A plan to put mental health practitioners into schools in the wake of the summer’s devastating bushfires has been announced by the Minister for Education.
The Minister, James Merlino said the initiative would initially be rolled out to 10 schools across East Gippsland.
“This initiative is being rolled out to more than 150 schools this year, with schools in East Gippsland to benefit by the start of Term 2,” Mr Merlino said.
“By 2022, the initiative will employ registered mental health professionals in more than 300 schools across the state, including psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and mental health nurses,” he said.
Mr Merlino said the mental health professionals would offer counselling and early intervention services, as well as coordinating support for students with complex needs.
He said every Government secondary school would receive between one and five days a week of support from a mental health practitioner depending on school size and requirements.
He said fast-tracking the rollout of this initiative to East Gippsland was part of support initiatives being provided to communities impacted by the summer bushfires.
“These bushfires have devastated many communities in East Gippsland and we’re doing everything we can to support students at school,” Mr Merlino said.
