Mental Health

Work Type: Ongoing - Full-time

Salary: Salary not specified

Grade: Leading Teacher - Range 3

Occupation: Leading teacher

Location: Melbourne - Eastern suburbs

Reference:

Mission

At Cranbourne West Primary School our mantra is based on the Berry Street Education Model of ¿unconditional positive regard for everyone¿. We ensure quality teaching and educational innovation through professional development, effective appraisal, team work, collegiate support and communication. We genuinely accept all children as individuals respecting their needs. We welcome community involvement through the provision of an open, supportive and consultative environment where contributions are recognised and valued. We promote a supportive working environment where we recognise and celebrate the contributions of all staff.

Learning Vision

We believe that successful people need to be active global learners who display effective executive functioning skills.

This is achieved through:

• Exhibiting executive functioning skills through our daily organisation
• Readiness to engage in learning
• Ability to transition from one phase of learning to another
• Ability to work individually or collaboratively to solve problems
• Ability to articulate our learning through various media
• Being motivated to do our best and wanting to learn
• Displaying positive behaviours towards others and living the school values;

Respect, Trust, Learn, Sense of Humour

Each of our school values is supported by our School Values Booklet distributed to all members of our school community and reinforced as part of our Learning Vision.

Environmental Context

Cranbourne West Primary School serves an established residential district in the South Eastern Growth Corridor. It is a medium sized, well-resourced school supported by a dedicated staff and a committed community. School enrolment at the 2025 February census date was Our students¿ backgrounds reflect a wide range of cultural diversities including increasing numbers of students from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds. In 2025 our school has an SFO Index of and SFOE Index of As a result of high staff retention and a strong shared leadership vision, the school is able to provide a well-balanced educational program emphasising the development of Literacy, Numeracy, Inquiry and Social Competency skills. The school offers a challenging, comprehensive curriculum following the gradual release principles. Our instructional practices for learning are UFLI (F-2) and Word Origins (3-6) in reading, Talk for Writing in writing and in mathematics we prioritise explicit and sequential teaching approaches. This ensures staff have a consistent approach to the teaching and learning of these curriculum areas. Our inquiry based model is integrated with our Literacy.

Our commitment to develop a school wide approach to Literacy and Numeracy has been successful with strong relative growth. An emphasis on social competencies skills and a quiet orderly learning environment has enabled us to focus on our school wide improvement strategies, our collaborative team environment and being able to provide students with learning experiences relative to their needs. This has resulted in a differentiated curriculum that provides learning at each child¿s point of need.

We encourage students to strive for excellence within their individual potential. Students are encouraged to be independent learners while continuing to live¿ the school values. We promote student voice within student learning and through our student leaders and SRC. Staff work as collaborative teams (PLCs) to monitor student progress. Teachers use formative assessment to ensure that student needs are met in a responsive way. Students with additional learning needs are supported with small group intervention programs, including literacy, mathematics and life skills. The curriculum continues to be enriched by whole school celebrations as well as annual concerts, excursions, in-visits, student choirs, camps and a variety of intra & inter school sporting events. Parents and the wider community are encouraged to be part of the learning process through involvement in all school activities. We have an extensivevolunteer¿ workforce who support students in many ways, ranging from literacy to social and emotional growth.

Priority is given to the wellbeing of both our students and staff. A full time Wellbeing Officer oversees an organised and respected program that acknowledges the rights and responsibilities of all staff and students with particular emphasis on the cultural safety of Aboriginal children and children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds as well as children with a disability in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Cranbourne West Primary School is committed to the Child Safe policies and strategies, and to the inclusion, safety and well-being of all children in its care.

Cranbourne West is supported by a diligent School Council and an active and committed Parents and Friends Club. The school also continues to foster a strong relationship with the City of Casey through working relationships with local councillors and program staff. The school has an established playgroup, breakfast and brunch club as well as a community events program and Chaplaincy services.

• SC1 `Content of teaching and learning'. Demonstrated ability to inform and influence the work of others involved in the engagement, mental health, wellbeing or learning of children and young people.
• SC2 `Teaching practice'. Demonstrated ability to input into the development, implementation and evaluation of processes and strategies relating to mental health, wellbeing or learning.
• SC3 `Assessment and reporting of student learning'. Demonstrated ability to support a student's mental health, wellbeing or learning by developing and maintaining connection with external services.
• SC4 `Interaction with the school community'. Demonstrated high level interpersonal skills and communication skills. Demonstrated high level of capability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with students, parents, other employees and the broader school community to focus on student learning, wellbeing and engagement.
• SC5 `Professional requirements'. Demonstrated ability to influence and negotiate by gaining buy-in and ownership for ideas, gaining agreement to proposals, or involving experts or other third parties to strengthen a case.

The Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System highlighted that primary schools provide opportunities to identify children with mental health and wellbeing challenges, who can then be referred to treatment, care and support.

The Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative is being expanded to every government and low-fee non-government primary school in Victoria. Scaling up across the state from 2023, by 2026 every primary school will be able to employ a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader to implement a whole-school approach to wellbeing.

The Department of Education has been piloting the Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative in Victorian schools since 2020 in partnership with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Evaluation of this pilot initiative has shown that 95 per cent of Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders consider the Mental Health in Primary Schools model has improved their school's capacity to support students' mental health and wellbeing needs.

Participating schools receive funding to employ a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader, a qualified teacher, to work across the school to implement a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing for students, staff and families based on a broad knowledge of the needs of the school community.

The role of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader is to:

• build capability of the whole school with regard to mental health and wellbeing (identification, promotion and prevention),
• provide support to staff to better identify and support students with mental health needs,
• establish clear pathways for referral for students requiring assessment and intervention, and monitor and evaluate student progress.

The role provides a proactive focus for the promotion and prevention of mental health and wellbeing through assessment and implementation of context-relevant programs, approaches and initiatives based on a broad and extensive knowledge of the needs of the school.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role is not a clinical role and is not designed for direct intervention. The role is seen as a key conduit in creating referral pathways once a teacher or other staff member identifies a concern in the classroom.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders are provided training in mental health literacy, supporting emerging needs, and building school capacity and receive ongoing support and professional development through structured and regular Learning Communities Training is developed and facilitated by the Faculty of Education at University of Melbourne, supported by Murdoch Children's Research Institute.

Operating in collaboration with their school, leadership and wellbeing team where relevant, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader will:

• Promote a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing to students, staff and families
• Support teachers and school staff to expand their capacity to embed evidence-based mental health strategies, interventions and programs and build mental health literacy to identify and support primary school students with mental health concerns.
• Collaborate with school staff to inform, influence and provide input into teaching and learning relating to mental health and wellbeing. Provide support to schools staff and classroom teachers to build their capabilities to embed mental health into the classroom.
• Work with school leadership and wellbeing teams to embed whole school approaches to mental health into school planning and strategic processes. Coordinate clear referral pathways internally (within school) and externally (to community services) for students identified as requiring further assessment and intervention.
• Proactively work with and support regional staff, school wellbeing and leadership teams, teachers, parents/carers and other external agencies to coordinate targeted mental health support for primary school students.
• Contribute to the school's existing wellbeing team.

Teachers currently registered or eligible for registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching and qualified to teach and/or have demonstrated experience in the curriculum area(s) specified for the position.

Applicants seeking part-time employment are encouraged to apply for any teaching service position and, if they are the successful candidate, request a reduced time fraction. Such requests will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to the operational requirements of the school.

The Department of Education is committed to the principles of equal opportunity, and diversity and inclusion for all. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQ+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for roles within the Department. The Department recognises that the provision of family friendly, supportive, safe and harassment free workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work, diversity and safety across all schools and Department workplaces. It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for persons with a disability (see Workplace adjustment guidelines).

Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via

Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards. All schools have a Child Safety Code of Conduct consistent with the department's exemplar available at:

The department's employees commit to upholding the department's Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. The department's Values complement each school's own values and underpin the behaviours the community expects of Victorian public sector employees, including those who work in Victorian Government Schools. Information on the department values is available at:

To be eligible for employment, transfer or promotion in the principal or teacher class a person must have provisional or full registration from the Victorian Institute of Teaching. In addition, from 3 August 2020, to be eligible for employment in the principal class or teacher class, a person who graduated from a Victorian Initial Teacher Education program after 1 July 2016, must demonstrate that they have passed the literacy and numeracy test for initial teacher education (LANTITE) requirements. This condition is satisfied where the LANTITE requirement is part of the Victorian Initial Teacher Education program completed by the person.

Applications close Sunday 31 August 2025 at 11.59pm

Posted

18 August 2025