November 2022: Over the past two years, URSTRONG has launched some very exciting large-scale partnerships that have allowed us to reach even more kids, parents, and teachers around the globe.
URSTRONG + Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA): Catholic Education Western Australia Wellbeing Consultants have adopted Friendology in their strategic system-wide approach to enhance wellbeing.
URSTRONG and CEWA have embarked on an exciting pilot project that involves 50 CEWA schools and the training of over 200 CEWA educators via URSTRONG’s Friendology Educator Training. Dr Deb Perich (Wellbeing Consultant for CEWA) and Michael Kerford (CEO of URSTRONG) have worked closely together to create this opportunity for the CEWA schools, aligning our training with their state-wide strategic vision. The first round of training will wrap-up the end of November and the educators involved have already shared positive feedback. CEWA and URSTRONG share a strong, mutual interest in empowering youth and school communities while positively influencing all aspects of their lives via the development of healthy friendships. CEWA and URSTRONG believe that relationships are the ‘heart of wellbeing’ and that a focus on authentic human connections should be central to the creation of thriving school communities.
URSTRONG + Victoria State Government Department of Education: URSTRONG is an approved evidence-based provider within the Victoria State Government’s Schools Mental Health Menu!
1,600 government schools in VIC receive $25,000 per year (for 3 years) to spend on approved providers, including URSTRONG. URSTRONG is thrilled to be an approved evidence-based provider on the Schools Mental Health Menu. Providers have been externally assessed for how well they support student mental health and wellbeing, meeting a range of criteria.
URSTRONG + Maroondah, Victoria: The Maroondah Positive Education Network in partnership with the Eastland Shopping Centre and the Maroondah City Council have been bringing URSTRONG’s Friendology program to life.
In addition to the Friendship Ninja Zone, where URSTRONG Schools go on excursions and participate in friendship-themed activities, their teachers have received training in our whole-school friendship strategy and are using our Friendship Journals as their daily planners in their schools. Eastland has received awards for this innovative partnership with the community and schools. They will also be hosting Dana Kerford (Founder of URSTRONG) in February 2023 for a large-scale parent-child workshop for their community!
Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia: URSTRONG has partnered with Deakin University’s Faculty of Arts & Education to deliver training to their 4th year Pre-Service Teachers.
For the past couple of years, ‘future teachers’ have been participating in our Friendology 101 Educator Training course and observing educators engaging with the program. They are trained by our Founder, Dana, with a combination of live classes and videos. The goal of this initiative is to better equip our next generation of teachers with the skills to support their students in developing healthy friendships. We are having tremendous success with these up-and-coming educators feeling more confident and prepared to launch their careers!
Review the impact results of our first round of training with Deakin University PSTs
We are always interested in partnering with like-minded organizations who share our goal of empowering children with friendship skills. To enquire about partnership opportunities, please contact our CEO, Michael, at michael@urstrong.com.
