Mary and Jacob's story

"My name is Mary*, and I’ve been teaching at a small school in Victoria, for over 20 years. I thought I’d seen it all and had eyes and ears in my classroom. My finger on the pulse. But a conversation I had with a Year 8 student, Jacob*, showed me just how wrong I was.

Jacob is one of those quiet, thoughtful kids. Never disruptive, always kind. After a Dolly’s Dream workshop led by Dave, our facilitator, he asked if he could stay back and talk to me.

“I’ve been getting bullied,” he said. “Every day. In class. Online. It never ends and I can’t take it anymore.” I was shocked. I had no idea.

Jacob asked me to write down the Dolly’s Dream Bullying Support Line number and my heart broke as he folded it up so tiny it would fit in his shoe. He wanted to make sure nobody would know he planned to reach out for help.

The Mental Health First Aid training I received from Dave and the Dolly’s Dream team weeks earlier gave me the tools to act. I knew how to listen. I knew what to say. I knew how to support Jacob and start the process of protecting him, giving him hope that the bullying could end.

Without that training, the conversation could have gone very differently. It also made me realise that if it was happening to Jacob, it was happening to other students too. 

I spoke to my colleagues confidentially. We created safe spaces and clearer pathways for students to ask for help. We’re committed to taking the whole-school approach that Dolly’s Dream taught us - and including parents so support and education around bullying can happen at home too.

And it all started with one conversation - made possible by Dolly's Dream. Every week, 1 in 6 Australian students are being bullied. That’s why the work Dolly’s Dream does in schools is so vital.

When Dave from Dolly’s Dream visited our school, we saw something remarkable. With care and expertise, Dave helped our students feel safe, heard, and empowered.

During the few hours he spent with us, young people shared their experiences, sometimes for the first time. A strong sense of kindness and empathy grew within our classrooms. Families reached out in the following days to say how the workshop had opened the door to conversations with their kids at home too. 

Dave didn’t just run a session. He created real change in our school."


*This is a true account, but images and names have been changed to protect safety and privacy.