The Anxiety Project

The Anxiety Project is a project that the NSWPPA developed in collaboration with Parentshop’s psychologist, Michael Hawton. The Anxiety Project has been developed to address high levels of anxiety among children in Australian Schools. It is a two year, full-supported project that builds the capacity of school leaders, special Implementation Coaches, school staff, parents and students to reduce children’s anxiety levels in schools. The Anxiety Project is now available to all states and sectors.

Achieving large-scale change in student wellbeing relies on a well-designed population change process which complements existing school plans. I am familiar with this type of population change process having worked with UNICEF and UNFPA in South-East Asia, on large-scale population change.

The Anxiety Project, grounded in psychological theory and cognitive behavioural approaches, challenges the use of ‘unhelpful accommodations’ in Australia, which, while well-intentioned, are problematic. The accommodation of students, by well-intentioned adults, is making the problem of child anxiety worse in Australian schools. The Anxiety Project is the only primary-aged project that tackles accommodation-behaviour (by adults) in Australia.

The Anxiety Project offers teachers, whole school staff and parents the skills and strategies to reduce student anxiety. Children can be coached in ‘everyday conversations’ and taught essential knowledge and skills in seven lessons to help them manage their anxious thoughts and how to calm their bodies. The lessons come with learning intentions and success criteria at each step in the lesson sequence.

Each of the primary and secondary projects address the record levels of student anxiety in Australian schools. (See below, 2024 peer-reviewed article from The Lancet highlighted on page 735, to see how serious the problem of mental ill-health is in Australian students.)

 The data is showing significant changes in teacher confidence in recognising anxiety and knowing how to respond. Staff are also reporting marked improvements in their wellbeing as they realise how much changes they are making have improved outcomes for students.

Further information Rob Walker rob.walker@det.nsw.edu.au or Hayley Cravigan gm@parentshop.com.au

Click here to watch the May 2025 Information Session

Click here to complete the EOI Form

If you have any questions about the project or would like a presentation at your local PPC meeting, you can contact The Anxiety Project General manager on 0404 011 135.