In terms of the benefits for students using Switch4Schools there is evidence that increased emotional intelligence, including the ability to perceive and manage emotions, enables an increased awareness of themselves and empathy for others. This helps create a psychologically safe environment for students to learn and develop individual resilience to better deal with whatever is thrown at them during the day. The program is designed to improve emotional vocabulary, organised in a way that increases the student’s ability to conceptualise ideas such as ‘dialling’ emotion up and down (regulation), and improve communication. Added with switching techniques, tips and tricks for managing the intensity of emotions, getting better sleep and building resilience the program equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to be emotionally intelligent. Not surprisingly, improved emotional intelligence and self regulatory behaviours result in better self control and focus which in turn improves both academic results and relationships.

One of the main struggles neurodiverse individuals experience is that the ‘rules of normality’ are traditionally learned via social cues - cues that are hard (or impossible) for neurodivergent kids to comprehend. The Switch4Schools program is specifically designed to teach emotional health in a way that is not dependent on social cues. It uses pattern matching and a linguistic framework that helps create conceptual pathways for learning. In this sense, it works for anyone, irrespective of their divergent thinking or perception styles. Co-founded by an experienced psychologist and developed with a team of educational and developmental experts, Switch also works with reliable and validated wellbeing research partners such as ARACY, and with key partner schools to continue to grow the effectiveness of the platform. Switch is designed to be inclusive which is reflective of the research - in particular the Mark Greenberg’s Fast Track Project done for the University of Washington, which showed improvements in academic scores, pro-social behaviour and self-reported happiness for all students, irrespective of cognitive diversity. Switch4Schools offers a practical and very systemic approach to building emotional health. It’s a framework that is based in patterns and linguistic associations that help build the neural pathways to succeed. At the very heart of this program is the removing of the dependence on subtle social cues from the building of emotional health. This is reflected in the school results that show impact for all students irrespective of cognition or thinking styles. We have even seen significant positive results in special schools, where extreme neurodiversity is often comorbid with other severe physical and mental challenges. We are witnessing improvements in behaviour, increased performance, and rise in self-reported student and teacher satisfaction in schools using Switch4Schools. Switch works because we are human.

Yes. We take data privacy seriously and follow strict protocols to safeguard it. We have implemented robust measures to protect information from unauthorised access, use, and disclosure. These measures include encryption, data access controls, and regular security assessments.  Further to this, we collect only necessary information and ensure it is used solely for the intended purposes, such as creating an account. We do not share personally identifiable information without a legal court order or subpoena requiring us to do so, and even then, it would only be for the very specific data requested. We are completely committed to maintaining confidentiality and data security. We will only disclose information when legally obligated to do so.   Certain functions require personally identifiable information, such as an email address for the purpose of resetting a forgotten password, however, we at all times respect the importance of anonymity and students’ right to it. The app allows students to use de-identified details or pseudonyms to maintain their privacy if required. At the end of each school year, all check in data is archived and will no longer be accessible by the school. We may provide historical check in data for specified individuals to the school upon request only. We retain and use aggregated check in responses for analytic purposes related to product improvement. All data generated in Australia is stored within Australian territory.   If you have a security concern, please notify us immediately at support@switch4schools.com.au.  We will take prompt action to address any issue and ensure students’ safety. 

We only retain student’s name and email address for the purpose of managing their account access. The check in process asks students how tired they are, and how emotionally they are feeling. This information is only available to authorised teachers at an individual level, and the individual themselves if the feature has been enabled.

Students are asked to self report their emotional state and energy level via a periodic “check-in” survey, which is aggregated for the teacher to determine if the class is in an emotional state that are ready to learn. The students are also encouraged to explore and practice switching techniques either individually or as a class, addressing both class behaviour management strategies and the national curriculum expectations related to delivering social and emotional learning (SEL). There are around 100 switches and activities the can be used at the class or individual level to improve social and emotional capabilities (these can accessed by the general public by selecting “login” on the website, and the “browse without login” option). In addition, the longitudinal data compares individual students self-reported emotional data with level of tiredness to look for trends and opportunities to help.

Students (and caregivers) are able to log into the publicly available version at any stage (refer to the “browse without login” option here:https://app.switch4schools.com.au/Login). Depending on the school’s approach for setting up and managing student accounts, students will also have the ability to login to their account using their username and password through this same link (or the iOS app from the AppStore).

There is an immense amount of evidence supporting the development and use of Switch for schools. For a good summary that includes evidence supporting the use of a digital check-in, evidence supporting the use of emotional language to improve EI, evidence supporting the effectiveness of simple mind strategies and activities, and a reference list for further reading check out the attached pdf.

The program is suitable for all students aged between 4 – 16 years old. Younger students do require more support from their teachers to familiarise with switches.

It is a program facilitated by teachers to support their students to build social and emotional skills in a practical and fun way. Students are asked to “check in” to self report on how they are feeling, and can access “switches” to learn some strategies for managing their emotions more effectively.

Not at this stage. However, you can have access to a limited version of the app. When you open the app, you can select Browse without login. This will grant you access to the switches and activities that students use in the classroom.

The Switch4Schools app offers four distinct complexity levels designed to meet the emotional maturity of students and align with the national Personal and Social Learning curriculum requirements for schools. These levels progressively introduce more complex language and activities while addressing key components of emotional intelligence. Foundation: A gentle introduction suitable for younger students, focusing on foundational emotional intelligence concepts. Proficient: Builds on the foundation level, introducing more sophisticated language and activities for deeper exploration. Advanced: Offers complex language and activities for students ready for greater challenges in emotional intelligence. Mastery: The highest complexity level, providing advanced language and activities for the most emotionally mature students. The app aligns with the curriculum by covering self awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management. It includes lessons and activities promoting these skills, such as recognising and understanding emotions, self regulation, empathy, and effective communication. Educators and parents can select the appropriate complexity level based on students' emotional readiness and progress.

The check-in information shared by students is only shared between the students and whomever is identified as a teacher of the class. This is controlled by the teacher to empower the teacher-student trusted circle. The class data is then aggregated to de-identify the information to provide school administrators with high level usage data that is shared via a weekly report. No data is shared outside of the school environment. Behind the scenes, the data is encrypted and stored on local servers here within Australia compliant with strict web application security standards.

Switches are activities that assist with the process of “switching” out of a reactive emotive state into a more conscious thinking state.

Navigate to the admin page in the program, select “add student” and follow the prompts.

Teachers are well versed in the art of managing the dynamic nature and varying needs of different students in their classrooms. Switch4schools check ins provide both invaluable insight into the current energy level and emotional state for the children, but also reinforces the development of self awareness and emotional literacy in the student. This insight is used to identify opportunities to provide additional support to individual students and teachable moments for the whole class. For example, during the check in process several students indicate they are feeling worried and one has indicated they are furious. The teacher observes their behaviour, and with their understanding of the student’s personal circumstances assesses the appropriate next steps. Before starting the lesson they may choose to facilitate a short emotion regulating activity for the whole class, such as a breathing exercise, which will assist the students that need it and provide a proactive practice session for the students that don’t (in preparation for when they do). Then while the class is working on a task, they may choose to have a quiet conversation with the student that had reported they were furious to ensure they are coping and direct them to another appropriate regulating switch that they can practice. HERE are several more stories about how the Switch4Schools program is used in schools refer.

If the student is within the same school, the current teacher can remove them and the new teacher can search for their existing account to add to their class. If they have moved schools the school admin can add them, if this otherwise you can contact the team (email support@switch4schools.com.au) and we can assist.

All queries can be directed to the friendly team via email at support@switch4schools.com.au

The levels of complexity relate to the Emotion Wheel and associated switch activities, as follows: Level 1 – Single level Emotion wheel and simple (geared toward early years with more pictures, videos and interactive activities)) Level 3 – Three levels of intensity in the Emotion Wheel and check-in scale (geared toward middle primary) Level 5 – Five levels of intensity in the Emotion Wheel and check-in scale (geared toward upper primary and middle school) Level 7 - Seven levels of intensity in the Emotion Wheel and check-in scale (geared toward secondary students and teachers) The complexity and maturity of the language and 'switches' increases as you increase the level. Match your students to the level that's right for them.

Go to the admin portal, select the student, and then select “reset password” which will provide you with the new temporary password to give to the student. If we have their email address in the system, the student will be sent a link to reset their password.

Switch4Schools is available as an app to download via the Apple App Store or via web link (select login at the top of this page). The specific technical requirements can be found here: https://www.switch4schools.com.au/technical

Happiness, fear, anger, sadness, excitement, surprise and disgust are all emotions because they are our body’s reaction to chemicals released by the amygdala. Any feelings that are not a direct result of this process we tend to class as experiences. Bored, tiredness, pain, jealousy, envy, confusion, confidence, embarrassment, hot, cold, sick or hungry are all examples of things we experience that either trigger, or are experienced as a result of emotion. They are all feelings, but not emotions. Please refer to the Emotions vs Feeling lesson plan and this blog for more information explaining this concept: READ NOW

It’s important not to demonise any particular emotions as good or bad. Emotions exist to help us navigate our highly complex lives. There are times when being sad, for example, is appropriate and we are not trying to teach students to suppress these emotions to pretend to be happy, but to be emotionally intelligent enough to be able to identify how they are feeling and respond appropriately.

Yes, just let the team know (email support@switch4schools.com.au) what you’d like to add and we can facilitate that process for you.

The switches have intentionally been developed to be used digitally so aren't printable as such, but all of the switches have lesson plans attached to support the process of introducing the activity, and where appropriate these will have supporting worksheets that can be downloaded and printed.

Yes. We take data privacy seriously and follow strict protocols to safeguard it. We have implemented robust measures to protect information from unauthorised access, use, and disclosure. These measures include encryption, data access controls, and regular security assessments.  Further to this, we collect only necessary information and ensure it is used solely for the intended purposes, such as creating an account. We do not share personally identifiable information without a legal court order or subpoena requiring us to do so, and even then, it would only be for the very specific data requested. We are completely committed to maintaining confidentiality and data security. We will only disclose information when legally obligated to do so.   Certain functions require personally identifiable information, such as an email address for the purpose of resetting a forgotten password, however, we at all times respect the importance of anonymity and students’ right to it. The app allows students to use de-identified details or pseudonyms to maintain their privacy if required. We also have been officially audited and approved by the Australian Governments Safer Technology 4 Schools initiative. At the end of each school year, all check in data is archived and will no longer be accessible by the school. We may provide historical check in data for specified individuals to the school upon request only. We retain and use aggregated check in responses for analytic purposes related to product improvement. All data generated in Australia is stored within Australian territory.   If you have a security concern, please notify us immediately at support@switch4schools.com.au.  We will take prompt action to address any issue and ensure students’ safety. 

From the log in page select the “forgot password” option and follow the prompts.

Ideally, at least once a day but the frequency is your choice. The most important thing is to 'Habit Stack' it with an existing habit, like roll call, or entering the classroom, or as they prepare for a particular lesson. Most often in Primary School teachers will align the check in process as a part of the roll call, so done first thing in the morning and again after second break.

There will be a speech bubble icon on the stats dashboard, and an alert is added to the home screen, which you can then clear by selecting the avatar for each request. When the check in session is closed, any nominated teachers will also receive an email advising that a student is seeking a conversation.

When the students check in they are asked to label their emotion using either a one, three, five or seven point scale. This can be changed at any time via the class admin section, to allow the program to grow with the capability of the students.

Guidance is provided via the emotion dictionary that is accessed via the toolkit within the program. We also recommend leveraging the Little Book of Big Emotion found on the Help Hub

A "GO group", or Guidance Officer group, is a set up option designed for educators working with individual students as opposed to whole classes. The key functions are: Individual check-ins: Check-ins on an ad hoc basis (between 8:00am and 4:00pm) with individuals either in person or remotely. Check-in stats: Results from the most recent check-in for each individual aggregated and sorted by emotion. Request for chat notification sent immediately: If a student completes a check-in requesting a follow up conversation, an email alert and push notification (when using the iOS app) is sent immediately to selected educators. For more information regarding the differences between GO groups and class groups, read this document:

It is assumed that educators will have formed a trusted relationship with their students and be able to support the students to feel psychologically safe to learn about and be honest about their emotions. If the student doesn’t wish to share their emotions, they can simply choose the happy/peaceful response, or say they don’t wish to share, and that is fine. The level of honesty in the check-in process is completely at the discretion of the student. Should a student choose not to participate in the process of submitting check-in information, this does not exclude the student from being able to participate in the experience of learning to identify, label and manage their emotions. The vital skills needed to be successful in life. Even if the student just talks to a peer about their feelings that is better than nothing. The data isn’t the main component of the program, it’s just helpful for keeping track of patterns to support a student more effectively on their learning journey.

If the check in session is still open, simply ask the student to reenter the submission with the correct data.

There are various reasons why a teacher may not want to use this question, including the maturity of the students. We keep you in charge of the questions you put in the students check-ins.

While every student will be different and have different behaviours connected to their energy levels, students that regularly self report as feeling “exhausted” would be concerning and warrant further investigation.

The flag is designed to allow you to quickly identify which of the students have submitted a maximum intensity level of emotion for one of the negative emotions (sad, angry, anxious or scared) or is exhausted that might require your attention. The flag is reflective of the latest check in and resets after each session. For more information on reading the data, refer to the statistics tutorial.

Where appropriate, get backup support by letting a colleague or supervisor know about the situation as soon as possible. If possible, avoid leaving the distressed person alone – ask a colleague to stay with them even if you only have to leave for a small period of time. Keep the lines of communication open if possible and contact the school counsellor or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

When monitoring data the focus is to look for anomalies in the information being provided by the student and/or their behaviour that may warrant further investigation. It's also an opportunity to look for patterns or trends that may indicate where there is an ongoing issue impacting the student's emotional state.

You can remove a student via the admin page. If the student needs to be deleted in full, if created in error, please contact the team (email support@switch4schools.com.au) and we can assist with that process.

Absolutely. The content has been developed to encourage curiosity and self directed exploratory learning, with the understanding that younger students, with lower literacy levels will require support from a teacher, at least initially. Whilst the switch activities are available at any time the check in process is only available for use once the teacher has started the session accordingly.

Please send through any specific switches you would like incorporated for consideration. We may update an existing switch, or choose to swap out the switch for all participating schools and will need to manage that change process.

Select the “forgot password” option when you are logging in and follow the prompts.

On the Help Hub you will find various supporting resources for download. You will also find additional resources available within the tools section of the app.

Yes, absolutely. Multiple teachers can be assigned to the same or multiple classes as required.

If you are having trouble managing access through the settings on the admin portal, please drop an email through to your school program coordinator or our friendly team at support@switch4schools.com.au and we will make the changes for you as soon as possible.

Yes, the person with admin access at your school can organise that for you. Alternatively let the team at support@switch4schools.com.au know and we can set that up for you - it only takes seconds!

Provide us with a few details via the registration page and we will get that set up for you as soon as possible.

Digital check-ins are not meant to replace the important practice of connecting with students to enquire about their mental health and support their personal growth. The reality is that teachers do not have capacity to have a deep and meaningful conversation with every single student in their class every single day, or even multiple times per day. What Switch4Schools does is enable teachers to quickly touch base with all of the students in their class, to be able to prioritise who may need some extra support, while giving voice to students that may be naturally quiet and have learnt to mask their emotions in front of their peers.

Log into your school’s administrator’s portal (remembering that account will have a different user name to your teacher class account) to add, change or modify teacher accounts.

We understand that student movements can occur throughout the year, and we've designed our system to accommodate these changes seamlessly. You may order additional liscencesat any time. The subscription fees will be calculated on a pro rata basis to align with the original agreement timing. If your school decides to reduce the number of licences during the term of the agreement, we want to ensure transparency. As stated in our Terms of Service, any overpayment of fees that were paid in advance for the reduced licenses will be surrendered. Please note that no credit will be provided for the surrendered amount.

A "GO group", or Guidance Officer group, is a set up option designed for educators working with individual students as opposed to whole classes. The key functions are: Individual check-ins: Check-ins on an ad hoc basis (between 8:00am and 4:00pm) with individuals either in person or remotely. Check-in stats: Results from the most recent check-in for each individual aggregated and sorted by emotion. Request for chat notification sent immediately: If a student completes a check-in requesting a follow up conversation, an email alert and push notification (when using the iOS app) is sent immediately to selected educators. For more information regarding the differences between GO groups and class groups, read this document:

Switch4Schools is intended to assist educators in fulfilling their legal and ethical duty of care for student safety and wellbeing. The process of conducting check-ins and focusing on the development of personal and social capabilities demonstrates due diligence. Acknowledging that lack of awareness does not exempt one from responsibility, the check-in data is intended for collective monitoring by the leadership team, thereby distributing the responsibility and alleviating the pressure on individual educators.

Very safe. We take data privacy seriously and follow strict protocols to safeguard it. We have implemented robust measures to protect information from unauthorised access, use, and disclosure. These measures include encryption, data access controls, and regular security assessments.  Further to this, we collect only necessary information and ensure it is used solely for the intended purposes, such as creating an account. We do not share personally identifiable information without a legal court order or subpoena requiring us to do so, and even then, it would only be for the very specific data requested. We are completely committed to maintaining confidentiality and data security. We will only disclose information when legally obligated to do so.   Certain functions require personally identifiable information, such as an email address for the purpose of resetting a forgotten password, however, we at all times respect the importance of anonymity and students’ right to it. The app allows students to use de-identified details or pseudonyms to maintain their privacy if required. At the end of each school year, all check in data is archived and will no longer be accessible by the school. We may provide historical check in data for specified individuals to the school upon request only. We retain and use aggregated check in responses for analytic purposes related to product improvement. All data generated in Australia is stored within Australian territory.   We also have been officially audited and approved by the Australian Governments Safer Technology 4 Schools initiative. If you have a security concern, please notify us immediately at support@switch4schools.com.au.  We will take prompt action to address any issue and ensure students’ safety. 

To begin you will be given access to a library of resources that you can leverage along with your school’s administrator’s portal. This portal allows you to add details for the participating classes and set up accounts for your teachers and students. Please note we are very happy to assist with setting things up for you, and instructions on how to take advantage of that service will be provided. Whilst not mandatory, as all new educators using the program will be provided with a detailed “getting started guide”, in your resource library, you will also have access to a guide on how to facilitate an onboarding session (which we can assist with if required). Once all your participants have been given access they are ready to start using the program. Educators also have the ability to self manage their classes and the various settings via their admin portal. Weekly reporting will commence once check in data starts coming through.

Depending on the items you select from the product menu, the annual subscription on the number of users accessing check-ins and data in the program (i.e how many student are at the schools participating in the program), paid at the commencement of the program and then annually on the anniversary of that date. There is also the option to pro rata the costs to align to the school year if that’s preferred. Check out the price page on this site to find out more.

The most basic licence cost is $12 per student per year with a minimum spend of $600 (50 licences) not including taxes. If you want to bundle all the options including the curriculum aligned lesson plans, wholistic wellbeing and GO mode, the cost is $15 per user per year. Refer to the price page on this website for more detail.

Yes, we are more than happy to facilitate online or in person events as appropriate for your community. Please contact us at support@switch4schools.com.au to discuss options.

Yes. We will provide the default report weekly to your nominated email address, but this can be easily adjusted to suit your requirements.