The R U OK? Student Connection Champions Program is a free, student‑led, peer‑to‑peer initiative for secondary schools that builds connection, belonging and conversation confidence. 

It empowers students to support one another through everyday conversations, so checking in becomes part of school life, not just something that happens on one awareness day. 

The program is delivered by Year 9 and/or Year 10 Student Connection Champions to Year 7 students through age‑appropriate activities. 

These sessions are designed to help students get to know one another, practise conversation skills, and build confidence to check in and support their peers.  

Activities are designed to: 

• Build confidence to ask ‘Are you OK?’ 
• Strengthen connection and a sense of belonging 
• Support Year 7 students during their transition into secondary school 
• Embed R U OK? conversations across the year 

Student Connection Champions lead and facilitate activities for younger students. 

They help create opportunities for their peers to connect and get to know one another, notice changes, and support one another in safe and relatable ways. 

They play an active role in building a more supportive school environment by helping make conversations about life’s ups and downs feel more natural, safe and relatable. 

Being a Student Connection Champion gives students the opportunity to build practical leadership skills while making a positive difference in their school community. 

Student Connection Champions have the opportunity to: 

• Develop leadership and communication skills 
• Build confidence in supporting their peers 
• Play an active role in building a more connected school community 

Research shows that young people often feel most comfortable opening up to their peers. 

Insights from R U OK? co‑design and the Connecting Young Australians research show that while students care about their friends, they don’t always feel confident to speak up or know how to start the conversation. 

A peer‑to‑peer approach helps conversations feel relevant, relatable and safe, making it easier to build the confidence to check in and support one another in everyday moments. 

The program is designed to fit within existing lesson structures, rather than sit alongside them as an additional program. 

It uses pick‑up‑and‑go resources for teachers, with clear instructions and structured activities to support implementation and oversight. Students are encouraged to lead and facilitate the delivery. 

Participating schools receive packaged toolkits and resources, including structured activities and guidance to support delivery. 

These are designed to be easy to use and adaptable to each school’s context.

While the program is designed to be flexible, it is recommended that schools try to complete a minimum of eight of the ten activities. 

These activities can help spark connection and build students’ confidence to check in with one another. What matters most is creating opportunities for students to start meaningful conversations. 

Over time, as these conversations happen more often, they can help normalise checking in and build a stronger culture of connection across the school.

Yes. The program has been designed to be flexible so schools can adapt it to meet the diverse needs of their students. 

Accessibility is supported through the program’s design: 

Flexible delivery – schools can adapt activities based on student needs and context 

Structured, ready‑to‑use resources – making the program easier to engage with 

Peer‑to‑peer approach – helping content feel more relatable and accessible for students

Schools and educators know their students best and are encouraged to tailor activities, resources, or delivery to support participation and engagement. 

R U OK? also provides a range of free education resources that support schools to build connection and conversation confidence in ways that work for their community: ruok.org.au/education

No. R U OK? is not a counselling or crisis support service. 

Our role is to encourage everyday conversations and help people feel confident supporting those around them and connecting them to appropriate support if needed.

R U OK?Day is an important National Day of Action and a reminder we need to Ask R U OK? Any Day. 

This program extends that message into schools throughout the year, helping make checking in part of everyday behaviour.

Students are not expected to take on the role of a professional. 

The program reinforces that their role is to listen, show care and connect someone to a trusted adult, such as a teacher or school counsellor.

No. The program is free for schools to access, helping ensure it is available to a wide range of school communities.

Schools are now invited to register their interest ahead of the broader rollout in Term 4 2026, for program commencement in 2027.

Research has found that many young people care about their peers but may lack the confidence to act. 

This program focuses on building that confidence in a way that feels natural, supported and age‑appropriate.

Connection helps people feel supported and can make it easier to navigate life’s ups and downs. 

By strengthening connection and belonging in schools, we can help create environments where students feel more comfortable to check in with one another.

The program is designed for Year 7 students, with Year 9 and/or Year 10 students taking on the role of Student Connection Champions. This model was informed by feedback from educators and students, who identified it as an effective way to build engagement, peer connection, and leadership outcomes.

Yes, within one school year. The program is designed to be flexible and can be delivered in a way that suits your school. 

You might choose to run activities within a single term, or space them across the year - whatever works best for your school and supports regular opportunities for connection. 

While things are flexible we want to focus on keeping the program integrity and the way it's been designed and secondary they can adapt if needed...Suggest something along the lines of  

R U OK? has designed the program with a suggested sequence of activities to support engagement, learning progression and impact. Schools are welcome to adapt the order to suit their students' needs and teaching context.

This will depend on the size of your Year 7 cohort and the number of students available to take on leadership roles. It is recommended to have 2 student champs for every 6 year 7 students. 

Schools may choose to involve more Champions depending on group size and context.

The program is designed to fit within existing school structures. 

This might include pastoral care, wellbeing, or health classes, or other appropriate times in the school timetable. 

Schools are encouraged to adapt delivery in a way that complements their existing programs.