Year 3–6 Emotional resilience & conflict skills

Learn Your Feelings. Find Your Voice.

An engaging emotional resilience and conflict skills workshop designed for Year 3–6 students.

Mind Matters gives students practical tools to understand their emotions, regulate their reactions and navigate conflict with confidence.

  • Designed for Year 3–6
  • Interactive
  • Practical
  • Available in-person or online
Illustration of four friendly emotion characters surrounded by colourful organic shapes, representing students learning to name and manage their feelings.

The real-world problem

When emotions take over, conflict can follow.

Every week in Australian primary schools, students run into moments they don't yet have the words or the strategies for.

A misunderstanding at lunch. A disagreement over a game. A friendship that suddenly feels complicated. In those moments, emotions can rise faster than the skills needed to manage them — and a small problem can escalate into a bigger one.

Students often know that they are upset. What they frequently don't know is what to do next.

“Conflict is a normal part of growing up. The challenge is giving students the skills to respond to it constructively.”

What students regularly encounter

Misunderstandings between friends

Disagreements that escalate quickly

Frustration that's hard to shake off

Difficulty putting feelings into words

Difficulty seeing another person's perspective

Emotions too intense to problem-solve through

None of this means something is wrong with a child. Emotional regulation and communication are practical skills — and like any skill, they can be taught, practised and strengthened.

The Mind Matters approach

Four skills. One clear sequence.

Every activity in the workshop builds towards the same simple progression — so students leave with a sequence they can actually remember and use.

Recognise

Understand what you're feeling.

Regulate

Learn strategies to calm your body and mind.

Communicate

Express feelings and listen to others.

Resolve

Work towards a respectful solution.

See how students move through each stage

Learning outcomes

What students take away

Six practical capabilities that students can carry into the classroom, the playground and home.

Emotional awareness

Recognise and name emotions and understand how they can affect behaviour.

Emotional regulation

Develop practical strategies to manage strong emotions before reacting.

Communication

Learn to express feelings respectfully and use communication to reduce misunderstandings.

Active listening

Understand how listening can help people feel heard and improve conflict resolution.

Problem solving

Practise working through disagreements and finding constructive solutions.

Knowing when to seek help

Understand when a trusted adult can help support a situation.

How we teach it

Less sitting. More doing.

Students don't build emotional skills by being told about them. Mind Matters is built around practical activities, games, worksheets and realistic scenarios — so students get to practise the strategies, not just hear them.

Interactive games

Movement and play used to explore emotions and reactions.

Real-life scenarios

Realistic situations students actually encounter at school.

Guided discussions

Facilitated conversation where every perspective is heard.

Worksheets

Structured activities students can revisit after the session.

Communication activities

Practising expressing feelings and listening actively.

Regulation strategies

Tools for creating space and calming down before reacting.

Evidence-informed

Built on what the research — and real teachers — told us.

Mind Matters was developed by reviewing Australian research on primary-aged students' wellbeing, bullying and emotional regulation, and by speaking directly with a senior teacher, a junior teacher and a parent about what they see in classrooms and at home.

We're careful about what we claim. Research explains why these skills matter — it isn't used to promise outcomes the workshop can't guarantee.

What people say

Feedback from the people who've seen it.

Quotes from students, teachers and the parents and staff we interviewed while designing the workshop.

[ Feedback quote to be added ]
Teacher or parent

Join us in creating change

Give your students the tools to handle big feelings and difficult moments.

Bring Mind Matters to your school and give Year 3–6 students practical strategies they can use beyond the workshop.

  • Book a workshop for your Year 3–6 students
  • Share Mind Matters with your wellbeing coordinator or principal
  • Help us reach further — talk to us about funding, partnerships or training
Bring This Workshop to Your School

In-person or online · Approximately 2 hours