The Victorian Government's Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative, has been developed by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and University of Melbourne, in partnership with the Department of Education, to shift the focus from crisis response to early intervention and prevention.
The Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative has been established in response to the increasing mental health needs of students. The MHiPS initiative is building the capacity and capability of schools to better promote student wellbeing and respond to emerging mental health issues.
This system-wide approach was designed in response to the evidence that more than half of all adult mental health issues begin before age 14, and warning signs emerge in children as young as five years old. MHiPS is centred on a dedicated Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role in each school, supported by targeted professional learning and ongoing learning support. Teachers, school leaders and education associations helped co-design the model.
Following the success of the pilot, which was supported by philanthropy and the Victorian Government, the Victorian Government has invested $200 million over four years and $93.7 million ongoing to expand the initiative statewide to all Victorian government and low fee non-government primary schools by 2026.
The initiative has been evaluated with positive results including MHiPS is changing school culture, increasing the confidence of staff and school prioritisation of mental health and wellbeing, and facilitating better access to services, leading to improved student wellbeing. The success of MHiPS has prompted interest from other jurisdictions and highlighted the need for long-term, sustainable funding.
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For further information, email prevention@health.vic.gov.au