Wellbeing

Mental Health in Primary Schools

TPS has now been part of the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative for close to four years. As a pilot school, we were one of the first schools in Victoria  to employ a mental health and wellbeing leader (MHWL) after the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System highlighted that schools are an ideal platform for promoting children’s mental health. 

The initiative has been implemented across Victoria over a staged rollout. By 2026 every government primary school in Victoria will have a MHWL. 

Anna Baker is the MHWL at TPS. Anna works closely with other members of the Wellbeing Team including Kate Cooney (Assistant Principal, Wellbeing and Disability Inclusion) and Owen Tracey (Community Support Worker). 

The role of the MHWL is to build the 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, support students and families to navigate pathways for referrals when further assessment and intervention are required, and monitor and evaluate student progress. 

If you have concerns regarding your child, the first person to speak to is your child’s classroom teacher, who may then refer you to the Wellbeing Team. 

This year, the Wellbeing Team has been working with the University of Melbourne as part of a research project. Providing multi-tiered supports is a way that schools can structure how students access support, including for mental health needs. The research project aims to explore and evaluate the implementation of multi-tiered supports for mental health in primary schools. As part of this research project, PhD candidate Megan Smith is currently interviewing parents and carers of students at TPS. By taking part in this research you will be helping us to improve mental health support for our students.  For more information, scan the QR code below.