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Thriving Kids Programs Part 3: Positive Partnerships

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In his National Press Club Announcement of 20 August 2025, Minister Mark Butler name-checked some programs that might be scaled up and block-funded under Thriving Kids. In this series, we’re taking a brief look at them. 

This time, we’re looking at Positive Partnerships.

Context:

Thriving Kids is intended to replace the NDIS early intervention pathway – and individualised NDIS therapy supports – for children with mild and moderate autism and developmental delay. As of now, the states have yet to agree funding, timing and other details for Thriving Kids with the Federal Government. 

Overview:

Positive Partnerships (PP) is a national project to support autistic school students.   

History:

PP was launched in 2008, as part of the Helping Children with Autism Initiative, and has been expanded through a number of phases. 

Who “owns” it:

PP is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and is now delivered by Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia). 

Goals:

PP supports (amongst other things) families, educators and communities to “strengthen positive outcomes for autistic young people”.

What does it do?

  • PP delivers free professional learning and other resources to parents, carers and school staff, including teachers.
  • It does this through its website resources, workshops, webinars and online modules. 

Resource examples:

  • Information sheets and tools, e.g. about reacting to diagnosis, supporting self-care and independence, communication, and dealing with transitions.
  • 1-2 day parent and carer workshops about autism, how it affects children at home and school, ways to strengthen home-school-community partnerships, advocacy, sensory processing, and behaviour management.
  • Whole -school and individual professional learning for teachers, e.g. about teaching strategies, curriculum adjustments, student mental health, strengthening social relationships, and dealing with change.
  • Combined parent/carer/teacher workshops. 
  • Online modules and webinars about autism-related topics

Cost to date:

The Government has invested more than $100 million into PP.

Influence:

PP reports that, between 2015 and 2021:

  • 30,000 educators across more than 1,860 schools, and more than 8,600 parents and carers, have accessed the workshops or online learning resources; and
  • 705,000 people have used the website. 

Does it work?

PP appears to be helpful for parents, carers and teachers:

  • A 2011 conference paper/case study concluded that PP resources increase parent/carer and teacher knowledge and confidence in meeting the needs of autistic students.  
  • A 2022 study of nine parents of autistic students and nine teachers found that the parent-teacher workshops strengthened parent-teacher partnerships through an improved understanding of autistic students’ needs.

Yes, but:

The purpose of PP is to improve outcomes for autistic students: 

  • The studies we found focus on indirect measures (parent /carer and teacher perceptions). We haven’t found an independent, peer-reviewed study that includes direct measures of student outcomes. (If you know of one, please let us know!)
  • The published studies have small sample sizes and lack controls. For example, researchers did not control for expectation bias: if someone expects a resource or treatment to be effective, they tend to focus more on positive outcomes and discount negative ones, which can distort research findings that rely on parent and teacher interviews or reports. 
  • Improving educational outcomes for students with communication challenges requires much more than information-sharing and training. For example:
    • teachers and other staff need time, resources, and support from leaders to implement tools, strategies and practices in busy classrooms; and 
    • different students can have very different support needs at different stages, sometimes requiring individualised supports that go far beyond general teaching and communication strategies.

Bottom line:

PP includes lots of useful, free resources for parents, carers, and teachers of autistic students. It would be great to see peer-reviewed research measuring student outcomes directly. For Thriving Kids, it would also be useful to see if any of the resources could be used or adapted to support other students, e.g. students with language or learning disorders, ADHD, and/or developmental delays. 

Further reading:

Positive Partnerships: What We Do

Kilham, C., (2011). An evidence based approach to evaluation: A case study of the Positive Partnerships web space. In G. Williams, P. Statham, N. Brown & B. Cleland (Eds.), Changing Demands, Changing Directions. Proceedings ascilite Hobart 2011. (pp.729-734)

Syeda, N., & Bruck, S. (2022). We Are on the Same Page! Strengthening Parent– Teacher Partnerships Through Autism-Focused Training Workshops. School Community Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1.

Thriving Kids Programs Part 2: Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS)

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Background:

In his National Press Club speech of 20 August 2025, Minister Mark Butler name-checked some specific programs that might be scaled up and block-funded under Thriving Kids.

This week, we’re looking at Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS).

Context:

Thriving Kids is intended to replace the NDIS early intervention pathway for most children, including children with mild and moderate autism and developmental delay. Families want to know about the support that might be available for their kids in mainstream settings.

Overview:

MHiPS is a program that upskills experienced teachers to become “Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders” (MHWLs*) within primary schools.  

Goals:

MHiPS is designed to help schools promote good mental health and to reduce mental health problems in students. 

Why is MHiPS relevant toThriving Kids? 

  • As a group, children with mild and moderate developmental delay or autism are at greater risk of mental health challenges than the general population.
  • MHiPS is an example of a program in which teachers in mainstream settings act as “bridges” between education and allied health services. It may become a model for how other mainstream supports are structured and delivered nationally under Thriving Kids.

Who “owns” MHiPS?

It’s a partnership between the Centre for Community Child Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. 

Who funded MHiPS?

The Victorian Government, some prominent family trusts and foundations, and Bupa.

What do MHWLs do? 

  • Provide support to teaching staff to increase their knowledge, skills and confidence in supporting students’ mental health.
  • Improve care pathways between education and health sectors, including to identify and connect students that require mental health assessments and treatments to mental health professionals.

Are MHWLs mental health therapists?

No. They are experienced teachers who:

  • understand the realities of delivering support in busy classrooms; and
  • have knowledge of their local school, and relationships with school staff members, students and families.

Do MHWLs treat students’ mental health issues?

No: they are coordinators, not clinicians. MHWLs do not provide therapy to students. 

How are MHWLs trained?

They must be qualified teachers. They complete three, one-day, online training modules about mental health literacy, supporting needs, and building capacity, and attend ongoing “Communities of Practice sessions” with mental health experts.

Real World challenges: 

  • Teacher shortages: MHiPS requires an experienced teacher in each school to be trained and appointed as a full-time MHWL. In many parts of the country, we are experiencing a shortage of experienced classroom teachers.  
  • Mental health professional shortages: The model assumes MHWLs can connect at-risk students to mental health services. But, right now, there are lots of professional service and funding gaps in mental health systems for children.
  • Role clarity: Some teachers report confusion about the scope of the MHWL role and how it fits (or overlaps) with existing school wellness programs and the roles of other staff members, such as assistant principals and school counsellors.  
  • Different views on education priorities: Almost everyone agrees that students’ mental health in schools is important. But some teachers think that educators and primary schools should prioritise teaching kids to read, write, and to be numerate, which can also positively impact students’ mental health. 

Evidence:

Recent feasibility research suggests that, despite some of the challenges, the MHWL role is feasible, and has the potential to improve mental health and wellbeing in schools (see citation below).  

Roll-out status:

In Victoria, MHiPS is due to reach every government and low-fee non-government primary school in the state by 2026. In Queensland, the MHiPS team is adapting and evaluating the feasibility of a MHiPS in Mount Isa schools. In South Australia, the team is working with the government to run a pilot in South Australian primary schools.

Bottom line:

MHiPS shows promise. But, before it is rolled out nationally, it would be good to see high quality effectiveness studies showing positive downstream effects on student and family outcomes. Families of children with mild or moderate developmental delay or autism will want to understand how, exactly, the program will help connect their kids to evidence-based mental health professionals and services if they need them.

Go deeper:

Johnson, C., Dawson, G., Smith, R. et al. Feasibility and Acceptability of Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinators in Australian Primary Schools: A Mixed-Methods Study. School Mental Health 17, 674–684 (2025).

Read more:

Mental Health in Primary School (MHiPS)

*In the research, MHWLs are sometimes referred to as Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinators or MHWCs.

Thriving Kids Programs Part 1: Inklings

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In his National Press Club Address of 20 August 2025, Minister Mark Butler name-checked some programs that might be scaled up and block-funded under Thriving Kids. In this series, we’ll take a brief look at them. 

We’ll start with a program called Inklings.

Context:

Over time, Thriving Kids is intended to replace the NDIS early intervention pathway for children with mild and moderate autism and developmental delay. It’s meant to be funded 50:50 by the Federal Government and the States. (As of now, Thriving Kids has yet to be agreed with the States.) 

Overview:

Inklings is a very early parenting support program for children aged 6 months+ and in the first 2 years of life who are showing behavioural signs of possible autism.* 

History:

Inklings was adapted from a program called iBasis-VIPP, which was itself adapted from a Dutch program called Video Interaction to Promote Positive Parenting (VIPP). 

Who ‘owns’ it?

The Kids Research Institute Australia and the University of Manchester co-own the intellectual property in the iBASIS manual (2023). 

Goals:

Inklings supports (amongst other things):

  • social interaction and communication development for babies with early developmental delays; and
  • parents’ communication with their baby.

What does it involve?

  • It takes 5 months.
  • A trained therapist delivers Inklings directly to parents and their infant. 
  • It’s delivered in family homes.
  • It’s 10-12 therapy sessions long:
    • The first two sessions focus on baby behaviour.
    • The 3rd and 4th sessions, look at parent behaviour. 
    • The 5th and 6th sessions focus on more complex chains of social interactions.
    • The program is rounded out with 5 or so ‘booster’ sessions to consolidate learning.

Core features:

  • Child-led, helping parents learn to follow their baby’s natural interests. 
  • A focus on social interactions and communication between the baby and the parents.
  • In each session, parent-baby interactions are videoed and reviewed, with therapist feedback, including on positive examples of sensitive interactions.
  • Therapist observations, supporting parents’ self-reflection, and focusing on behavioural changes.
  • 15 minutes of daily home practice interacting with their infant in natural situations (e.g. play, mealtimes) using newly-learned skills. 

Evidence:

Inklings has been shown to be effective by two randomised controlled trials involving more than 150 babies (see below). At the age of 3 years, children who received the treatment as 9-month+ aged babies showed a statistically significant reduction in the severity of their autistic behaviours, and were less likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for an autism diagnosis.

Controversy:

Some autistic adults have concerns about some aspects of the treatment and point out that autism cannot be prevented or cured. In recent years, Inklings researchers have actively consulted with autistic adults to understand different perspectives on acceptable supports for babies and toddlers (see below), and to embrace neuroaffirming language (e.g. in the 2023 iBasis manual and other program materials). 

Bottom line:

Inklings is an evidence-based, very early family support program for children from age 6 months in their first 2 years of life who are showing early signs of autism. Compared to some other autism therapies, it’s a relatively ‘low dose’ and low cost program, making it appealing for governments looking to fund a program to help families at scale.

Further reading:

*Important note: When looking for very early signs of possible autism, researchers and health professionals look at multiple behaviours, including spontaneous eye contact, so-called “protodeclarative pointing” (where the child points to an object or event to direct another person’s attention to it), social gestures, imitation, and response to name. A lack of one or more of these behaviours does not of itself mean a child is autistic. If you are concerned about your child, speak with a health professional.

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