Mental Health Practitioner - 0.4 tfe

Job Description

Job type: Part time / From 17/02/2025 Organisation: Schools (Government) Salary: Salary not specified Occupation: Health and Allied Health Reference: 1463116 Location Profile Sunshine College operates as a two site multi-campus school in North and West Sunshine with responsibility for serving the educational needs of around 1000 young people, employing approximately 140 staff. We are currently entering an exciting renewal phase in our teaching and learning practices and physical structure, including the opening of new facilities. Our college reflects this diversity with a wide range of teaching & learning programs across both campuses. Our successful mainstream programs being augmented by the curriculum delivered at Harvester Technical College, located adjacent to the North Campus of Sunshine College. The Harvester Technical College through its teaching staff provides innovative best practice approaches in vocational education based around applied learning. Teachers at the HTC operate in a team environment, integrating curriculum around learning projects for a dynamic year 10-12 student cohort. Teachers across both 7-12 campuses of Sunshine College are expected to be creative of new and innovative approaches to teaching and learning, with an understanding that students learn best through discovery, research & development processes and especially when this learning is linked to applied situations. A major and exciting challenge for us is to become one of the leading schools in Victoria on how literacy issues are positively addressed. Students in Years 7 to 11 are involved in the SunLit program, receiving structured literacy lessons throughout the week. Maths staff are regular presenters at the Mathematics Association of Victoria Annual Conference and were acknowledged for their work in Numeracy in winning the Lindsay Thompson Award for Excellence in Education. Each year our students achieve high ATAR scores and have won Premier¿s Awards and the VCE Achiever of the Year Award placing them among the top elite students in Victoria. Our outcomes for students graduating from the HTC into apprenticeships, work or further study are exceptional. The College supports the broader community in several ways through community curriculum initiatives, largely coordinated in our pathway courses run at Years 7 to 10. Our core school values focus on GROWTH, LEARNING, WELLBEING and RELATIONSHIPS. These values guide our philosophy in how we educate and support our students and nurtures our belief that all students can learn. Staff work in supportive Focus Groups, at times they team teach and are committed to continual personal and professional growth and accept new educational challenges as a natural part of their professional lives. 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. 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. 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. Coordinating supports for students with complex needs both within and external to the school. The successful applicant will be an experienced professional who will carry out their duties and responsibilities, relative to their professional discipline, with a high level of autonomy and with minimal reliance on professional supervision. Who May Apply Applicants must be qualified as a psychologist, social worker, mental health nurse, occupational therapist or counsellor of a prescribed class. Demonstrated direct counselling experience. A current Working With Children Check. Child Safe Standards 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. #J-18808-Ljbffr