Location: Gippsland | Traralgon

Job type: Part time / From 29/01/2025 - 18/12/2026

Organisation: Schools (Government)

Salary: Salary not specified

Occupation: Teacher

Reference: 1432563

Selection Criteria
SC1 `Content of teaching and learning'. Demonstrated ability to inform and influence the work of others involved in the engagement, mental health, wellbeing or learning of children and young people.
SC2 `Teaching practice'. Demonstrated ability to input into the development, implementation and evaluation of processes and strategies relating to mental health, wellbeing or learning.
SC3 `Assessment and reporting of student learning'. Demonstrated ability to support a student's mental health, wellbeing or learning by developing and maintaining connection with external services.
SC4 `Interaction with the school community'. Demonstrated high level interpersonal skills and communication skills. Demonstrated high level of capability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with students, parents, other employees and the broader school community to focus on student learning, wellbeing and engagement.
SC5 `Professional requirements'. Demonstrated ability to influence and negotiate by gaining buy-in and ownership for ideas, gaining agreement to proposals, or involving experts or other third parties to strengthen a case.
SC6 ' Demonstrated proactive work with the school leadership and well-being teams to embed agreed approaches toward a whole school improvement.
Role
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:

build capability of the whole school with regard to mental health and wellbeing (identification, promotion and prevention),
provide support to staff to better identify and support students with mental health needs,
establish clear pathways for referral for students requiring assessment and intervention, and monitor and evaluate student progress.
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.

Responsibilities
Operating in collaboration with their school, leadership and wellbeing team where relevant, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader will:

Promote a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing to students, staff and families
Support teachers and school staff to expand their capacity to embed evidence-based mental health strategies, interventions and programs and build mental health literacy to identify and support primary school students with mental health concerns.
Collaborate with school staff to inform, influence and provide input into teaching and learning relating to mental health and wellbeing. Provide support to schools staff and classroom teachers to build their capabilities to embed mental health into the classroom.
Work with school leadership and wellbeing teams to embed whole school approaches to mental health into school planning and strategic processes. Coordinate clear referral pathways internally (within school) and externally (to community services) for students identified as requiring further assessment and intervention.
Proactively work with and support regional staff, school wellbeing and leadership teams, teachers, parents/carers and other external agencies to coordinate targeted mental health support for primary school students.
Contribute to the school's existing wellbeing team.
Who May Apply
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.

EEO AND OHS Commitment
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 [email protected]

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, 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

DE Values
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

Other Information
All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.
Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.
A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.
Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/Pages/default.aspx
Conditions of Employment
All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.
Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.
A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.
Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/Pages/default.aspx
VIT LANTITE
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.

Location Profile
Toongabbie Primary School is a small rural township, 20km north of Traralgon in the Latrobe Valley. Our beautiful school was established in 1866 during the Walhalla gold rush days with just twelve students and a temporary building. The school has a friendly and family atmosphere where the students can learn and grow enjoying all the benefits a small rural school offers, including an excellent sports court, an extensive library, and a multi-purpose tech room. New families are always welcome to the township and our school is the heart of the community.

At Toongabbie Primary School, addressing the needs of students and enabling them to achieve their best is what motivates us in the work we do every day. As teachers, we are privileged to educate the future leaders, creators, and citizens of our community and as such it is our belief that we must treat them with the respect, care, and attention that we wish them to exercise in their adult lives.

Our students are considered as individuals where our staff team craft the best approach to teaching and learning. As a result, our students are developing as self-motivated and thoughtful learners who meet challenges with resilience and a positive mindset. Our team approach also ensures that no student gets left behind, each child is closely monitored, and parents are actively encouraged to be involved in their progress.

Our Teaching and Education Support staff work collaboratively to provide and deliver a teaching and learning programme that ensures all students thrive and can achieve success. We all work closely to ensure that evidence of learning is strategically used to continually direct the future learning needs of all students. As a school we continually work to build our capacity to provide the best possible education for our students, through participation in ongoing professional development.

At Toongabbie Primary School we offer specialist programmes to our students including German, Art, Physical Education along with a focus on building leadership skills through various programmes and opportunities.

Current enrolments sit at 64 students and vary slightly each year. Toongabbie Primary School has links with local sporting clubs and the Lions Club and provides many opportunities for parents to be informed and involved in their child's educational experience. The building of these relationships is having a positive impact on the outcomes of our students.

Our senior students usually transition onto the local Secondary Colleges, Grammar, or Catholic schools in Traralgon. Our smaller school provides successful transition into a secondary setting due to focus on personal strength and resilience work with our students in the senior years.