Work Type: Fixed-term - Part-time
Salary: Salary not specified
Grade: Classroom Teacher - Range 2
Occupation: Health and allied health
Location: Melbourne - Southern suburbs
Reference: 1503647
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.
The department is committed to diversity and inclusion and developing a workforce that is representative of the community we service. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQA+, 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 safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work and diversity across all schools and Department workplaces. It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for staff with disability (see Workplace adjustment guidelines).
Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander candidates from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via [email protected]
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.
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:
Details of qualification requirements as updated from time to time can be found at Recruitment in Schools.
Located in a picturesque setting near Arthurs Seat on the Mornington Peninsula, Red Hill Consolidated is a school committed to providing high quality, contemporary education. The school has an enrolment of approximately 460 students in 2026. Red Hill Consolidated School provides a progressive and dynamic teaching and learning environment through a shared pedagogical approach and a commitment to the development of all students. Red Hill is above all else an authentic learning community.
Red Hill Consolidated School provides a safe, happy and healthy environment in which all children can achieve their potential. Our educational philosophy operates under the belief that all students have a right to learn. We believe that all students can learn, surprise and amaze us with their understandings. We achieve this by providing a program that values creativity, appreciates diversity and provides challenge within a personalised and differentiated context.
Our broad range of academic and social programs is taught with inquiry as the lead pedagogical approach. Teachers provide learning experiences within a context ensuring that understandings are meaningful, engaging and relevant for all students. Students develop a high-quality skills base that supports their learning growth and prepares them for the challenges of the future. Our strong culture of health and wellbeing is built on a foundation that values relationships and builds capacity in students allowing them to become resilient individuals with a strong sense of self-worth.
Red Hill Consolidated School prides itself on being welcoming and friendly; the school community is viewed as an extension of the school family. The strong community at Red Hill Consolidated School is enhanced by the broad reach of our student population. The Red Hill Consolidated community draws from surrounding areas including Flinders, Main Ridge, Merricks, Merricks Nth, Point Leo & Shoreham. Many of our students are transported to the school via bus services. The parent body, including the School Council and local community show a great deal of positive support towards the school and its wide range of activities.
The school has extensive facilities and excellent grounds. The buildings are a unique design and are being developed to cater for the evolving learning needs of our students. The grounds include attractive gardens, an oval, engaging play spaces, an 18 metre swimming pool, kitchen garden and an outdoor learning centre. The school has a large hall, a BER stadium, a discovery centre, art facilities, music room, science laboratory, conference room and a vast array of mobile technology.
At Red Hill Consolidated School we are committed to providing a Contemporary Learning Experience for all students. Pedagogical features of this experience include:
a learning environment that is student centred and involves learning through
social interaction and context.
transparent and articulated learning goals and intentions.
classroom and school wide learning agreements.
teachers learning with and alongside students in partnership with shared
assessment and co-developed expectations.
technology rich learning experiences.
students being actively engaged in and reflecting upon experiences.
students learning by building on what they already know.
students developing higher-order thinking through guidance at critical points in
the learning process.
recognition that students have different ways of learning.
cognitively appropriate forms of instruction.
The school's vision is aligned with its motto: To strive for and hold to the best.