Mental Health Practitioner

**Overview**:
**Work Type**:Fixed-term - Part-time

**Salary**: Salary not specified

**Grade**:Education Support - Level 1, Range 4

**Occupation**:Health and allied health

**Location**:Melbourne - CBD and Inner Metro suburbs

**Reference**:1488606

**Location Profile**:

- Brunswick Secondary College is a co-educational Year 7-12 College. While its students are drawn from Brunswick, an overall enrolment of 1000 allows for some enrolment of students from outside this area. Modernisation of school facilities, completed in late 2018, allows for growth in enrolments over the next few years. The College has a Select Entry Accelerated Learning Program and around 25 International students.

Supporting high academic standards is an emphasis on positive relationships and community. This places a strong value on student feedback to their teachers. There are diverse opportunities for parental involvement, student leadership and a rich array of extracurricular activities. The colleges six values of teamwork, respect, excellence, achievement, persistence and responsibility underlie all relation planning and activities within the college.

The schools priorities are to build excellence in Teaching and Learning and to build a Positive Climate of Learning.
- Even though changing demographics have seen a decrease in the number of students from language backgrounds other than English, there are over 50 nationalities represented in the student population. The school's population is a genuine reflection of the diversity within the local community.
- Brunswick Secondary College strives continually to improve student engagement and learning. Its goals are to provide a safe, caring and stimulating learning environment regarded by the Brunswick community as an excellent choice for its students.
- Discipline and welfare structures are designed to support and connect students. A major component in our approach to enhancing student engagement and wellbeing is our work on improving pedagogies, providing an extensive range of co-curricular opportunities and encouraging high levels of student participation and leadership. Student engagement is being further developed by programs including:

- Strong sport, music and performing arts programs
- Student Executive Council
- A whole-school focus on maintaining high and consistent expectations and a focused and accountable learning environment across all year levels

**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 le