Mental Health Practitioner

**Overview**:
**Work type**:Part time

**Salary**:Salary not specified

**Grade**:Ed Support Level 1-Range 4

**Occupation**: Health and Allied Health

**Location**: Traralgon

**Reference**: 1479905

**Location Profile**:
**Cann River P¿12 College: Personalised Learning, Strong Community**

Located in the heart of East Gippsland, **Cann River P¿12 College** is a small, inclusive school where every student is known, supported, and challenged to thrive. Set in a friendly and optimistic rural town, the school plays a central role in the community and offers a welcoming, family-like environment.

In **2025, all class sizes are capped at 10 students**, allowing for highly individualised learning and strong teacher-student relationships. Our small size is our strength
- we can respond to each student¿s needs, interests, and goals.

**Wellbeing and Belonging**

We place student wellbeing at the centre of everything we do. Our caring and respectful culture ensures students feel safe, connected, and confident. We foster strong relationships between students, staff, and families to create a genuine sense of belonging.

**Equity and Opportunity**

As a **well-resourced school**, we ensure students have access to a wide range of learning experiences at **little or no cost to families**. Our **daily Breakfast Club** and support for uniforms, excursions, and camps help reduce barriers so every student can fully participate.

**Rich Curriculum and Real-World Learning**

We offer a comprehensive curriculum aligned to the **Victorian Curriculum**, with specialist teachers in Art, PE, and Technology. Senior students access **VCE** and **VET** programs tailored to their individual pathways. Our **extensive camps and excursions program** brings learning to life and builds confidence and independence.

**Modern Facilities and Community Leadership**

Following the 2019¿2020 bushfires, our school received major upgrades, including new classrooms, refurbished buildings, playgrounds, a backup generator, and a sprinkler system. As a recognised **Neighbourhood Safer Place**, our school continues to serve and lead the local community.

**Cann River P¿12 College** is a place where students are supported to grow into confident, capable young people ready for the future. Visit our website or get in touch to learn more.

**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 thei