Classroom Teacher & MHWL

About this role

Location Profile Lavers Hill K-12 College is set across two unique campuses in the beautiful Otway region of South West Victoria. Our main Lavers Hill campus is a welcoming rural College located along the Great Ocean Road, surrounded by extensive landscaped grounds and excellent recreational and sporting facilities. We offer a rich and engaging learning environment that supports students to develop both academically and socially within a vibrant and inclusive community. The College delivers a broad curriculum aligned to the Victorian Curriculum F¿10, alongside Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), VCE Vocational Major (VM) and Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) programs, in addition to flexible primary and kindergarten programs. Through our involvement in the Coastal Cluster of schools, students can access a broader range of VCE and VET opportunities across the region. We are also proud members of the Polwarth Small Schools Cluster, providing students with opportunities to participate in combined camps, sporting events and broader social learning experiences with other small rural schools. Our second campus in Colac, the Greater Otways Applied Learning School (GOALS), operates as a Flexible Learning Option (FLOs) program supporting young people who may be disengaged from mainstream education. GOALS provides a highly supportive, relationship-based and pathway-focused learning environment, underpinned by trauma-informed practice and the Berry Street Education Model. Many students successfully reconnect with education through GOALS and transition into further study, training, employment and community pathways. 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 influence and negotiate by gaining buy-in and ownership for ideas, gaining agreement to proposals, or involving experts or other third parties to strengthen a case. Responsibilities Classroom Teacher • Deliver the College Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum across allocated year levels • Plan and deliver explicit teaching in social and emotional capabilities • Design and implement small group targeted SEL intervention programs for identified students • Monitor, assess and report on student progress in SEL • Work collaboratively with teachers to support classroom implementation of SEL strategies • Contribute to Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and Student Support Group (SSG) processes • Maintain accurate records of student progress and engagement • Support the development of safe, inclusive and engaging learning environments • Undertake all duties expected of a classroom teacher in accordance with DET guidelines Mental Health & Wellbeing Leader • Lead the implementation of a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing aligned to DET priorities • Build staff capability in: • Mental health literacy • Early identification of student needs • Classroom-based support strategies • Support consistent implementation of: • School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) • Respectful Relationships (RRRR) • Trauma-informed and regulation-based practices • Support staff to embed high-impact wellbeing strategies into classroom practice • Strengthen Tier 1 and Tier 2 systems of support across the College • Establish and maintain clear internal and external referral pathways • Work collaboratively with the Wellbeing Team, leadership and external agencies • Use student data to identify trends and inform proactive responses • Advocate for student voice, agency and engagement in wellbeing • Contribute to whole-school planning, including AIP priorities related to wellbeing • Participate in regional MHWL professional learning and communities of practice 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 (see Workplace 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 [email protected] 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 Other Information This position is a combination of Generalist Primary teaching as well as Mental Health & Wellbeing Leadership, specifically the Mental Health in Primary Schools [MHiPs] program. Candidates with relevant experience or training in MHiPS strongly encouraged to apply. 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 at Recruitment in Schools . 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 initiative is 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. The Department of Education has been piloting the Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative in Victorian schools since 2020 in partnership with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Evaluation of this pilot initiative has shown that 95 per cent of Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders consider the Mental Health in Primary Schools model has improved their school's capacity to support students' mental health and wellbeing needs. 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 Leader 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. Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders are provided training in mental health literacy, supporting emerging needs, and building school capacity and receive ongoing support and professional development through structured and regular Learning Communities Training is developed and facilitated by the Faculty of Education at University of Melbourne, supported by Murdoch Children's Research Institute.