Our stories: Mt Carmel College

Embedding My Mind Check into existing wellbeing routines

Mount Carmel College, a Catholic primary and middle school, initially trialled My Mind Check with students in Year 2, 4 and 8, identifying these year levels as key stages of social, emotional and developmental change. The school saw this as an opportunity to understand how the platform could support students’ wellbeing at pivotal transition points and to gauge its potential value for broader implementation with additional year levels in the future.

Wellbeing was already deeply embedded in the school’s structure and check-ins integrated naturally into the school’s existing wellbeing routines. Consent rates exceeded expectations, and the encouraging overall response rate reflected strong support from the school community.

Determining who should follow up with students once outcomes were available was another important consideration, and the flexibility to nominate staff to the wellbeing role of School Champion proved especially helpful.

For primary students, classroom teachers were best placed to lead these conversations. For students who did not have consent to participate, the school maintained its usual wellbeing practices, reaching out to students directly to ensure they still felt seen and supported, and had an opportunity to connect about their wellbeing.

Bringing student challenges to light

Mount Carmel College found My Mind Check to be a practical and purposeful addition to their wellbeing toolkit. The platform has been simple to use and instrumental in bringing to light student challenges that hadn’t previously been shared or visible. As the school representative noted, “It’s been great in finding students who weren’t on our radar… we’ve been really impressed.”

The school has found both whole-school and individual student outcomes to be highly informative, offering new perspectives on student wellbeing. Even areas where students chose to skip questions offered meaningful insights. Some of the questions left unanswered related to protective factors such as family connection, prompting thoughtful reflection amongst staff.

Valued support for school staff

Staff have found the supporting resources valuable and accessible. The guidance on interpreting questions and responding to caregivers has provided clarity and confidence in the process. The platform also supported their communication with caregivers, and the school valued having outcome information readily available to share.

They also commended the strong support provided by the My Mind Check School Support Team, highlighting the team’s responsiveness and genuine care — “You guys are on top of everything.”

Staff are eager to build on the strong foundations established through the trial and to make the check-ins a lasting and valued part of the school’s wellbeing approach. In reflecting on the workload, the school representative shared that it fit naturally into their wellbeing work and felt manageable for the staff involved — saying, “Is this extra work? Well, no – we should always be focusing on wellbeing.”

Reshaping the school’s wellbeing approach

The insights gained through My Mind Check are now helping to shape the school’s wellbeing approach and guide its future priorities. As the school representative explained, “We’re in a restructure phase with our wellbeing program – we’ve mainly been connecting our resources to the domains that are flagging [through My Mind Check].”

After a successful first round with Year 8 students, Mount Carmel College has commenced its second round of check-ins. The school will share its positive experience with the diocese and hopes to extend My Mind Check across all year levels.

Reach out to our School Support Team to discuss how My Mind Check can support your school’s unique wellbeing goals.