are unfamiliar with the technology, a counsellor will provide you with training and support and can assist you to troubleshoot any issues.

A pre-session consultation normally runs for 30 minutes maximum and can be run during school break times or before/after school hours, if required.  We recommend each teacher running one or more sessions conducts one pre-session consultation.  If a teacher books multiple sessions, they only require one pre-session consultation.

For your pre-session consultation:　

• You will need a webcam, microphone & speakers.  (Please set these up in advance if possible.)
• Please run the pre-session consultation in the same location with the same setup (including smartboard/interactive whiteboard) as the session, if possible. This will allow us to ensure technology setup is correct and working well. 
• Please keep your mobile phone close so we can call and assist if there are any technical issues.　
• You may like to invite any ICT support available at your school to attend, just in case!
• If more than one teacher will be involved in the session, we recommend inviting them to attend the pre-session consultation if possible! (Student attendance is not required at the pre-session consultation.)　　
• The Team Leader will send you connection instructions specific to your technology prior to your pre-session consultation.

You can run as many sessions as you like! Some teachers organise for their class to run multiple topics. Some schools organise for every class in the school to complete a session on a particular topic. If you need any assistance to make multiple bookings, please CONTACT US.

Kids Helpline @ School sessions are only available via video conferencing. If you have any queries about face-to-face sessions or counsellors attending events, you are very welcome to CONTACT US.

Kids Helpline @ School is a primary school only program. We also run a free program for high schools in North Queensland. To find out more and book sessions click HERE. If you are a high school in other parts of Australia you're able to register interest in running sessions for the possible expansion of this program. Please complete our registration form HERE.

If you are interested in booking any session/s or would like to find out what session dates/times we have available, please follow the steps below:

1. Click BOOK A SESSION
2. Select your state in the top right hand corner to reflect your time zone
3. Choose the date and time that suits you
4. You will then need to register an account or log in - this will allow you to view and reschedule any bookings you make
5. You will be prompted to insert the session information in order to finalise your booking (eg. session topic, year/class, number of students)

6. If the times and dates available on the booking page do not suit your class, please CONTACT US

Pre and post session activities are available for some topics and are listed under each of our available TOPICS. These are designed to promote student interest, awareness and questions about each topic and reinforce learning.

The topics listed on our website are the sessions available to book. If you would like to suggest a module to be created on a different topic, please CONTACT US.

Most sessions run for approximately 45 to 60 minutes. However, due to the attention span of the younger grades, these may only run for 30 minutes.

We are currently using a variety of video conferencing resources and programs in order to connect with primary schools around Australia.

These include:

• Zoom Video Conferencing (preferred)
• Microsoft Teams
• Webex
• Google Meets
• Connected Classrooms (via Dart Connections available for NSW Public Schools)
• Blackboard Ultra

Please note that we try to work in with whatever technology primary schools are able to access. You will need access to video (a webcam) and audio (microphone and speakers) to run a session.

For more information about which technologies your school can access, please CONTACT US. We assist teachers to organise, setup and practice the technologies available for their school, prior to their session/s.

Kids Helpline @ School sessions are designed to engage students in open discussion and to connect them with a real-life Kids Helpline Counsellor. Students are more engaged, more likely to participate, and benefit the most when group sizes are kept to a class size. We recommend a maximum of 50 students per session. If you have more than 50 students, it's best to book multiple sessions.  All sessions are free and you can book as many sessions as you like.

Bookings for larger or merged groups, delivered more like a lecture style may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.  Please CONTACT US for further information.

Thanks to the generous support of our Corporate Partner Bupa, the Kids Helpline @ School program is FREE to all primary schools and you can book as many sessions as you like!