Overview

What is the Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative?

The Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative aims to increase the capacity of Victorian primary schools to support the mental health of their students, through upskilling experienced teachers to become Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders. The initiative was developed by paediatricians, educators, psychologists, researchers and teachers.

Why is this issue important?

Children’s mental health is fundamental to their development and learning. Good mental health means having a positive sense of wellbeing, coping with challenges and being able to realise individual potential. 

Unfortunately, not all children experience good mental health. Schools are an ideal platform for promoting children’s mental health. Yet, without resourcing and dedicated training and support, it can be challenging for teachers to navigate increasing mental health issues in the classroom.


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Read about the role

Learn about the training program

Our team

The Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative involves two core teams who work closely together.

This includes the research team located at the Centre for Community Child Health, and the training team located at The University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education.

Our leadership team

  • Professor Frank Oberklaid AM, Project Director
  • Dr Simone Darling, Senior Program Manager
  • Rachel Smith, Research Manager
  • Associate Professor Jon Quach
  • Dr Georgia Dawson, Research Fellow and Training Lead
  • Megan Keyes, Senior Project Coordinator

View our team

Research team

Professor Frank Oberklaid

Professor Frank Oberklaid

Project Director

Dr Simone Darling

Dr Simone Darling

Senior Program Manager

Training team

Partners and funders

Mental Health in Primary Schools is a partnership between the Centre for Community Child Health at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne, and the Victorian Department of Education and Training.

We’d like to acknowledge the Ian Potter Foundation, the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, SALT Catalyst, Bupa, the RE Ross Trust and the R.M. Ansett Trust for their support in establishing the initiative.

Resources

 

  1. Darling, S., Dawson, G., Quach, J., Smith, R., Perkins, A., Connolly, A., Smith, A., Moore, C.L, Ride, J. & Oberklaid, F. (2021). Mental health and wellbeing coordinators in primary schools to support student mental health: protocol for a quasi-experimental cluster study. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1-14. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11467-4
  2. Giles-Kaye, A., Quach, J., Oberklaid, F., O’Connor, M., Darling, S., Dawson, G., Connolly, A. (2022). Supporting children’s mental health in primary schools: a qualitative exploration of educator perspectives. Aust. Educ. Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-022-00558-9
  3. Perkins, A., Clarke, J., Smith, A., Oberklaid, F., & Darling, S. (2021). Barriers and enablers faced by regional and rural schools in supporting student mental health: A mixed‐methods systematic review. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 29(6), 835-849. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.12794

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Contact us

For more information, visit the Mental Health in Primary Schools website or email us at [email protected].