Hi im Nicole, Im a psychologist, former primary school teacher, mum of two primary school kids and founder of Growing Strong Minds. Im passionate about wellbeing and building resilience in our primary schools.

I was very excited when I discovered the field of Positive Psychology (the scientific study of how we can function at our best) because it helps the majority of people develop wellbeing from a strengths perspective (i.e what is working well and how can we enhance that) and gives them greater ability to bounce back from adversity or challenges.

The science tells us that our foundation for wellbeing should be character strengths. So we have developed a wellbeing package - Strong Minds Expert , which focuses on scientifically validated strengths. Strong Minds Expert is a whole school approach to wellbeing for primary schools. It consists of 2 staff/school attending a 5 hour NESA approved workshop. They then provide training to all staff and develop a staff wellbeing plan. Fully scripted lessons are provided for K- 6 & a staff and parent members portal full of videos and resources to support families and teachers embed wellbeing.

We also provide stand alone resources: Character Strength Cards, Strength Posters and Gratitude Journals for all age groups.

The Character Strength Cards and Posters have been developed for children aged 5-12 years based on a specific set of 24 evidence-based personality strengths which are valued across culture, religion, gender and race. They help identify your strengths, recognise strengths in others, and identify strengths that can help you with challenges.

The Gratitude Journals has been designed to help your child focus on all the things that inspire gratitude in them. Research indicates that gratitude increases optimism, immunity to stress, improves sleep and enhances relationships.There are 3 Gratitude Journals provided for ages 5 +