Mental Health Practitioner Es1-4 Ongoing negotiable

Location: Melbourne | Southern Metropolitan

Job type: Full time / From 02/12/2024

Organisation: Schools (Government)

**Salary**: Salary not specified

Occupation: Health and Allied Health

Reference: 1440768

**Location Profile**:
**Location Profile**

Keysborough Secondary College is a multi-campus school with one campus in Keysborough (Acacia Campus) and one in Springvale South (Banksia Campus). Both campuses offer programs for students in years 7-12 with an organisational structure arranged around Junior and Senior sub-schools.

Student achievement and engagement is generally above Like School groups and retention is high. Our student population is culturally and linguistically diverse and characterised by families of high SFOE as a result of which the college attracts significant Equity Funding. General Satisfaction with the College, as measured by the Parent Opinion Survey, is consistently high and in 2022 was 84%.

Our values of Respect, Excellence and Diversity are strongly promoted across the college and our college vision states: Keysborough Secondary College is committed to excellence by raising the achievements of all our students. The school community will provide an environment that enables them to achieve their personal best in each of their intellectual, creative, sporting and social pursuits. Through their voice and leadership, our students will be encouraged to make a difference by being active participants in their community. They will have the ability to succeed independently in life and empowered to achieve their ambitions.

Keysborough Secondary College has undergone an extensive renewal program with the construction of two Junior Village neighbourhoods, a Senior Village neighbourhood, and a purpose-built STEM Centre on each Campus. Construction or refurbishment of a Food Technology, The Arts and Technology Centre on each campus has also been completed. The final stage has been completed for the new Administration Centre on the Banksia Campus and the refurbishment of the Music area at the Acacia Campus.

**Wellbeing Team Structure at Keysborough College**

Keysborough College operates across two campuses, each with a mirrored team structure and role distribution. Our staff collaborate within shared office environments, which include youth workers, mental health practitioners, health promotion nurses, and chaplains. Dedicated consult rooms are available for one-on-one counselling sessions.

Student Wellbeing Managers oversee the Wellbeing teams at both campuses (inclusive of the MHP) and conduct weekly meetings to facilitate cross-campus collaboration and maintain connectivity. Additionally, team meetings are held on a fortnightly basis to ensure ongoing communication and coordination.

The wellbeing environment at Keysborough College is dynamic and often bustling, with students presenting diverse needs throughout the day. Referrals are directed to the Student Wellbeing Managers, who triage and allocate cases based on individual requirements.

We also host a Breakfast Club every Thursday at the Banksia Campus and every Friday at the Acacia Campus. This initiative involves an earlier start but allows for an earlier finish, offering a valuable opportunity to connect with students in a more informal setting.

Furthermore, our wellbeing staff rotate responsibility for running lunchtime activities for both junior and senior students, creating a safe and inviting space for students to engage during their breaks.

The responsibilities of the Mental Health Practitioner role may vary between schools. To provide clarity on the specific duties associated with this position at Keysborough Secondary College, we have attached the relevant position description for your review prior to the interview to ensure you feel the position would be the right fit for you.

**Selection Criteria**:

- Ability to implement a range of small group and whole-school mental health prevention and promotion activities aimed at improving student mental health and wellbeing, including the delivery of capability building and awareness raising activities for staff and/or students on key mental health and wellbeing issues affecting the school’s student population.
- Demonstrated ability to input into the development, implementation and evaluation of processes and strategies aimed at enhancing mental health and wellbeing prevention, promotion and early intervention.
- Demonstrated experience in assessing, conceptualising and analysing wellbeing issues, and providing evidence-based direct counselling support to clients with a range of mental health needs.
- Demonstrated experience in coordinating supports for young people with complex needs including referrals to a range of specialist services as appropriate.
- Highly developed communication, networking and interpersonal skills including the ability to liaise effectively with a wide range of people.
- Clear understanding of legislative requirements regarding privacy of healt