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Location: Melbourne | Western Metropolitan
Job type: Full time / From 28/01/2025 - 27/01/2028
Organisation: Schools (Government)
Salary: Salary not specified
Occupation: Education and Training
Reference: 1438612
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:
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:
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 marrung@education.vic.gov.au
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:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/child-safe-standards/policy
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:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/values-department-vps-school-employees/overview
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.
Riverwalk Primary School is a newly established government primary school located on Timbarra Drive, Werribee. Our school has facilities to cater for a long-term enrolment of 525 students and has a co-located two room kindergarten. Riverwalk Primary School is located within an extensive growth corridor and has been master-planned to allow for a peak enrolment of up to 1,100 students. There are a number of new housing estates developing within the Riverwalk area, which is contributing to our growing student numbers.
Riverwalk Primary School has two large learning neighborhoods which include general and specialist teaching spaces, an administration building, a performing arts and physical education building. In additional to this, the school has a range of outside facilities, including two playgrounds and learning street. The learning street encompasses flexible learning options with both indoor and outdoor areas of the school. The school also integrates the latest technology as a tool to support learning, including iPads, laptops and a range of STEM resources. Interactive whiteboards and LCD screens are available throughout the learning spaces.
Riverwalk Primary School is a supported inclusion school designed to cater for a higher proportion of students with disability. The school is designed to ensure that all students can access a high-quality education closer to home. Supported Inclusion Schools are a new addition to the Victorian education system and it is a model which balances a level of targeted support that is greater than a standard mainstream school, with a level of inclusivity that is greater than a stand-alone specialist school. The buildings design, learning structures and facilities allows the school to cater for students with additional learning needs as well as mainstream students.
Our vision is to be an inclusive school community where everyone is empowered to achieve excellence. This vision is captured in the motto `Achieving Excellence¿. Our mission is to provide a safe, inclusive and supported learning environment that inspires and challenges all members of the community to embrace learning and achieve academic, social, emotional and physical excellence.
Riverwalk Primary School is committed to:
· Building a culture of high expectations and acknowledging that every student can learn and has the right to learn
· Empowering all learners to achieve excellence and celebrating their success
· Establishing a safe, inclusive and supported learning environment that is conducive to learning
· Developing a professional learning community that is focused on the continuous improvement of teaching and learning and takes a collective responsibility for improving student learning outcomes
· Delivering a high quality, student focused, rigorous and relevant curriculum that meets the learning needs of all students
· Empowering learners to take ownership and be active participants in their own learning
· Building resilience and supporting students to be happy, healthy and confident learners
· Engaging with parents, carers and the wider community as genuine partners in learning, striving to achieve the best possible outcomes for students.
Riverwalk Primary School¿s values are inclusion, collaboration, resilience and excellence.
Full time / From 28/01/2025 - 27/01/2028
Leading Teacher Range 3
Paris Spencer | 97429700