If Not Now, When?

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In an era defined by complexity, the emotional lives of our students are no longer peripheral to the business of schooling — they are central to it. The accelerating mental health crisis, the residual effects of global disruption, and the rising tide of online influences demand more than reactive, one-size-fits-all support. They demand a new kind of leadership.

At Chester Hill North Public School, Principal Amanda Adams is offering a compelling example of what that leadership looks like. Through a strategic, data-informed approach, Amanda is reframing wellbeing not as a pastoral add-on, but as a critical system driver — one that fuels inclusion, engagement, and long-term learning outcomes.

Her insights offer five key lessons for education leaders ready to shift from reactive support to proactive, whole-school wellbeing.

1. Lead from Within: Prioritise Staff Wellbeing First

Amanda’s first move was to start not with student programs, but with staff culture.

“Our teachers needed to understand wellbeing for themselves before they could lead it for others,” she explains. “We began with professional learning focused on adult mental health, emotional literacy, and self-awareness.”

This staff-first strategy created the psychological safety and buy-in needed for system-wide change. It wasn’t a wellbeing program; it was a leadership posture — one that recognised that emotionally regulated adults create emotionally safe classrooms.

Strategic Insight: Any school-wide change must be lived before it is led. Staff wellbeing is not ancillary — it is foundational.

2. Create Collective Ownership, Not Compliance

Wellbeing, Amanda insists, is not a leadership directive. It must be co-owned.

Through a staged consultation process, she engaged her wellbeing committee, P&C, teachers, and student leaders to explore and champion the Life Skills GO platform. “We didn’t just adopt a tool. We built a movement,” she says.

Community buy-in extended beyond the school gates. In a multilingual community, Amanda’s team ran emotional literacy sessions for parents through their Community Hub. They also integrated student voices and leadership roles into wellbeing planning.

Strategic Insight: Buy-in is not about selling an idea. It’s about creating space for shared purpose. Empower communities to lead alongside you.

3. Operationalise the Morning Check-In — and Make it Matter

One of the most powerful tools Chester Hill North now uses is deceptively simple: a daily emotion check-in. But it’s what happens next that matters most.

Within 15 minutes each morning, a School Learning Support Officer (SLSO) downloads the data. High-emotion classrooms are triaged. Interventions — whether a calming circle or just a supportive presence — happen in real time. Amanda herself regularly steps in alongside teachers when needed.

This practice isn’t just about identifying outliers. It’s about recognising trends, providing timely support, and building relational trust with students.

Strategic Insight: Real-time data must be matched by real-time responsiveness. What you do with the data is what changes lives.

4. Let the Data Drive Long-Term Strategic Thinking

Amanda and her executive team now review wellbeing data fortnightly — not just for incident response, but for strategic insight.

After identifying Thursdays as their highest “ready-to-learn” day, they traced the impact back to a gymnastics program that boosted student engagement and attendance. In another case, a rise in unsafe online check-ins led to a police partnership and revised technology agreement.

The team is also beginning to triangulate wellbeing data with attendance and behaviour metrics, seeking patterns that can inform targeted support and long-term investment.

Strategic Insight: The future of school improvement is cross-functional. Integrate wellbeing data into your strategic decision-making architecture.

5. Build Systems that Include Every Learner

Perhaps most compelling is Amanda’s inclusive approach. Students in AU support classes are not only participating in emotional check-ins — their data is fully integrated into schoolwide dashboards.

“We started with just six basic emotions, but those children now check in and name their feelings like everyone else,” she says. “It’s powerful.”

Her school’s holistic design — from mainstream to support units — demonstrates that emotion regulation and literacy can be taught, measured, and embedded at every stage of development.

Strategic Insight: Inclusion isn’t optional. Every student must be seen, heard, and supported — especially those with additional needs.

From Information to Transformation

Amanda’s leadership offers a roadmap for any school looking to shift from firefighting to foresight. At its core is a belief that wellbeing is not separate from academic success — it is the soil from which learning grows.

“We used to assume how students were feeling,” she reflects. “Now, we know. And when you know, you can lead differently.”

This isn’t just school leadership. It’s system design. It’s evidence-based culture change. And most importantly, it’s a call to action.

The Takeaway for Educational Leaders:
It’s no longer enough to care about wellbeing. We must systematise it. That means embedding real time wellbeing data into the daily, weekly, and strategic rhythm of school life. It means investing in staff, empowering community, and building agile systems of support. And it means recognising that the strongest schools of the future will be those that are not just academically excellent — but emotionally intelligent.

Ready to shift from reaction to prevention in your school?
Book a no-obligation 20-minute executive meeting [here] to explore how Life Skills GO can support your wellbeing strategy — or start your free 14-day trial and experience it for yourself.

👉 Missed the webinar? [Watch the replay]

👉 New to Life Skills GO? [Start your 14-day free trial today]