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AFL Goals

Australian Football League

AFL GOALS is a free national resource that aims to entertain, engage and harness the power of footy to help teachers across the country educate students about mental fitness and resilience.

  • Online

Pricing: Free

Origin: Developed in Australia for Australian schooling contexts

Product type: Program; Student activities; Professional learning; Learning modules; Class lesson plans

Contact details

Australian Football League
ABN: 97 489 912 318

https://play.afl/schools

stephanie.pearce@afl.com.au

Focus areas

  • Positive relationships

  • Belonging and inclusion

  • Mental health literacy and life skills

  • Resilience and optimism

  • Self-esteem and body image

Curriculum alignment

  • Health and PE

  • Humanities and Social Science

Prospective users

Audience: Whole class universal (Tier 1)

Communities: First Nations

Context: School or centre-based

Main beneficiaries: Year 5, Year 6, Year 7, Year 8

Delivery style: Classroom teacher is trained

Aims & approach

AFL GOALS is free and available to all Australian schools via the AFL Schools platform. Sitting under the AFL's Mental Fitness Charter, the program is for children aged 10 to 15 years old and covers topics such as screen time, emotions, sleep, behaviour and moods, building resilience, empathy, social media and friendship.

Teachers need to register as AFL School Members to download the materials, all of which are free. The platform offers comprehensive lesson plans and materials tailored to different year levels, facilitating the integration of mental health education into the school curriculum.

Lesson plans cover 4 modules with 4 lessons in each for:

Primary students Years 5-6

  • Module 1: What is mental health? - introduces the concept of mental health and wellbeing.
  • Module 2: Inside the brain - Students explore how the brain impacts mental health during puberty.

Secondary students Years 7-8

  • Module 3: All the feels - Emotions and feelings are explored to gauge how they can impact decisions and relationships.
  • Module 4: Who's my crew - Students reflect about who on their team can contribute to their sense of belonging.

Consisting of video-led lessons and in-classroom activities that are designed to destigmatise and increase confidence, the video series is hosted by TikTok sensation JasmineTXO and showcases some of Australia's most inspiring content creators alongside our footballers. Capturing all voices within the community, the series also features Ned Brewer-Maiga from Hawthorn's blind football team, Finn Broadbent from the Hawks'; wheelchair side as well as Pala Kuma from Richmond's VFL team and Joanna Lin from Casey's VFLW side.

Implementation support

  • Ongoing helpdesk, email or phone support

Evidence

The innovative digital program to decode youth mental health and wellbeing was developed by Matterworks with research from Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Read more here.