to manage their emotions, make friends, deal with nastiness and have a go when something seems hard
And that’s just for starters
And they’re the skills that have been proven to build children’s social and emotional wellbeing and develop positive mental health.
Which is why social and emotional learning is part of today’s pre-primary and primary school education curriculum nationwide.
If you’re a teacher wanting information about our social and emotional learning programs, Highway Heroes (primary years) or Little Highway Heroes (early years), you’re in the right place.
If you’re a parent looking for resources to help your five to twelve year old child develop the skills of social and emotional wellbeing, we have a range of supportive products: books, mini-guides, posters and parent seminars covering all of that.
Meet the Team
Helen Davidson
Occupational Therapist, Psychotherapist, Author, Speaker
Helen began her career in children’s mental health in 1990 when she joined the Psychiatry Department of Princess Margaret Hospital, (now Perth Children’s Hospital). For the next two decades she worked across paediatric hospitals and community clinics in the treatment of children’s mental health and established her own private practice specialising in social and emotional wellbeing for primary school children.
A passionate advocate for ensuring children learn skills for lifelong social and emotional wellbeing, Helen speaks widely on children’s mental health and continues a clinical practice in child and family therapy located in Perth, Western Australia.
Claire Orange
Speech Pathologist, Psychotherapist, Author, Speaker
Claire graduated as a Speech Pathologist in the early 1990’s and throughout her 33 year career in Australia and overseas in major teaching hospitals, community-based clinics and private practice has been helping children towards better language, learning and social, emotional and behavioural outcomes.
Claire strongly advocates that a firm foundation of wellbeing is the ultimate predictor of social, emotional and learning success throughout life. She is a keenly sought after media commentator on children’s development, mental health and parenting.
What motivated Claire and Helen?
In 2015 Helen Davidson and Claire Orange began a journey to create a primary school curriculum to teach kids the key skills that would help them grow into mentally healthy adults.
A primary school curriculum that teachers would love to teach and children to learn.
Their combined seven decades of clinical experience in a variety of paediatric health facilities: hospitals and community-based clinics both private and government, had convinced them that society was falling short – massively – on teaching children the skills that develop positive mental health.
Key was helping children to be able to recognise and regulate their emotions: how to calm down, to have a go when something seems hard or to motivate themselves – just for starters. Then next was the application of those skills across a wide range of situations that children meet in the playground, classroom and home.
Learning these skills, however, had to be part of everyday learning for every child – not just the fortunate.
In 2015 Helen and Claire began the task of creating Highway Heroes, followed in 2016 by Little Highway Heroes and thereafter a range of teaching, therapy and parent products. The journey continues with the programs reaching over 500 schools, paediatric health practices and early childhood facilities in Australia and internationally.
Although Claire and Helen have individually and collectively received many awards, their greatest joy is knowing that – on a playground somewhere – there’s a child being assertive in the face of nastiness, there’s another who’s turned, “No, you can’t play” into, “Sure, come and join in!”, and in a classroom there’s a child persisting with a task that at first, seemed too hard, the look of determination telling its own story…
We call them ‘Highway Heroes’.
And we truly love that big Oaks from little Acorns grow…
Teachers & Therapists
ABOUT Highway Heroes – Primary School Years 1-6
Digital and Hard Copy
Digital Highway Heroes
Hard copy Highway Heroes
Highway Heroes is a social and emotional learning program for Primary School Years 1 – 6. It comprises four Modules for School Years 1- 3, and four Modules for School Years 4 – 6.
Each of the four Modules comprises:
- Five Lesson Plans
- Five Lesson Outlines – a more detailed, scripted version of the Lesson Plan
- Plus one Introductory Lesson on the Highway of Life metaphor (ie., a total of six lessons per Module)
- Supportive resources for every lesson
- Parent Information
- Home Activities
- Pitstop Checklists – pre and post evaluation for teacher, parents and child
‘See Highway Heroes’ links to the Australian Curriculum and an Overview of all the features’.
Video Training
Video training is a standard inclusion with the Highway Heroes hard copy version and/or the digital subscription.
Face to Face Training, delivered by a product specialist, is also available for purchase. See Teacher Workshops: Face to Face, Half Day listed below.
The video training accompanying Highway Heroes includes:
- An Overview of what comprises Social and Emotional Learning: how it develops positive mental health and wellbeing (two hours).
- The four Highway Heroes Modules: one hour thirty minutes on each Module (a total of six hours).
Purchasing Options
The full digital program – comprised of Highway Heroes and Little Highway Heroes – is available as ‘Premium Combined’ or ‘Standard’. Each option includes the hard copies of both programs plus accessories.
ABOUT Little Heroes – Early Years Education (4 to 8 years)
Digital and Hard Copy
Little Highway Heroes is a social and emotional learning program for early years education.
Children are introduced to key skills which assist them to relate to their peers in the playground and classroom, together with emotional skills to develop their self-regulation ability in all contexts.
Self-regulation is explored through two concepts:
- Physiological self-soothing and motivation: bodily self-awareness and self-calming and energising strategies
- Mindset: understanding how their thoughts: ‘Stinking Thinking’ (negative) or ‘Supa Thinking’ (optimistic) influence their emotions and behavioural choices
Another fundamental concept is that the meeting, and needing to deal with, ‘BUMPS’ (difficulties), is a common experience for everyone.
Specific skills are learned to deal with a variety of common childhood situations such as joining in games, dealing with a play refusal or trying something new.
Children eagerly use the language and love the nine puppets, twenty songs and twenty stories.
Little Highway Heroes comprises:
See an Overview of Little Highway Heroes and the program’s links to the Early Years Learning Framework.
Training
A two-hour video training is a standard inclusion with the Little Highway Heroes hard copy and/or digital subscription.
Face to face training, delivered by a product specialist, is also available for purchase. See Teacher Workshops: Face to Face Half Day, listed below.
Purchasing Options
The full digital program – comprised of Highway Heroes and Little Highway Heroes – is available as ‘Premium Combined’ or ‘Standard’. Each option includes the hard copies of both programs plus accessories.
Digital Posters
Kid’s Thinking Spots
Transforming ‘time-out’ into building social and emotional skills
(School Years 1 to 6)
The eight Kids’ Thinking Spots hit the common pain-points that often side-line children in dealing with their big feelings. Each Thinking Spot covers one common behaviour and steps a child through how to deal with that situation, and the various accompanying feelings.
To order
Highway of Life Symbols
(School Years 1 – 3 and School Years 4 – 6)
The four major symbols of Highway Heroes for easy classroom reference and discussion.
To order
The Thinking Traffic Lanes
(Little Highway Heroes and Highway Heroes School Years 1–3)
The ‘Supa Thinking’ and ‘Stinking Thinking’ Traffic Lanes – showing examples of each – relevant to Little Highway Heroes and Highway Heroes School Years 1 – 3.
To order
The Thinking Traffic Lanes
(Highway Heroes School Years 4 – 6)
Introducing a third thinking category: ‘Straight Thinking’ (non-emotional, factual thoughts), to join Supa and Stinking Thinking for School Years 4 – 6.
To order
Virtues & Values
(School Years 1- 6)
These ten posters each describe a component of character-building with easy-to-understand language and appealing illustrations. For classroom display and discussion.
To order
8 Ways to Build Resilience
(School Years 1- 6)
Eight simple statements – or thoughts – from the perspective of “I“. Empowering, no-drama, affirmations that make sense to kids and adults, and foster resilience and a ‘can do’ attitude.
To order
Parents, Kids and Families
Books
The What to do About series: Kids’ & Parents’ Guides
Winning a 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award, this six book series covers all the big issues in a child’s social and emotional life, with a Parents’ and a Kids’ Guide on each topic.
The Kids’ Guides
Ages 9 to 13 years (independent reading)
Ages 7 to 8 years (parent reading, discussion)
Kids’ Guide:
What to do About…
Friends, fitting in & all that stuff
Paperback & eBook
Kids’ Guide:
What to do About…
Bullying, teasing & all that stuff
Paperback & eBook
Kids’ Guide:
What to do About…
Feelings, moods & all that stuff
Paperback only
To order
The Parents’ Guides
Parents’ Guide:
What to do About…
Friends, fitting in & all that stuff
Paperback & eBook
Parents’ Guide:
What to do About…
Bullying, teasing & all that stuff
Paperback & eBook
Parents’ Guide:
What to do About…
Feelings, moods & all that stuff
Paperback only
To order
Parent Mini Guides – Digital
A total of seven easy-to-read, comprehensive explorations of circumstances and situations relevant to both child and parent behaviours.
Straight to the point, with practical and compassionate solutions, parents will be clearer about dealing with situations which impact both their own and their child’s social and emotional wellbeing.
Managing the Rigid Thinking Child
Discipline Systems that work 2 – 12 years
The Power of the Pause
When Parent Anger becomes an Issue
Why is my child always in trouble?
Toxic Friendships
Taming your Drama Lama
To order
Parent Evening Seminars
(within a 30 km radius of the Perth metropolitan area)
We get it. Parenting has rewards that you’d never envisioned and personal challenges that you didn’t know were possible…
“I’ve been to many parent workshops but none quite like the one I went to tonight. I will be thinking about – and reflecting on – the wealth of information that was shared for a long time. Happy to say that this is the very best workshop I have ever attended.” Mother of 3 in Western Australia
As both parents, and with multiple decades’ experience as therapists, Helen and Claire have a fund of knowledge which they share with insight, compassion and humour.
Both have worked in a wide range of health and community settings in Australia, the UK and their own private practices helping families deal with a wide range of challenging emotional, behavioural and health circumstances.
Learn strategies you can put into place to make parenting less about ‘On-the-hop, I-hope-this-works’, to instead, choosing areas you want to impact and knowing how to do so.
We guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
Topics currently available:
- Building Childhood Resilience– It’s talked about a lot, but what are the skills that a ‘resilient’ child has? And how do parents help to develop them? Hear about ten ways that parents can build developing resiliency skills into everyday parenting.
- BRAVE Parenting– This workshop explores the ‘Eight R’s’ of BRAVE parenting: Role Modelling, Rules, Routines, Rewards, Respect, Regulation, Rating and Risks. It’s a deep-dive into the parenting fundamentals that will help to build resilience in your family system – and yourself.
- Navigating Friendships– Beautiful and fulfilling…but sometimes, depleting and ghastly. How can we help children to grow strong, positive relationships whilst also recognising – and sorting out – the nasty stuff that can happen along the way?
- Dealing with Teasing and Bullying– Yes, they’re different from each other…and prevalent, but you can help children to differentiate between teasing and bullying. And just as important, you can teach them the skills needed to positively respond to either without becoming either a target, a victim or a perpetrator.
- Deep Dive into the World of Boys – Explore how to help boys navigate their way through a range of social and emotional situations, whilst also developing the skills to mature into psychologically strong men. You might be in for some surprises…
- Deep Dive into the World of Girls – Social and emotional challenges can play out in various ways for girls. It’s therefore important to recognise – and address -the issues which make a positive difference to a girl’s mental health. Cease the eye-rolling that so often accompanies the descriptions of girls’ behaviour and step into a place of greater awareness and insight.
- Self Regulation: a Skill Set – ‘Self-regulation’ refers to the ability to manage emotions: anger, anxiety, excitability, motivation, and even that popular one, ‘bored’…- in a manner that’s appropriate to the child’s age and circumstance. Understanding that ‘emotional self-regulation’ is a set of specific skills -and learning what these are, is the first step. Ways to incorporate them into daily life is the next, and then persisting with it follows.
Workshops are held for 1.5 – 2 hours on a weekday evening commencing at a chosen time between 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.
To make a Parent Seminar enquiry or booking complete our Contact Form.
Digital Posters
Thinking Traffic Lanes
6 to 8 years
Thinking Traffic Lanes
8 to 12 years
Virtues & Values
8 to 12 years
8 Ways to Build Resilience
8 to 12 years
To purchase
Professional Learning
Teacher Wellbeing: The CARE Factor
Annual Digital License – $1,900.00
The CARE Factor is available as an annual digital license and comprises:
- Nine hours of video learning
- Downloadable Reflection Guides
- A Certificate of Completion
Also available as a Teacher Workshop: Face to Face Half Day (three and a half hours). See details from the Home menu path.
Early Childhood Educator Essentials
Annual Dgital License – $1,500.00
Available as an annual digital license and comprises:
- Six hours of video-based training
- Downloadable Workbooks
- Five Posters
- A Certificate of Completion