THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · TWO-INK RISO ZINE
Students celebrating a team achievement together
PDHPE · TASK 3 · DEPTH STUDY 35% SRIHARI · KEERTI · TANAY

What do you say to a friend who’s struggling?

THE
LOOKOUT
PROGRAM

Depression is common, treatable, and never a personal failing.

WHOLE-SCHOOL YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH · YEAR 5 → YEAR 12

SLIDE 02 · THE STAKES
1 IN 3

deaths of Australians aged 15–17 are suicide · 31.8%, every year

Leading cause of death, ages 15–24
The risk climbs inside the years we reach.
So Lookout starts before the risk does.

SUICIDE RATE PER 100,000 · AUSTRALIA

<1 UNDER 14 11.1 MALE 15–19 6.6 FEMALE 15–19
THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · PDHPE TASK 3ABS 2024 AIHW
SLIDE 03 · WHO & WHY YEAR 5
Student-made wellbeing messages displayed at school
STUDENT-LED LANGUAGE

More students are carrying depression than ever measured.

DEPRESSION, AGES 12–17 · COMBINED PARENT + SELF REPORT

2.9% 1998 5% 2013–14 10.5% TODAY
ADOLESCENTS 10–19 AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS · Y5–Y12

SAME KIDS, ASKED DIFFERENTLY

COMBINED REPORT
10.5%
PARENT REPORT ONLY
4.7%
Who you ask changes the answer.
Parents under-detect by about half.
So Lookout asks students, directly, at school.
THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · PDHPE TASK 3AIHW
A diverse classroom learning together BELONGING IS PART OF PREVENTION SLIDE 04 · NOT EVERYONE EQUALLY

The risk is not shared evenly.

4.5×

First Nations Australians 10–19 (QLD) die by suicide at 4.5× the rate of their peers

PEERS
1×
FIRST NATIONS 10–19
4.5×
60.3%

of LGBTIQ+ Australians aged 14–17 had suicidal thoughts in a single year

60.3% OF THE BAR
THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · PDHPE TASK 3AIHW ABS
SLIDE 05 · THREE MESSAGES
1

Depression is common. Treatable.
Never a personal failing.

2

Help-seeking is a skill, not a weakness. 3 of 4 affected adolescents never access professional help

3

Every student is a first responder. peers hear it first · bully-victims carry 4.3× the risk of suicidal ideation

THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · PDHPE TASK 3AIHW
SLIDE 06 · WHOLE-SCHOOL, NOT ONE-OFF

What the evidence actually says.

5,611 RECORDS SCREENED

Universal + whole-school + age-sequenced programs work.NSW DoE rapid review

Stand-alone programs do not.e.g. Resourceful Adolescent Program: no significant reduction

New here: continuous Year 5 → Year 12.
No Australian program does this.

BUILT ON THE OTTAWA CHARTER

PERSONAL
SKILLS
SUPPORTIVE
ENVIRONMENTS
COMMUNITY
ACTION

THREE CHARTER ACTIONS → THREE PROGRAM PILLARS

Teachers and staff standing together as a supportive team
TEACHERS MAKE SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS VISIBLE
THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · PDHPE TASK 3NSW DoE RAPID REVIEW
SLIDE 07 · THREE TIERS

One staircase, eight years.

EVERY TIER REHEARSES ITS SKILL
Y5–6 · NAME IT emotional literacy ask for help · no suicide content Y7–9 · UNDERSTAND IT symptoms · causes · treatability peer distress Y10–12 · RESPOND SAFELY suicide prevention inside general MH promotion per headspace · prevents contagion

Method builds on YAM randomised controlled trial · 11,110 students

SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, BASELINE
12 MONTHS LATER
÷2
THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · PDHPE TASK 3headspace BMJ / YAM RCT
Students collaborating in a school setting SLIDE 08 · WHAT MAKES IT STICK

Four mechanisms that make it stick.

STRENGTHS-FIRST

Strengths-based assessment opens every tier. What’s strong, then what’s hard.

TEEN MHFA

Years 7–12 · 3 × 75 min. Australian RCT: better first-aid intentions + confidence at 12 months.

STUDENT-LED

August campaign, anchored to Bullying No Way Week.

THE WELLBEING CARD

Warning signs · 2 strategies · 1 trusted adult. Revisited yearly, carried by the student.

SELF-CARE = 3 HABITS

SLEEP · EXERCISE · GROUNDING

~60%

~60% of 16–17 year olds with anxiety or depression symptoms miss minimum sleep. Sleep is the first habit we protect.

THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · PDHPE TASK 3headspace TEEN MHFA RCT AIHW
SLIDE 09 · MAKING IT REAL

Built to actually run in a school.

INSIDE EXISTING PDHPE TIME · NO EXTRA TIMETABLING NSW GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS EXISTING COUNSELLORS + SSOs ALIGNED TO NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION STRATEGY

SAFEGUARDS

  • Mindframe-safe materials: never method or location · 24/7 lines always listed
  • Staff trained: Be You + YMHFA for at least 10% of support staff
  • Parents in the loop: informed · opt-out · info evening per stage

STAGED DISCLOSURE PATHWAY

TEACHER / SSO first response YEAR ADVISER · HT WELLBEING SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

JUDGED AT 6 YEARS

no effect through year 3 every outcome improving by year 6

40,149-student evaluation. Depression odds nearly halved by year 6.

THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · PDHPE TASK 3NSW DoE Mindframe Be You
SLIDE 10 · WHAT YOU DO NEXT

HELP-SEEKING IS A SKILL

Notice it.
Name it.
Say something.

FOR YOURSELF

Two weeks of low mood → tell one trusted adult.

FOR A FRIEND

Ask directly. Listen. Walk them to a trusted adult.

WHERE THE NEXT STEP GOES

IN SCHOOL  Counsellor · SSO · Year Adviser · HT Wellbeing

EMERGENCY  000

KIDS HELPLINE1800 55 1800 · 24/7
LIFELINE13 11 14 · 24/7
BEYOND BLUE1300 22 4636 · 24/7
13YARN13 92 76 · 24/7
eHEADSPACE1800 650 890 · 3pm–10pm
QLIFE1800 184 527 · 3pm–9pm
A large student group gathered together
SMALL ACTIONS BUILD A SAFER SCHOOL
THE LOOKOUT PROGRAM · SRIHARI · KEERTI · TANAYKIDS HELPLINE 2025
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