About Us

Who We Are

Our Story

Life Skills Group was founded by Nikki Bonus in 2001 in Sydney, Australia to address the urgent need for learning social and emotional intelligence in schools and communities. We have grown to be an international collective of over 80 team members. We partner with education sectors across states and districts to educate and empower students, teachers, families and to act as a voice for the voiceless.

There is now global recognition that skills of social, emotional, physical and wellbeing learning are of critical importance in education and that these skills will be the key to empowering our future generation of leaders.

Life Skills Group is unique among service providers as our programs draw upon the Health and Physical Education curriculum, social emotional learning frameworks, whole-school wellbeing strategies, mindfulness science and positive psychology in combination with effective pedagogical practices. Our programs consistently achieve high levels of impact and thousands of students who have completed our programs are better equipped to build a “flourishing world”.

"Nikki recently presented at our Women in Educational Leadership Conference. The experience, knowledge and energy she bought to the room motivated and inspired our attendees."

Rose Pelley, WIEL

Learn more about our founder and CEO, Nikki Bonus

Hear Nikki share her story and how this has impacted on her purpose and the remarkable work she does today.

Our vision

Every child globally is seen, heard, and supported to thrive in life.

Our mission

We Empower Student Voice:
Using technology, we help the education community drive better outcomes through informed actions by providing evidence-based wellbeing data from the students, for the students.

Our Team

Life Skills Group is an international team of subject matter experts, curriculum advisors, professional learning consultants, wellbeing officers, psychologists, teachers, researchers and instructional designers who partner with school teams, families and community groups to empower emotional intelligence and wellbeing.

Our team members are recognised as leaders in their field, leading policy, program design, professional learning and curriculum implementation in schools. The wellbeing of children, families and school communities is at the centre of all decision making.

The teachers who deliver our in-school programs are highly skilled instructional leaders. They share their expertise with classroom teachers bringing curriculum content to life in an engaging way for students and in an informative and exemplary way for teachers. Our teachers model a flexible repertoire of strategies effective in developing the social, emotional, intellectual and physical learning of students across all ability levels.

All teachers have completed over 200 hours of training including training in special needs, anxiety management and child stress indicators.

In addition they receive ongoing professional development and have their First Aid certification and Working with Children Check.

Interested in joining our team?

We’re always on the lookout for talented and passionate people who are ready to make a difference. If you’re one of them, view our current job openings.

CAREERS PAGE

Why We Do It

Mental health is the #1 concern amongst youth in Australia

1 in 6 people have at least one mental or substance use disorder globally¹.
It is estimated that 4% of the global population have an anxiety disorder¹.
Mental health is the #1 concern of Australian 15 - 19 year olds.
Mental health rose as the national concern of 15-19 year olds in Australia from 14.9% to 33.7%, 2015-2017².
$118.6 billion lost due to fall in educational performance in Australian schools 2009-2015⁷.
Nearly $200 billion is lost each year in the US in reduced earnings due to mental health problems⁶.

Social and emotional skills are needed to be able to thrive

Young people with strong social emotional skills are twice as likely to be happy³.
Young people with strong social emotional skills are 4 times more likely to finish high school³.
Young people with strong social emotional skills are more likely to have better learning outcomes⁴.
Young people with strong social emotional skills are more likely to have higher income and better jobs⁴.
Benefit-cost of social emotional learning programs = 11:1 return on investment⁵.

EMPOWER SCHOOLS, TEACHERS & STUDENTS

Our in-school and online wellbeing programs equip teachers and students with skills needed to deal with challenge successfully and to reach their potential as learners and future leaders.

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EMPOWER FAMILIES

We equip parents and carers with knowledge and tools to help their children develop skills of self-awareness, resilience, self-regulation and empathy.

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KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

In addition to her CEO role at Life Skills Group, Nikki Bonus is well-known in the education and private sectors as a keynote speaker. Through her highly engaging delivery, Nikki shares powerful insights with participants of how principles of wellbeing science, positive psychology and mindful leadership can be applied to enhance performance of individuals and teams. Do you want Nikki to enrich your next conference, event or workshop?

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WEBINARS & WORKSHOPS

We host free webinars & in-person workshops throughout the year for both teachers and parents. In our events, you will learn how to strengthen the wellbeing for yourself, students you teach, and your children. You will learn how to help reduce anxiety, build resilience, and flourish in life. Join one of our workshops and connect with like-minded people in our passionate community.

UPCOMING EVENTS

About Life Skills Group