Mentone Schools Launch Mindfulness Programs-Here's What's Available

Three Mentone schools have active, structured mindfulness programs running inside the classroom this term. That figure, modest as it sounds, represents a significant shift from just four years ago, when breath-based practice in local schools was largely confined to a single wellbeing coordinator rolling out yoga mats during lunch breaks.

The timing is not accidental. July 2026 has brought an unusual combination of pressures, a winter that has felt relentlessly unsettled, mounting anxiety among adolescents about job markets and global instability, and a growing body of evidence that schools delivering regular, evidence-based mindfulness training are seeing measurable reductions in student-reported stress. Against that backdrop, what Mentone's schools are doing deserves a close look.

What's running locally right now

Mentone Girls' Secondary College on Warren Road has embedded a 10-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Teens (MBSRt) module into its Year 9 wellbeing curriculum. The program runs every Tuesday, third period, and is facilitated by a trained external practitioner contracted through the school's Student Support Services budget. It draws on Jon Kabat-Zinn's original 8-week MBSR framework, adapted for adolescents, with additional sessions focused on screen fatigue and sleep hygiene, two concerns that feature prominently in the college's most recent student wellbeing survey, conducted in March 2026.

A few blocks south, Mentone Grammar on Mentone Parade has taken a different approach. The school introduced a daily three-minute structured breathing exercise, anchored to the Smiling Mind app's school curriculum module, at the start of first period across all year levels from Foundation to Year 12. Smiling Mind, a not-for-profit founded in 2012, provides the program free to registered schools, and Mentone Grammar joined its School Wellbeing Program in Term 1 this year. Staff at the school describe it as low-barrier: no specialist training required, no equipment beyond a device with audio capability.

Further along the foreshore precinct, Mentone Primary School has partnered with the Bayside Wellbeing Collective, a local organisation operating out of a suite on Mentone's Como Parade West, to deliver fortnightly in-class mindfulness sessions for students in Years 3 through 6. The Collective charges schools $480 per half-day session, with a minimum booking of six sessions per term. The program includes a parent information evening, held on the second Thursday of each term in the school library, designed to help families reinforce techniques at home.

Does the evidence stack up?

Research published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in 2024 found that students who completed at least eight weeks of structured mindfulness training reported a 32 per cent reduction in anxiety symptoms compared with control groups. A separate UK study tracking 5,700 secondary students across 84 schools found no significant benefit when programs were delivered inconsistently or without trained facilitators, a finding that underlines the gap between schools running a proper curriculum and those simply playing a relaxation audio track before exams.

Smiling Mind's 2025 annual impact report noted that schools using its structured curriculum for a full school year recorded a 27 per cent improvement in student self-reported focus scores. The app itself has been downloaded more than 9 million times globally since launch.

Costs vary considerably. For families wanting to supplement school programs, Mentone-based practitioners listed through the Bayside Wellbeing Collective offer private mindfulness coaching for children aged 8 and above at rates starting from $95 for a 45-minute session, with concession pricing available on application.

Parents wanting to explore what their child's school offers should ask the wellbeing coordinator specifically whether the program is facilitated by a trained practitioner or delivered by classroom teachers, and how many sessions per term are guaranteed rather than ad hoc. Those seeking to extend practice at home can access Smiling Mind's free family modules at smilingmind.com.au without a school subscription. As always, for children experiencing significant anxiety or emotional difficulty, consulting a GP or local psychologist at a practice on Como Parade remains the right first step before enrolling in any structured program.