home  background  staff discussion  resources	Introduction The following materials draw on experiences within MindMatters Plus (MM+) a Commonwealth demonstration project grounded within and building upon MindMatters (MM), a national secondary school mental health promotion for all secondary school students. MM+ was designed to extend the work of MM with a particular focus on those students with support needs in mental health and wellbeing. We know that a student’s positive connection or engagement with school is linked to the positive mental health of that student. Positive engagement assists a student to develop the human connections and resilience that reduces the risk of developing later mental health problems. The following MM+ activities provided insights relevant to understanding more about connection to school for students with support needs: Student Engagement Research Project UNHEARD VOICES by Roger Holdsworth and Michelle Blanchard August 2005 What do young people with high support needs in the area of mental health say that assists in their engagement with school? This document summarises the themes that emerge from studies that record and analyse student voices. These studies are listed in an Annotated Bibliography on the AGCA website. The study discusses the implications of this information for future mental health promotion in schools and asks you to consider what this means for your daily practice. jump to UNHEARD VOICES Staff Perspectives on Student Connection to School Research Project STAFF VOICES: WHAT HELPS STUDENTS WITH SUPPORT NEEDS IN MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING CONNECT WITH SCHOOL? by Sarah Anderson, Helen Kerr-Roubicek and Louise Rowling 2006 How do staff from a group of MM+ Demonstration schools understand the process of ‘connecting to school’ and what do they do to enable it? This document summarises the themes that emerged from interviews with 12 staff members. The study discusses their advice about building a positive school community as a basis for enabling connection for all students. In addition there was a clear view that it was vital to reach out to students with support needs to maximize their opportunity for connecting to school.