Mental Health Practitioner

Location: Melbourne | Western Metropolitan

Job type: Part time / From 04/11/2024 - 19/12/2025

Organisation: Schools (Government)

**Salary**: Salary not specified

Occupation: Health and Allied Health

Reference: 1442932

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

Copperfield College is a multi-campus school situated in Melbourne¿s North-West. The College is comprised of two junior campuses (Years 7-10) in Kings Park and Sydenham and a senior campus (Years 11-12) at Delahey. We have a student population of approximately 2,000, with 180 (EFT) teaching staff, 70 (EFT) Education Support Staff and 7 Principal Class personnel**.** **The SFOE for the College is 0.58, indicating a significant level of social disadvantage.

The College is culturally diverse, reflecting our community, with approximately 60% of our students coming from a Language Background other than English. Copperfield performs to expectations and better on many measures in comparison with 'like¿ schools; in particular, our VCE outcomes.

The positions advertised are not tagged to a particular campus. Employees at Copperfield are placed according to student learning needs and every year have the opportunity to request campus changes.

**Vision**

At Copperfield College, parents, students and staff will work as a collaborative learning community to motivate, challenge and set high expectations for each other. Our engaging learning environment will inspire in all students a passion for learning and a commitment to creating opportunities for themselves and others.

**Mission**

Empowering every student to aspire and achieve

**Values**

At Copperfield College we value:

- Collaboration
- Inclusiveness
- Growth

Copperfield College is and always has been committed to Child Safe Standards.

**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 _Ed