Mental Health Practitioner

Location: Melbourne | Southern Metropolitan

Job type: Full time / From 28/01/2025

Organisation: Schools (Government)

**Salary**: Salary not specified

Occupation: Health and Allied Health

Reference: 1459708

**Location Profile**:
Hampton East School is a co-educational School that caters for a diverse range of
students. Our school is for students aged 5 to 18 with a mild to moderate Intellectual
Disability and provides individualised learning for all students. We believe that all students
have skills and abilities that will enable them to work, volunteer and add value to the
community. There are currently 115 students enrolled at the school. School Campus is
situated near public transport, close to recreational facilities including beaches, and within
walking proximity to retail and primary produce outlets.

Hampton East School provides a caring and friendly environment, which is safe, calm,
orderly and positive, allowing our students to thrive. Our enrolments are drawn from a
range of local special, mainstream primary and secondary schools in the Bayside and
SAGE Networks. Our current enrolment is 115 students across two sites with
approximately 45 staff, inclusive of teachers and education support staff. Enrolments are
expected to increase in 2025.

**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 Training Reform Act 2006_ (Vic).

**Responsibilities**:

- Providing advice and professional learning to others, including teachers and other school wellbeing staff, to build the capacity of schools to improve students wellbeing, learning and developmental outcomes.
- Planning and implementing evidence-based intervention strategies for students with complex needs including collaborating with families, other professionals and agencies when appropriate to effectively manage risk.
- Working co