The Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund is a $3.2 million fund to encourage bold, innovative programs and initiatives to improve students' mental health and wellbeing in schools across New South Wales.
Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Up to $200,000
- Application opened: 20 February 2023
- Application closed: 2 April 2023, 11:59 pm
Program objective
The NSW Department of Education has established a Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund to support and encourage bold, innovative programs and/or initiatives that are created and offered by external providers, to be sourced by primary and secondary schools for the purposes of educating, informing or directly supporting individual students to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
The Fund provides an opportunity for providers of wellbeing programs and initiatives to:
- Build upon existing quality-assured, evidence-based student wellbeing programs and initiatives to enable further expansion of programs and initiatives to new cohorts listed in the priority areas.
- Develop new, bespoke programs and initiatives to address student wellbeing via development funding, enabling providers to research, create, develop and test new approaches to supporting and addressing student wellbeing.
One-off grants of up to $200,000 per program or initiative may be applied for, that address specific student cohorts and priority areas. Priority areas for applications under the Fund are embedded within the wellbeing elements of belonging, resilience and behaviour.
The objectives of the Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund are to:
- support existing providers of wellbeing programs to develop quality, evidence-based programs, become sustainable and provide ongoing offerings to students and schools
- encourage bold and innovative approaches to addressing student mental health and wellbeing issues
- encourage authentic partnership between sector and schools
- build sector capacity and capability to contribute to broader social and economic gains
- harvest new student wellbeing insights and evidence to inform and guide NSW Government policies and programs
- improve the efficiency and responsiveness of schools to meet individual student needs
- build an integrated framework of support for students with schools, community and sector
- build an evidence-based relationship between funding and student wellbeing outcomes.
This program is funded and administered by Department of Education.
Eligibility
Who can apply
Organisations must meet the following eligibility criteria before submitting a grant application:
- be an incorporated charities or not-for-profit entities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, NSW Fair Trading or other equivalent regulatory bodies;
or
- be registered businesses with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and classed as a small business under the ATOs definition (annual turnover of $10 million or less).
Who can’t apply
Applications from organisations that propose the following are ineligible to receive funding:
- programs approved on the department’s quality assured panel, unless to expand to focus areas (see priority areas)
- resources already funded by the department
- activities where the external provider is receiving funding through an existing alternative source
- activities that are centred around workforce capacity and capability, including professional learning activities.
Types of projects funded under this grant
The Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund has been established to support specific cohorts of students, while expanding the overarching programs and initiatives available for all students.
There are five priority areas for applications under the Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund, embedded within the wellbeing elements of belonging, resilience and behaviour, including:
- primary school-aged students
- students transitioning to Kindergarten and High School
- students living in regional and remote areas
- students from target cohorts, including First Nations students and culturally and linguistically diverse students; students with additional needs and/or disability; students from a migrant or refugee background; and female students
- cyber health.
Most recent recipients
What was approved
Approved for Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship
Scaling Social Enterprise Schools Effectively re-engaging young people with learning by empowering and building resilience. The program focuses on regional and rural NSW, and Sydney, helping young people through the process of setting up their own social enterprise. It brings students, teachers, local entrepreneurs and the community to develop students' skills, build confidence and make a positive social impact.
$198,016 was approved by
NSW Department of Education Secretary, Murat DizdarDate approved
June 2023Location of the recipient
Out of NSWAbout the grant
Applications approved
11
Applications received
289
Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund
Agency funding this grant
Department of EducationProgram term
18 monthsWhat was approved
Approved for Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia Limited
Tumut Supportive Friends & Mentoring Program Delivering Big Brothers Big Sisters' and Stride Education's Tumut Supportive Friends Mentoring Program to students at Tumut High School. The program is a combination of one-to-one mentoring and wellbeing workshops focusing on positive relationship-building and social and emotional wellbeing by addressing the growing issues of bullying, isolation, and negativity experienced by some students.
$49,996 was approved by
NSW Department of Education Secretary, Murat DizdarDate approved
June 2023Location of the recipient
Out of NSWAbout the grant
Applications approved
11
Applications received
289
Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund
Agency funding this grant
Department of EducationProgram term
18 monthsWhat was approved
Approved for Fairfield Community Resource Centre T/as Community First Step
Expanding the Big School, Big Minds program to include additional modules for parents and carers, update home-based activities and incorporate social-emotional learning to support pre-school aged children transition to school. The Big School, Big Minds program is a practice-based evidence school readiness program sensitive to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, focusing on vulnerable children 4-6 years of age and their families in South-West Sydney.
$196,022 was approved by
NSW Department of Education Secretary, Murat DizdarDate approved
June 2023Location of the recipient
Fairfield 2165About the grant
Applications approved
11
Applications received
289
Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund
Agency funding this grant
Department of EducationProgram term
18 monthsWhat was approved
Approved for FlyHigh Billie Limited
Enhancing Wellbeing through kindness-centred early intervention among primary school children in Queanbeyan. Expanding the existing evidence-based wellbeing programs with a focus on empowering primary school children through early intervention, making them kinder, empathetic, and compassionate, towards reducing mental health issues, bullying and suicide.
$41,702 was approved by
NSW Department of Education Secretary, Murat DizdarDate approved
June 2023Location of the recipient
Birchgrove 2041About the grant
Applications approved
11
Applications received
289
Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund
Agency funding this grant
Department of EducationProgram term
18 monthsWhat was approved
Approved for GOTCHA 4 LIFE FOUNDATION LTD
Gotcha4Life Primary Schools Mental Fitness Program. Creating the Gotcha4Life Primary School Mental Fitness Program to teach children in years K-6 how to develop skills that help them bounce back from life's challenges. Building on the success of Gotcha4Life's High School Mental Fitness Program which takes a preventative, non-clinical approach to wellbeing to help students learn practical tools for resilience.
$200,000 was approved by
NSW Department of Education Secretary, Murat DizdarDate approved
June 2023Location of the recipient
Elanora Heights 2101About the grant
Applications approved
11
Applications received
289
Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund
Agency funding this grant
Department of EducationProgram term
18 monthsWhat your application needs to include
Download the complete program guide (PDF 180.08KB) to see all the sections that need to be addressed in the applications portal.
More information about the can be found on NSW Department of Education website.
Prepare your application with this checklist
Applications should demonstrate the organisation’s financial capabilities by including:
- financial statements and cash flow statements for the past two years (FY 2020/21 and 2021/22) and Independent Auditor’s Report, where the organisation is established
- statement detailing the financial experience of the principal/s where the organisation is a start-up or new entity, as relevant to the proposed activity
- copies of current insurance details (public liability, professional indemnity and workers compensation) and certificates of currency
- ABN and/or ACN and details of governance structure of organisation
- information about financial ability to meet any on-going expenses associated with program development or delivery
- a specific project code or account for reporting purposes
- verified financial acquittals (at specified project intervals).
Additionally, applications should also include:
- letters of support from any identified collaborating providers or organisations
Address the eligibility criteria
Organisations must meet the following eligibility criteria before submitting a grant application:
- be an incorporated charity or not-for-profit entity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, NSW Fair Trading or equivalent other equivalent regulatory bodies;
or
- be a registered business with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and classed as a small business under the ATOs definition (annual turnover of $10 million or less)
- demonstrate commitment to Child Safe standards
- provide or intends to provide student wellbeing related programs, services or initiatives in NSW public schools (this does not exclude organisations that are located outside NSW borders).
Address the assessment criteria
All applications will undergo an eligibility assessment and if successful they will then be assessed using the following criteria:
- aligned with the objectives of one or more of the priority areas for the Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund
- clearly articulates a student outcome-focused approach and how it will be measured
- identifies at least one (1) NSW public school that will benefit from the program/initiative
- identifies the evidence-base it will use or seeks to develop to improve student wellbeing (sense of belonging, resilience and behaviour)
- demonstrates a collaborative approach, where partnerships are developed to deliver child-focused wellbeing outcomes
- be technically feasible and can be delivered on time and on budget (ie projects must be completed within 18 months of funding)
- details a credible means of monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the achievement of proposed student wellbeing outcomes
- shows value for money.
In addition, for applications involving technology development (in addition to the above criteria):
- provides information as to the technical skills required to successfully undertake the work, and the specific personnel proposed to do the work along with an outline of their demonstrated experience and competence to do the work
- details how the technology will address inclusive design, data security, student safety, ongoing user support, and any technical integrations required.
Start the application
Applications for this grant are available via the Grants portal.
After the application is submitted
All applicants will receive an email confirming that their application has been received.
Successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified from early May 2023. Unsuccessful applicants will receive a feedback report outlining the reasons why they were not successful in this round.
A NSW funding agreement is required to be executed by the successful applicant and the NSW Department of Education before any grant can be paid.
The terms and conditions in that deed set out the understandings and expectations required of recipients of the Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund.
Failure to execute the funding agreement before the end of the financial year of the respective grant round may result in the grant being withdrawn.
Once the funding agreement is executed the department will release the grant funding to the successful applicant as a one-off allocation, with first payment to be made by the end of June 2023.
Support and contact
For further information about the Student Wellbeing Innovation Fund.