COVID-19 resources
How to help children and young people through the COVID-19 pandemic
Berry Street has been working hard to respond to COVID-19 and put in place all the necessary supports in order to deliver our critical services safely and sustainably.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented event and there’s a lot of conflicting information coming at us all from every direction.
We’ve developed some resources to help you support the children and young people in your life at this uncertain time.
Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) throughout Australia have developed culturally appropriate COVID-19 posters, video clips and fact sheets for organisations working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We have compiled a list of these resources to help support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families throughout this challenging time.
We’ll continue to add to these resources so please check back here or follow us on Facebook for regular updates.
Support for parents and carers
- Caring for children in out-of-home care during the COVID-19 outbreak
- Creating a soothing new household rhythm in uncertain times
- Rhythm template (PDF 193 KB)
- Be kind to yourself
- Kids Helpline: Your guide to everything novel coronavirus (COVID-19)! Kids Helpline is open 24/7 to answer your call, email or WebChat
- Considerations for remote contact visits
- Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare: Foster care worker resource hub
- How regulating bodies helps regulate minds
- Create healing moments at home
- Getting tested for COVID-19
- How to adopt a relationship-building approach.
Resources to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW: Tips on how to keep you and your mob safe from COVID-19
- Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council: Activity sheets for children (PDF 928 KB)
- ABC iview: Little J and Big Cuz video
- Australian Government Department of Health: Sean Choolburra - Stay healthy, strong and connected video
- Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA): Covid-19 resources.
Mental health
- Each person’s experience of COVID-19 is unique
- How COVID-19 intensifies symptoms of mental illness
- Tips, tricks and resources: What’s been helping during COVID-19 and as we transition into our new “normals”.
Understanding reactions
- Supporting children during COVID-19 information sheet (PDF 928 KB)
- Optimising your decision-making energy
- YouTube: A student’s view on getting ready to learn video.
Getting ready for learning
- Co-regulating (online) classrooms during crisis
- De-escalation strategies (PDF 113 KB)
- YouTube: Helping kids get ready to learn video
- My Day StartUp Routine template (PDF 527 KB)
- Scaffolding Learning with Rich Tasks: Curriculum Design
- Helpful prompts for learning (PDF 1.4 MB)
- Prepare for learning chart (PDF 2.1 MB)
- Building stamina in at-home learning.
When you need a brain break
- YouTube: Forehead sign video
- YouTube: Thumb challenge video
- Alphabet Actions (PDF 515 KB)
- YouTube: Learn about brain breaks video.