Inclusion & Wellbeing Leader

**Overview**:
**Work type**:Part time

**Salary**:Salary not specified

**Grade**:Classroom Teacher

**Occupation**: Education and Training

**Location**: Geelong

**Reference**: 1474009

**Selection Criteria**:
**SC1: Interpersonal and Communication Skills**: Demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective relationships with students, parents, colleagues, and the wider school community, fostering collaboration to improve student learning, wellbeing, and engagement.

**SC2: Leadership and Initiative Management**: Proven capacity to lead and manage departmental initiatives, including the Disability Inclusion Profile process and/or Mental Health in Primary Schools programs.

**SC3: Alignment with Department Values**: Exhibits behaviours and attitudes that align with Department values. Demonstrates commitment to professional growth through reflection and ongoing professional learning, contributing to the improvement of teaching and learning outcomes.

**SC4: Data-Driven Instruction**: Strong ability to monitor and analyse student learning data at the individual, cohort, and whole-school level, using insights to inform and enhance teaching practices and student outcomes.

**SC5: Support for Wellbeing Strategies**: Demonstrated understanding of high-impact wellbeing strategies (HIWS) and Positive Classroom Management Strategies (PCMS), with the ability to support colleagues in their effective implementation.

**Role**:
The Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System highlighted that primary schools provide opportunities to identify children with mental health and wellbeing challenges, who can then be referred to treatment, care and support.

The Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative is being expanded to every government and low-fee non-government primary school in Victoria. Scaling up across the state from 2023, by 2026 every primary school will be able to employ a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader to implement a whole-school approach to wellbeing.

The Department of Education has been piloting the Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative in Victorian schools since 2020 in partnership with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Evaluation of this pilot initiative has shown that 95 per cent of Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders consider the Mental Health in Primary Schools model has improved their school's capacity to support students' mental health and wellbeing needs.

Participating schools receive funding to employ a **Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader**, a qualified teacher, to work across the school to implement a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing for students, staff and families based on a broad knowledge of the needs of the school community.

The role of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader is to:

- build capability of the whole school with regard to mental health and wellbeing (identification, promotion and prevention),
- provide support to staff to better identify and support students with mental health needs,
- establish clear pathways for referral for students requiring assessment and intervention, and monitor and evaluate student progress.

The role provides a proactive focus for the promotion and prevention of mental health and wellbeing through assessment and implementation of context-relevant programs, approaches and initiatives based on a broad and extensive knowledge of the needs of the school.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role is not a clinical role and is not designed for direct intervention. The role is seen as a key conduit in creating referral pathways once a teacher or other staff member identifies a concern in the classroom.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders are provided training in mental health literacy, supporting emerging needs, and building school capacity and receive ongoing support and professional development through structured and regular Learning Communities Training is developed and facilitated by the Faculty of Education at University of Melbourne, supported by Murdoch Children's Research Institute.

**Responsibilities**:
Operating in collaboration with their school, leadership and wellbeing team where relevant, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader will:

- Promote a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing to students, staff and families
- Support teachers and school staff to expand their capacity to embed evidence-based mental health strategies, interventions and programs and build mental health literacy to identify and support primary school students with mental health concerns.
- Collaborate with school staff to inform, influence and provide input into teaching and learning relating to mental health and wellbeing. Provide support to schools staff and classroom teachers to build their capabilities to embed mental health into the classroom.
- Work with school leadership and wellbeing teams to embed whole school approaches to mental healt