Mental Health Practitioner 0.8fte Ongoing Position

Location: Melbourne | Southern Metropolitan

Job type: Part time / From 28/10/2024

Organisation: Schools (Government)

**Salary**: Salary not specified

Occupation: Health and Allied Health

Reference: 1439199

**Location Profile**:
Thank you for your interest in the Mental Health Practitioner 0.8FTE ongoing position at Noble Park English Language School. Our school is a multi-campus school which provides an intensive English language course for newly arrived migrants and refugees from non-English speaking backgrounds in the southeast Victoria region.

The students are introduced to the Victorian education system and assisted with settlement in Victoria. The basis of the curriculum is the study of the English language; however, the curriculum aims to prepare students for life in Australia. Many students have been displaced by war, economic hardship, or political persecution. The school is committed to assisting students to regain trust in people and systems and to develop the self-esteem and confidence required to face the challenges of a new country.

At any given over 50 different language groups are represented. The school provides a secure and caring learning environment where staff and students respect and tolerate differences between cultures and religions and caters for individual differences in language acquisition.

Since 2009 the school has expanded to four campuses due to changing settlement patterns in the region. The main campus is at Noble Park and caters for both primary and secondary students. Casey campus is located at Hampton Park and caters for primary and secondary students. Our Springvale campus and Stonnington (Glen Huntly) campuses are for primary students.

Successful applican will need a valid WWCC (employee).

**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 health information.

**Role**:
The Mental Health Practitioners (MHP) initiative was announced by the Minister for Education in late 2018 to expand mental health and wellbeing support in government schools. The initiative provides for a suitably qualified mental health professional in all government secondary school campuses and specialist school (with secondary-aged enrolments) settings.

Operating in collaboration with the relevant Department of Education Regional Mental Health Branch, this role has the following functions:

- Enhancing mental health prevention and promotion activities in the school by contributing to whole-school health and wellbeing plans, building the capability of teaching staff and school leadership to address matters relating to student mental health and wellbeing, and helping to develop and deliver appropriate programs and strategies in the school according to specified school priorities
- Providing early intervention services (including short-term counselling) for individual students and groups identified as at-risk and/or experiencing or demonstrating mild to moderate mental health concerns; and
- Coordinating supports for students with complex needs both within and external to the school, including proactively working with regions, local mental health service providers and other health professionals to engage further support as required.
- Education support class level 1 range 4_

The successful applicant will be an experienced professional who will carry out their duties and responsibilities, relative to their professional discipline, with a high level of autonomy and with mínimal reliance on professional supervision. The successful applicant will be responsible for the development and implementation of professional support programs within an educational environment, including guidance to other professional staff.

As an education support class position, this role supports the educational services being provided to students, but will not include duties of teaching as defined in clause 2.6.1 of the _Education and T