Landmark toolkit launched in response to rising concerns about student aggression in schools

Developed by the Pat Cronin Foundation, a landmark new 120-hour primary school toolkit aims to respond with an evidence-based consistent, developmentally sequenced program that builds emotional regulation, safe decision-making and leadership.

After trialling and consultation with more than 500 schools, the scale of the revamped Be Wise Primary Program is believed to be an Australian first.

The initiative was officially launched earlier this month at Melbourne’s Our Lady Help of Christians (OLHC) Catholic Primary School with the help of reigning AFLW Best and Fairest star Ash Riddell, an ambassador for the Foundation and a relief primary teacher who attended OLHC as a student.

Riddell was a classmate of Cronin’s, a 19-year-old young man who was tragically killed in 2016 by a “coward punch” (one-punch attack) in Diamond Creek in Victoria, while trying to pull a friend out of a pub brawl.

His parents established the Pat Cronin Foundation to educate young people on ending violence and making safe choices. The Foundation has now directly reached almost 400,000 young Australians. 

The new program comprises 145 lessons and activities from Prep to Grade 6 and comes as recent studies reveal disturbing levels of threats and assaults on teachers throughout Australia.

“Whether it’s in the classroom, on the sporting field or in everyday life, the ability to manage our emotions is incredibly important,” AFLW five-time All Australian Ash Riddell says.

“This is a big problem, so it needs a big solution,” Foundation director, Pat’s dad, Matt Cronin says.

“In our work with schools over the past eight years we’ve been hearing consistently that children are finding it harder to regulate their emotions.

“This program has been designed to address that, with a scale that attempts to match the volume of anti-social behaviour children are now exposed to.”

The Be Wise Primary Program contains in-person and online presentations, curriculum-aligned lesson plans and more than 100 classroom activities to practise and reinforce learning.

Areas covered include understanding and managing emotions, recognising peer pressure, interpreting body language, respecting others and seeing their perspectives, responding to rude comments, mapping triggers for anger, techniques for calming down, defusing conflict and understanding online behaviour.

The program includes a developmentally sequenced learning pathway, with in-person or online presentations delivered by Foundation facilitators, and incorporates explicit teaching of emotional regulation and safe decision-making along with opportunities to sample real-world, digital and community application of the skills.

Integrated family connection materials reinforce learning beyond school and shared language and common strategies are used consistently across year levels.

OLHC, in Melbourne’s northeast, has been piloting the new program for the past three months.

“What has impressed us most is the depth of the program,” principal Rudy Vail says.

“It’s a ready-to-go program that’s easy for teachers to use.

“We’ve embraced this initiative because rather than waiting until there’s a behavioural issue, it gives children the tools and confidence to navigate disagreement and peer conflict before those situations escalate.”

“What’s impressed us the most is the depth of the program,” principal Rudy Vail says. “It’s a ready-to-go program that’s easy for teachers to use.”

Riddell, a dual North Melbourne premiership winner in 2024 and 2025, and five-time all-Australian, says emotional regulation is an essential life skill.

“Whether it’s in the classroom, on the sporting field or in everyday life, the ability to manage our emotions is incredibly important,” she says.

“These are the skills children need to start learning early, and I’ve been genuinely impressed by the Be Wise Primary Program.

“It’s designed to reach children at the right stage of their development and give them practical strategies they can use every day.”

As a Foundation ambassador, Riddell says the organisation’s messages resonate strongly with her experiences in elite sport.

“As an athlete I know people are always watching how you respond under pressure.

“Football is fast-paced and emotional, so learning how to stay calm, think clearly and make good choices is essential,” she says.

Until recently, the Foundation has focussed primarily on teenagers. The new Be Wise Primary Program represents a major expansion of its work.

Click here for more information and how you can arrange for the program to be delivered at your school.