This term, Penquite has introduced WELLIO lessons into our weekly pastoral program.

WELLIO is an Australian, evidence‑based wellbeing and social–emotional learning platform for students from Kindergarten to Year 12. It supports schools to deliver engaging, consistent wellbeing lessons using a large library of curriculum‑aligned content, short student surveys, and simple data dashboards. All lessons can be taught with or without devices.

What WELLIO Offers

  • 600+ psychologist‑designed lessons on mental health literacy, healthy relationships, resilience, online behaviour, empathy, vaping and substances.
  • Short wellbeing surveys that give the College insight into student needs and emerging issues.
  • Flexible lesson sequences so schools can respond quickly to current issues affecting young people.

Penquite students completed a wellbeing survey at the end of 2025, which is guiding our 2026 wellbeing priorities.

Why We Use WELLIO

Parents often see the impact of wellbeing challenges at home—stress, anxiety, friendships, peer issues, or online behaviour. WELLIO provides a proactive, consistent structure so wellbeing is taught in a planned way rather than only in response to crises.

WELLIO helps schools address:

  • limited teacher time to plan wellbeing lessons
  • varying confidence in delivering sensitive content
  • the need for programs that adapt rapidly to new issues (vaping, social media, online behaviour)

In short, WELLIO ensures wellbeing learning is:

  • proactive, not reactive
  • consistent across year levels
  • guided by student feedback and data
  • aligned to national wellbeing and child‑protection frameworks

Evidence and Recognition

WELLIO is recognised nationally as an evidence‑based wellbeing program and is listed in guides such as:

  • the ACER Wellbeing Program Guide
  • the Be You Programs Directory

Its lessons draw on Positive Psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Social and Emotional Learning, which are known to improve resilience, coping skills, emotional regulation, social connection and overall wellbeing.

More than 600 schools across Australia currently partner with WELLIO.

How WELLIO Supports Parents

WELLIO helps families by giving students:

  • shared language to talk about friendships, feelings, stress and online behaviour
  • consistent wellbeing messages across the school
  • early support when concerns arise
  • reliable, research‑based lessons in an era of online misinformation

WELLIO at Penquite in 2026

This year, Mentor Teachers are leading weekly Wednesday WELLIO sessions across Middle and Senior School.

To support the College’s updated expectations around mobile phones and wearable devices, our first modules have included:

  • healthy digital habits
  • mobile phone use
  • technology‑related dependency

Later this term, WELLIO lessons (Years 10-12) will align with guest speakers, including Paul Dillon’s visit in April. Before and after his presentation, students will complete lessons on informed decision‑making, harm minimisation and safe choices around drugs and alcohol.

The Wellbeing Team will also follow up promptly on concerns for individual students or small groups, providing supportive and educative responses that build stronger self‑regulation and healthy habits.

Should you have any questions regarding the WELLIO program please don’t hesitate to contact me at kylie.wolstencroft@soc.tas.edu.au.

Kylie Wolstencroft   
Director of Wellbeing – Penquite