A visit from developmental paediatrician and Victorian Father of the Year, Dr Billy Garvey, has left teachers and parents in Drouin talking about hope, connection and the realities of raising children in a regional town.
Dr Garvey and psychotherapist Rebecca Harris delivered their Guiding Growing Minds Impact Series at Drouin Primary School on Thursday. Educators and families from Drouin, Longwarry and Labertouche primary schools took part in back-to-back sessions on resilience, behaviour, social media and mental health.
Drouin Primary School principal Christie Bransgrove said the educator session arrived at exactly the right time in a long school year.
Many of our staff arrived feeling tired and stretched by the demands of the year, carrying the weight of complex student needs, shifting priorities, and the constant emotional labour that teaching brings
“Over the course of the evening, something shifted. Staff left feeling inspired, uplifted and re-energised. Their practice was validated by two of the most knowledgeable professionals in the field.”
By the next morning, the school’s Year 5 team was already designing new projects for boys centred on belonging, responsibility and connection, directly reflecting ideas from the session.
The parent session focused on the impact of social media, school refusal, parental mental health and everyday family pressures. Parents described the event as rare support in a regional setting.
“It gives me hope, helps me feel seen particularly living in a regional town,” one parent said.
“It was very easy to attend, close to home. Not online. These things made it accessible and meaningful and made me show up. I don’t feel so alone,” another said.
A third parent said they were “so grateful”, adding: “I’ve taken so much away from it and have some fellow mums and a school community I can connect with.”
Bransgrove said access to this level of expertise is “almost impossible” for many regional families.
“For many of our families, and even our educators, this is the closest they will ever come to hearing a developmental paediatrician and a psychotherapist speak directly, compassionately and without barriers,” she said. “The value of that is impossible to measure.”
YMCA Victoria, which operates recreation services across Baw Baw and the Latrobe region and supports Dr Garvey in his role as Victorian Father of the Year, is keen to see the series reach more communities where long waiting lists and distance make specialist help hard to access.
The Y is looking forward to working alongside Guiding Growing Minds to host future Impact Series events in towns near its centres, with a particular focus on regional areas where the need for practical, evidence-based support is often greatest.
