Strengthening mental health and wellbeing support for primary school students

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Participants asked about the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role, particularly with regards to workload, funding, training, and sustainability.

Key points:

• Many MHWLs work in multiple roles across their school (for example, as teachers or school leaders), while others are dedicated solely to the MHWL position.
• The evaluation strongly indicates that leadership support and protected time in the MHWL role are critical for successful implementation of the role.
• Participating schools receive dedicated ongoing funding from the Victorian Government’s Department of Education for the MHWL position. The MHWL and up to two school staff, usually from the school leadership team, are supported with training on mental health literacy, building capacity and supporting need in schools.  In addition, schools and MHWLs receive sector specific implementation assistance to support their participation in the MHiPS initiative.
• Ongoing professional learning is encouraged, with Learning Communities providing continued peer support and opportunities to engage with emerging evidence and practice. 

Participants were interested in practical examples of Tier 1 and prevention-focused initiatives.

Key points:

• MHiPS promotes a whole-school approach rather than relying solely on individual interventions.
• Examples of Tier 1 initiatives that align with MHiPS include:
  • Embedding social and emotional learning across the curriculum.
  • Student voice and participation programs.
  • Positive behaviour support frameworks.
  • Parent education and mental health literacy sessions.
  • Whole-school wellbeing planning informed by data.
  • Tier 1 programs from the Victorian Schools Mental Health Menu.

Participants asked about how the MHWL role interacts with community services, and what happens in areas where service availability is limited.

Key points:

• MHiPS training supports MHWLs to map local Tier 2 and Tier 3 mental health services and develop practical and effective referral pathways for students and families requiring more intensive support.
• The evaluation shows that schools participating in MHiPS are increasingly establishing clearer internal and external referral pathways for students requiring additional support, with MHWLs helping schools build stronger connections with local health services.
• There is recognition that rural and remote schools continue to face challenges in accessing external specialist services beyond the support a school can provide directly. In response, the department’s regional and area teams are working collectively across schools to prioritise referrals to these services and coordinate support for students with the highest levels of need.

Participants highlighted the importance of supporting families.

Key points:

• Engaging with families is considered an important component of the MHWL role.
• Desired outcomes include stronger relationships between schools and families and improved mental health literacy across school communities. 

One attendee asked why the initiative focuses specifically on mental health rather than broader health promotion.

Key points:

• The initiative was developed in response to increasing mental health presentations among young people, including trends observed before the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Mental health and wellbeing are strongly linked to learning, school engagement, and social development.
• The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System found that mental ill health is a serious problem for Victoria’s young people and recognised that schools play an important role in supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing.
• In direct response, the Victorian Government made a landmark investment in student mental health, including ongoing funding for Mental Health in Primary Schools and the Student Mental Health Fund and Menu.

Participants were interested in the use of an OT in one of the case study schools.

Key points: 

• The OT is employed by the school as part of their Tier 2 intervention. Intervention takes place onsite; there are no home visits. Victorian government schools receive funding through the Student Resource Package which includes the Schools Mental Health Fund. Schools can choose to use this funding to engage appropriately qualified allied health professionals.
• The OT supports: classroom adjustments, small group intervention (gross/fine motor skills, emotional regulation skills), upskilling of Educational Support, Teaching, and Disability Inclusion teams, navigates play and social skills in the yard and monitors/links in with a range of students.

Participants were interested in outcomes measures used in the evaluation.

Key points:

• Victorian schools undertake an annual Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) to capture students’ attitudes to and experiences at government schools. Data collected includes how students feel in relation to their school, their learning, peer relationships, resilience, bullying, health and wellbeing, physical activity and life in general.
• The MHiPS evaluation uses many measures, including existing measures (the School Mental Health Self-Efficacy Teacher Survey [SMHSETS]; staff mental health literacy measures; the Attitudes about Child Mental Health Questionnaire [ACMHQ]; the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ]; the Readiness to Implement Scale; Acceptability, Appropriateness and Feasibility Measures [AIM, IAM and FIM]; plus MHiPS-specific implementation and impact measures (including staff knowledge, skills and confidence; training/Learning Community feedback measures; and qualitative interview and focus group protocols).
• A report outlining evaluation findings for the statewide expansion of MHiPS will be released once finalised.