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Northlakes High School

Northlakes High School

Opportunities for Future Success

Telephone02 4390 0555

Emailnorthlake-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Life Ready 11-12

Life Ready is a mandatory 25-hour course designed to prepare and support senior students as they encounter situations related to health and safety as they become more independent and gain more responsibilities. It focuses on offering opportunities for students to build the functional knowledge and skills for life post school. At Northlakes HS we implement Life Ready through 1 x75 minute period per cycle in terms 1-4 of year 11.

We also have additional wellbeing days throughout the year that contribute to the completion of the Life Ready course including Road Safety RYDA and the Lovebites program.

Life Ready at NHS aims to help prepare our senior students to:

  • ​-confidently and successfully transition to post-school employment, training or further education as well as participation and independence in the community
  • -lead healthy, safe and meaningful lives which promote respect, responsibility, enjoyment, inclusion and social justice for self and others.

Skill development is an essential focus for the Life Ready program. At NHS we focus on development in the following three skill domains through the Life Ready Program.

Communication and interpersonal skills

These skills enable students to interact with others and understand the social norms that provide the foundation for socially responsible behaviour.

  • Interpersonal communication: verbal and non-verbal communication, active listening, expressing feelings, giving and receiving feedback.
  • Negotiation and refusal: negotiation, conflict management, assertiveness, refusal.
  • Empathy building: ability to listen, understanding others’ views, needs and circumstances.
  • Cooperation, inclusion and teamwork: appreciating diverse perspectives, expressing respect for others’ contributions and different styles, assessing one’s own abilities, working collaboratively.
  • Advocacy: influencing, persuading, networking, leading and motivating.
  • Relationship and community building: appropriate expression of thoughts, emotions and opinions, connecting with others, networking, respecting diversity

Decision-making, problem-solving and critical thinking skills

Enhance students’ ability to evaluate future consequences of their present actions and the actions of others. Students should be able to determine alternative solutions and to analyse the influence of their own values and the values of those around them.

  • Decision-making and problem-solving: information gathering, evaluating consequences, determining alternative solutions to problems, analysing, goal setting and tracking.
  • Critical thinking: analysing influences, perspective taking, identifying relevant and reliable information and services.

Coping, transition and self-management skills

Prepare students to navigate transitions and change. They enable students to see themselves as an agent for making a difference and for achieving a positive outcome in the future.

  • Building independence and confident transitions: time management, budgeting, prioritising, planning, setting goals, self-evaluation, building positive self-concepts, and resilience.
  • Managing emotions: recognising emotion, mindfulness, dealing with grief and anxiety, dealing with success, coping with loss, abuse and trauma, gratitude.
  • Managing stress: optimistic thinking, relaxation techniques, help seeking, self-monitoring.

Do develop these skills we will implement the following topics throughout the year 11 Life Ready program:

  • ​Independence
  • Mental health and wellbeing
  • Relationships
  • Sexuality and sexual health
  • Drugs and alcohol
  • Safe travel