Wellbeing
MHiPS- Mental Health in Primary Schools Initiative Update
The Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative has been gradually rolling out across the state in all government and low fee Catholic primary schools over the past few years. Our school is part of the 2026 rollout. Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative came about following on the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System- not necessarily due to significant occurrences of mental health difficulties in primary schools specifically, but more as an opportunity for the provision of earlier supports for wellbeing challenges that people may experience over their lifetime. Wellbeing has long been a strong focus for primary schools, including BEPS, as we know that even small wellbeing issues can have a big impact on young people and their educational outcomes as well as their general wellbeing over time.
To enhance to the strong wellbeing focus in schools, the department of education has expanded the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative in recognition of the important role schools play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. The roll of the MHiPS team of teachers in schools can include:
building the capacity of school staff, in particular classroom teachers, to identify and support students with mental health or wellbeing concerns in the classroom
supporting the school to create clear referral pathways internally (within school) and externally (to community services) for students identified as requiring further assessment and intervention
coordinating targeted mental health support for students by working with regional staff, school wellbeing and leadership teams, teachers, parents/carers, and external agencies.
This role focuses on mental health and wellbeing promotion, prevention and early intervention, rather than the implementation of clinical or allied health approaches. Part of the initiative includes training and professional development through the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne, and professional development through continued learning communities. Late in Term 1, Daniel D, Edwina and Katie participated in the first stages of this professional development to learn more about the initiative, discuss strategies and areas of focus, and examine our own wellbeing data to begin planning supports and actions for BEPS. One of the strengths of the initiative is that it is not prescriptive and recognises that different schools might have different areas of wellbeing that are more relevant to their community, and as a result we can plan our approach accordingly with support from dedicated teams at the regional level.
We have already begun, implementing some professional learning for staff about the initiative at the start of this term and looking at exactly how we as a team can further support our whole community- staff, students and parents and caregivers.
If you have any questions about this initiative, please reach out via the school phone number of email katie.abbott@education.vic.gov.au