By Jayden Delbridge, Founder, UrVoice Australia
I distinctly remember being in my grandparent’s home watching the morning news whilst getting ready for school one morning in 2018. That is when I first read the name Dolly Everett.
But whilst I put on my school uniform that morning, Dolly didn’t. At only 14-years-old, Dolly took her own life.
Reading reports of 12-year-old Charlotte taking her own life published in the media last week felt all too familiar.
Charlotte wrote in her farewell letter “Mama, please share my story.” It is safe to say her story has made waves across the whole community, but now it is up to us as to ensure that it is not forgotten.
In 2023, 936 people in NSW took their own lives. Twenty-three of them were under 18.
But stories like Charlotte’s and Dolly’s put a face to those numbers. The loss of these young people is proof that our school system is failing.
The education system claims to be ‘setting the next generation up for success’. That system failed Charlotte.
Setting a generation up for success must go beyond algebra and Shakespeare. We need to be allowing students to be themselves and we need to be supporting them in not only academic success but also in their wellbeing.
A fundamental shift of the education system is critical. It is time to act and transform what the education system looks like.
Research suggests that schools in Australia have increasingly been identified as key environments for promoting children and young people’s wellbeing.
We should be moving away from a system that cares only about the education of young people. The education system needs to have a mechanism that fosters the growth of the whole child, with social and emotional needs being incorporated into that.
Focusing purely on the academic success of our children is not sustainable nor is it feasible in an age where mental health in our young people is rapidly declining. Mental health must not become an afterthought.
Resources are finite yet as a community we need to make proactive choices: do we continue to stick to the status quo, or do we want to ensure schools are equipped to meet the needs of our children.
That’s what UrVoice Australia was founded on. I believe we should invest in an education system where every young person feels safe and supported at school.
As a mental health advocate and a young person myself, I have had the privilege to listen to countless high schoolers share their experiences of the school system.
I hear the same thing too often: we need to take young people’s mental health seriously. Young people need to feel supported.
It’s stories like Charlotte’s that remind me why it is what I do.
But I recognise that the lack of resources within our education system does not have a simple solution by any means.
Reports by Charlotte’s parents that these concerns were repeatedly reported to the school paints a clear picture of how concerns are currently managed.
Between the administrative workload and face-to-face teaching, there’s simply not sufficient time to also manage wellbeing concerns effectively.
It’s the experiences like Charlotte’s that underscore this: schools need to take bullying and mental health seriously. Not only with words, but with actions.
Something needs to budge. Our whole education system needs an overhaul.
The education system must expand beyond purely education. It must recognise the challenges young people face and account for it.
Making consequential changes to the education system is not easy, but undeniably necessary.
We must listen. We must act. We must make change.
But how long until change happens? How many young people will we lose before we start taking notice?
These are real stories, real people, and real consequences.
We must do better. Not just for Charlotte or Dolly, but for our whole community.
Comments