Badger Creek Primary School is fortunate to be part of the state government initiative to being Mental Health into Primary Schools. The 2019 Royal Commission found that 14% of children aged between 4-11 years have a diagnosed mental health disorder and 20% of children will experience mental health challenges that affect their daily lives (Lawrence, et.al.,2015). The recommendations were that primary schools needed to be resourced to support this, as teachers are often the first person a parent may talk to if they are concerned about their child’s behaviors or wellbeing. As a result, the department has created a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role for every school in Victoria.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead (aka MHWL) is a qualified teacher who undertakes training to specialise in:

• Training educators to support mental health
• Promoting a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing
• Strengthening links between the school and support services
• Helping to create clear pathways to help children access the help they need

The MHWL is not..

• a 1:1 counsellor, we have the amazing Taylah for that
• an allied health worker who can complete assessments (The MHWL can help you find the right people)
• a backfill teacher or complete admin or operational tasks.

This year Nerae Preece is our MHWL and she works on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Already, she has connected with local services and helped teachers find the resources and services to help our students. If you would like to reach out to Nerae you can call the school on 0359624019 or email nerae.preece@education.vic.gov.au.

This week we have added a little video by the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, about how brains develops and the things that can affect our mental health and wellbeing. The details about where to find further information can be found at the end of the video.

https://vimeo.com/112360818