Co-designing a Student-Led Wellbeing Conference in the Middle Years

Presented by Ed McInnes: Wellbeing Leader-Year 7, Scotch College, Adelaide.

Empowering middle years students to research, lead, and share wellbeing with their community.

Last updated: 09/03/2026

This masterclass outlines Scotch’s approach to wellbeing in the Middle Years, exploring the design and implementation of a whole-cohort, student-led wellbeing conference that is open to the wider community. It addresses the rationale, challenges, and benefits of this approach and provides practical guidance to support schools in adapting and implementing a student-led wellbeing conference within their own context.

Key topics and timestamps:
1. Context: Building the foundations: Why the Middle Years? (8:00) | Year 7 Wellbeing Program at Scotch College (18:59) | Culture: What is it? Who shapes it? (22:14)
2. From inquiry to conference (36:00): The step-by-step lead-in, from classroom learning, to student-led event.
3. The Wellbeing conference in action (47:48): Key features, such as workshops, keynotes, panels and community involvement.
4. Challenges and Benefits (53:03): Common hurdles, key wins and student perspectives.

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Visit our PD Wrap Up resource for a summary of the key takeaways and practical resources to apply in your own context.

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