Leading Teacher - Mental Health And Wellbeing

Department of Education Victoria – Wyndham VIC

1d ago , from Department of Education & Training Victoria

Opportunities for a school tour can be made available for prospective candidates on Wednesday 23rd September. Please contact the school principal via email to arrange - ***************@education.vic.gov.au

Established in 2015, Wyndham Vale Primary School is located in the vibrant city of Wyndham, west of Melbourne. Our school community is richly diverse, representing a wide range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, with approximately 60 different languages spoken by our students' families. Situated within Melbourne's rapidly growing corridor, our school has experienced significant expansion since its inception, currently enrolling around 1,100 students.

At Wyndham Vale Primary School, we are committed to implementing best practice frameworks that all staff are expected to embrace. These consistent, school-wide approaches promote positive behaviour, high expectations, and foster a respectful, responsible, honest and inclusive learning environment. Together, these strategies aim to support cohesive teaching practices across all classrooms and are central to achieving our vision of Success for All in Learning and Wellbeing.

Our school operates under a sub-school model, divided into three cohorts: Foundation to Year 2, Years 3 to 4, and Years 5 to 6. Each sub-school is led by a dedicated leadership team, including an Assistant Principal and Leading Teachers and Learning Specialists, who provide guidance and support to students, staff, and families to ensure success.

We are proud to have a comprehensive wellbeing team, led by a Wellbeing Assistant Principal. This team includes a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (MHWL) and a group of allied health professionals such as psychologists, social workers and a speech pathologist, all dedicated to supporting through a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) the holistic wellbeing of our school community

All teaching staff actively participate in highly effective Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), collaborating regularly to share best practices, analyse student data, and refine instructional strategies. While students remain in their own classrooms with assigned teachers, staff share collective responsibility for all students across their cohort through their PLC work.

Wyndham Vale Primary School boasts extensive facilities and resources designed to enrich student learning. Our students participate in weekly specialist programs in Physical Education, The Arts, and Languages Other Than English (LOTE), with Auslan as our language offering. ICT is seamlessly integrated across all learning areas, supported by a school-funded technology device program. Our campus features a full-sized oval, large gymnasium, outdoor hard courts, sandpits, extensive play equipment, and a well-resourced library. Additionally, an Out of School Hours Care provider offers before and after school care services every school day.

Wyndham Vale Primary School holds a strong and respected position within the local community. We encourage passionate educators who are committed to advancing our vision and delivering the best possible outcomes for our students and wider community to apply.

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 lead, influence and negotiate the implementation of whole-school mental health, wellbeing and positive behaviour initiatives, including School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) and Respectful Relationships (RRRR).
• SC6 MTSS. Demonstrated ability to lead and strengthen a whole-school Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework that promotes student mental health, wellbeing, engagement and positive behaviour, focused on building the capability of staff to respond effectively to diverse student needs.

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 programis 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.

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 Leading Teacher 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.

Responsibilities

Operating in collaboration with their school, leadership and wellbeing team where relevant, theMental Health and Wellbeing Leading Teacher 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.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

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 (seeWorkplace 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*******@education.vic.gov.au

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.

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

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

Qualification Requirements

To be eligible for employment, transfer or promotion in the principal or teacher class:

• The person must have provisional or full registration approved by the Victorian Institute of Teaching; and
• if the person completed an Australian postgraduate level initial teaching program or course of study on or after 1 January 2024, they must demonstrate that they have satisfactorily completed a postgraduate level accredited initial teacher education program that has been accredited by an Australian State or Territory Teacher Regulatory Authority as satisfying the requirements of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership 'Accreditation of initial teacher education programs in Australia: Standards and Procedures'; and
• a person who graduated from a Victorian Initial Teacher Education (ITE) program after 1 July 2016 must also 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 ITE program completed by the person).

Details of qualification requirements as updated from time to time can be found atRecruitment in Schools.

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