WELLBEING | Update

Frankston City Council | Youth Services

Frankston City Council – Youth Services is currently developing a new Youth Action Plan to ensure their services, programs, and activities effectively meet the needs of our 12–24-year-old community.

While the plan focuses on young people, this survey is open to all ages. Frankston City Council are seeking diverse perspectives from local professionals, families, and young residents alike to help  build a stronger future.

🎁 Prizes and How to Participate

Frankston City Council are offering several exciting incentives for those who contribute their feedback:

For Young People (Ages 12–24):

• 📸 Win a Digital Camera: Submit photos taken within the Frankston area that represent your local experience. Youth Action Plan 2027-2031- Photo Competition
• 🎮 Win a PlayStation 5: Complete a short community survey to enter the draw. Youth Action Plan 2027-2031 - CLICK HERE

For Adults & Professionals (Ages 25+):

• 🏊 Win PARC Vouchers: Share your professional or parental insights via the survey to enter the draw for Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Centre vouchers. Youth Action Plan 2027-2031 - CLICK HERE

📅 Important Details

• Closing Date: Thursday 28 May 2026
• Action Requested: Please complete the survey and circulate these opportunities through your professional networks and youth circles.

Easing into adolescence: resources for families 

The Department of Education has launched an Easing into adolescence webpage for families of students aged 10 to 14 (Grade 5 to Year 8). 

The webpage has information and strategies you can use to help ease your child into adolescence and secondary school. These include: 

• a guide to emotion coaching. Staff from The University of Melbourne’s Tuning in to Teens Kids program developed the guidance.
• how to support your adolescent with their studies and more generally. Parenting expert and clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller helped develop this resource.

Subtitles for videos by The University of Melbourne on the webpage are available in 10 languages. You can select your preferred language on the translations page.

For questions about these resources, contact the Strategic Partnerships, Transitions and Student Voice team. You can email them at Secondary.School.Transition@education.vic.gov.au.

Helping your adolescent with emotion regulation

Your adolescent may need help with ways to manage their emotions in difficult situations.

Emotion regulation is learned throughout life. It includes skills that help to manage and express emotions in healthy ways. Emotion regulation skills can be about how we think or what we do to calm ourselves when emotions are there.

The skills are best worked out and practiced ahead of time when the adolescent is not really stressed or upset. Planning ahead of time what they can do to cope in challenging situations has greater chance of success than trying to work out what to do on the spot.

For example, during the summer holidays, you could talk about what they might do when they are walking up to the new school gates. You might also talk about what to do when they are introduced to new people in the days and weeks before that situation.

Emotion regulation skills

• Build in a pause – this is not just for parents, but can help adolescents manage their intense emotions. It is particularly useful for managing anger.
• Use tense and release – tense up parts of the body (fists, feet, shoulders, or hands), hold the tension for 5 seconds and then release.
• Stretch the body (hands, arms, back).
• Use finger acupressure points – with the thumb, press beside where the fingernail grows free from the finger; this pressure can feel like a pin prick as you touch the pressure point, and can relieve tension and lessen emotions.
• Take ten slow deep breaths.
• Sigh with a long slow breath out.
• Hold something that feels good – a necklace, wrist band or something special. When feeling angry, stressed or anxious, hold the item and notice its texture. This can help focus on the senses rather than what has led to the mad or worried feelings.
• Listen to music.
• Have a good cry, followed by some rest.
• Do some exercises that you enjoy – running, sports.
• Do a relaxation exercise or calming activity (use an app – e.g., ClearFear, Headspace or Smiling Minds).

Our Wellbeing Team