Australia’s
primary schools
Building the capacity of primary schools to identify and respond to student mental health and wellbeing needs.
Front page: Professor Frank Oberklaid AM (centre) with primary school children, Sonny (left) and Aru (right).
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) is the largest child health research institute in Australia and one of the top three in the world for research quality and impact*. MCRI is committed to transforming child and adolescent health by improving diagnosis, developing early interventions and pioneering new treatments for children in Australia and around the world. MCRI is located at The Royal Children’s Hospital and is at the heart of the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct.
*Clarivate Performance analysis and MCRI benchmarking report, November 2023
Building a brighter future by addressing mental health at an early age
As a world-leading research institute based in Australia, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) is dedicated to transforming child health through groundbreaking research and innovative solutions, with a purpose to give all children the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilled life.
With extensive expertise in Population Health research, MCRI is committed to improving understanding of the complex interplay between social, environmental, and biological factors that influence child and adolescent health. This includes a dedicated focus on understanding how mental health and wellbeing shape children’s overall health and development.
The Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) initiative aligns seamlessly with our strategic priorities, reinforcing the importance of addressing mental health challenges early in a child’s life to create positive, long-term outcomes. By building the evidence base around mental health and equipping schools with the tools to support children, this program has the potential to make a meaningful, lasting impact on the lives of children across Australia and beyond.
We are deeply grateful for the incredible ongoing support and advocacy for MHiPS from our many generous supporters, including The Ian Potter Foundation and the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation. We are especially thankful to them for representing this initiative on our behalf via the Investment Dialogue for Australia’s Children.
We look forward to collaborating with you to make meaningful improvements in children’s mental health and wellbeing for generations to come.
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Left: Murdoch Children's Research Institute, based within The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Photo credit John Gollings
A national problem
In 2015, the second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing found that approximately one in seven Australian children aged 4-11 years had a diagnosable mental health disorder.
Since that time, rates of child and adolescent mental health problems appear to be rising; a trend observed even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020 Australian Productivity Commission and the 2021 Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System revealed a system that is crisis-driven and overwhelmed, where appropriate support is too often inaccessible. This is particularly the case for children’s mental health.
Early life experiences of mental health difficulties are associated with mental health problems in adolescence and adulthood, poor social relationships, unemployment, and general ill-health. They are also associated with poorer academic achievement.
In Australia, one in seven children aged 4-11 years have a diagnosed mental health disorder.
“I often refer to child mental health as ‘the elephant in the room’. It is a complex and difficult issue to tackle, and often sidelined in favour of a focus on adult and adolescent mental health. But while there are no easy fixes, we can no longer ignore the growing burden on children, families and communities. All evidence points to a need to redirect focus and investment from treatment to mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention.
As Australia’s largest universal service - 99% of all children attendprimary schools are a key community setting to support child health and development. Using this as our basis, we commenced 12 months of consultation to find out how we might use schools as a platform to better support child mental health.
Over the year, we conducted a review of the literature, liaised with relevant agencies and spoke to colleagues in other countries. We met on many occasions with principals, educators, Department of Education officials, federal and state primary principal associations, and education unions. From this process, the concept for MHiPS was born.
A codesign process with schools resulted in the MHiPS model, which stands on three key pillars:
1. Additional resourcing for schools (a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader).
2. Support for that role in the form of an evidence-based training and support program, developed by our partners at the University of Melbourne.
3. Rigorous, ongoing research, monitoring and evaluation to ensure the model evolves as school needs evolve.
What MHiPS has been able to achieve in the short time since pilot implementation has surpassed all our expectations, and I look forward to us achieving our long-term vision of MHiPS in every primary school across Australia.”
Professor Frank Oberklaid AM
Mental health and wellbeing in the classroom
As a universal service, with around 99% of all Australian children attending primary school, schools are not immune to the burden of Australia’s mental health crisis. In a 2019 survey of Victorian teachers, 41% of primary school teachers reported having students with mental health difficulties in their class.
Previously, policies to promote school engagement and academic performance have focused on teaching methods and practices, but today there is growing recognition of the relationship between student mental health and wellbeing, school engagement, and learning outcomes – and, that mental health difficulties affect not only the individual child but their peers and school staff.
“Students with
poor mental
health can also stop other children from learning. So, it’s pretty critical that we get this right I think.”
Teacher
The Australian Productivity Commission, Victorian Royal Commission and National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy recognise schools as an important universal platform for mental health promotion and prevention.
This view is echoed in the Australian Government’s recent Joint Health and Mental Health Ministers’ Meeting Communique, which – along with a consensus that child and youth mental health and wellbeing should be a priority across governments – identified a need for better integration across education and mental health service providers.
Teachers’ perspectives
In 2019, philanthropic support from Bupa, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and SALT Catalyst enabled researchers from MCRI’s Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) to explore the professional perspectives of primary school educators in Victoria about how schools can better support the mental health and wellbeing of their students.
Teachers described high levels of motivation to support their students’ mental health, noting the significant impact mental health difficulties have on student learning in the classroom.
“There’s been lots of development in mental health and wellbeing in the past but it’s been geared around adults, forgetting that there are more and more children that have undergone trauma and stress growing up, that they need this help. If the kids don’t feel safe and happy, they’re not going to learn.”
Principal, MHiPS school
Teachers also reported that they:
• Are concerned about their ability to identify and support children with emerging mental health difficulties.
• Need more training and support in child mental health around identification, obtaining support, and evaluation of that support.
• Are focusing their energies on mental health difficulties and disorders rather than health promotion
• Are concerned about the stress and emotional burden they experience and the impact on their own mental health as they try to support their students’ mental health.
Our solution
Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS)
Initiative: Building the capacity of primary schools to prevent, identify and respond to student mental health and wellbeing needs
Developed by paediatricians, educators, psychologists and researchers at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne, and codesigned with teachers and school leaders, the Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative upskills experienced teachers to become Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders and aims to increase the capacity of Australian primary schools to support the mental health and wellbeing of their students.
Acknowledging the significant challenges within Australia’s mental health system, MHiPS is designed to enhance service capacity and capability by addressing the specific needs of schools in supporting student mental health. Key areas of focus include:
• Increasing trained mental health and wellbeing staff to alleviate the burden on teachers.
• Providing staff with evidencebased professional development and support to help them identify and manage mental health issues in the classroom more effectively.
• Enhancing care pathways to mental health providers.
• Implementing systemic changes that prioritise mental health and wellbeing, enabling schools to identify and invest in evidencebased preventative mental health strategies and programs aligned with school need.
• Embedding social-emotional learning across all school curricula.
“Teachers are ideally placed to address emerging mental health issues. With access to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders, we have seen improved care pathways for kids who may otherwise have slipped through the cracks.”
Professor Frank Oberklaid AM
Hear from Professor Oberklaid about the MHiPS initiative and why it’s so important.
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (MHWL)
The MHWL role is pivotal to the MHiPS initiative. Unlike clinical roles, the MHWL is not designed for direct intervention but rather to coordinate efforts within the school to promote mental health and wellbeing.
The MHWL builds the capacity of the entire school, supports staff in identifying and managing mental health issues, and establishes clear referral pathways for students needing additional support.
The role of the MHWL is to ensure that mental health support is proactive, evidence-based, and seamlessly integrated into the school’s operations.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader
Identify and implement evidence-based approaches aligned to
“We wouldn’t know what to do if our MHWL left. She knows everything about all the places for referrals. She knows her way around the mental health continuum and is able to support the kids who are on the mental health continuum. She’s become an invaluable resource.”
Principal, MHiPS school
Build staff capacity to support student mental health
Promote a whole school approach
Create clear care pathways
Collaborate with school leaders, staff and families
Strengthen linkages between the school and other support services
Participate in MHiPS training
Advocate for and value student voice
student needs
The training program
The MHiPS training program has been specifically designed to support the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader to successfully implement their role.
Designed and developed by the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Education, the training program is central to the initiative’s success. It comprises an induction session and four core modules: Mental Health Literacy, Building Capacity, Supporting Need, and Communities of Practice.
These components are delivered to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader and up to three other members of staff (usually a school leader and classroom teachers or other wellbeing staff) through a combination of online learning and in-person seminars, designed to be accessible to all schools, including those in regional and rural areas.
Pictured below right: Student depiction of emotions, MHiPS evaluation
Module 1
Core Knowledge: Mental Health Literacy
Module 2
Core Skills: Building Capacity
Module 3
Core Skills: Supporting Need Communities of Practice
Module 4
Ongoing, facilitated sessions for expert advice and peerto-peer learning and support.
Learn more about the MHiPS training here
Training is delivered by Learning Leaders, who also offer ongoing learning support between sessions.
Mental Health Literacy focuses on foundational knowledge about child mental health and wellbeing.
Building Capacity helps schools assess their wellbeing profile, create a mental health and wellbeing plan, and implement evidence-based programs according to identified needs.
Supporting Need covers the
In partnership with the University of Melbourne
“The development of the MHiPS training program was very much a codesign process with 10 schools in the northwest region of Melbourne. We started with a blank piece of paper, talked to them about some of the models we had seen in the UK, and asked them about the sorts of things they were dealing with in schools and what they needed, and then we went about designing the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role and position description.
The MHWL role is not a direct one-on-one role with students, although they can do some of that work. It is also not clinical or therapeutic in its focus. The real crux of the role is to provide support to teachers so that they can in turn support their students within the classroom.
The MHWL can triage and coordinate care for the students that need additional support – so they are really managing that care pathway for the student and taking that task and responsibility and pressure away from the classroom teacher.
We also connect the MHWLs across the schools through our Communities of Practice, so they can share experiences, learn from other experts such as paediatricians and psychologists, and talk about specific cases within their school.”
Dr Georgia Dawson University of Melbourne
Establishment of MHiPS with philanthropic and government support
During the pilot phase in 100 schools, more than
MHiPS would like to acknowledge The Ian Potter Foundation, the Victorian Department of Education, the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, SALT Catalyst, Bupa, The Ross Trust and the R.M. Ansett Trust for their support in establishing the initiative.
MHiPS also acknowledges the Victorian Department of Education for their support of the statewide expansion of MHiPS in Victoria. agreed MHiPS had increased wholeschool capacity to support student mental health and wellbeing. 95% of participants
558,000
Our impact and excellence
Since its conceptualisation in 2019, the MHiPS initiative has made remarkable progress in advancing student mental health and wellbeing support in schools.
Launched as a pilot in just 10 schools in 2020 with initial philanthropic investment, the initiative aimed to identify and address the support needs of schools to effectively respond to student mental health and wellbeing.
“We are definitely noticing a difference with staff. I think the change comes from understanding that these behaviours aren’t personal or this child isn’t doing things just to be hurtful or because they want attention, but there is an underlying reason and they need the support – and I think that’s really changed the thinking around the school.”
MHWL, 2023 MHiPS school
The pilot’s success garnered significant support, leading to further collaboration with and investment from the Victorian Department of Education.
This funding aims to embed Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders in all government and low-fee nongovernment primary schools across Victoria, reaching all schools by 2026, ensuring that children’s mental health is consistently supported and policy impact is achieved.
“Previous goals and priorities around curriculum areas have shifted focus to emotional wellbeing and behaviour of students.”
Staff member, 2023 MHiPS school
“[I’ve observed] calm classrooms, students who are more assured, feel safer and supported, and improvement in our student survey.”
Staff member, 2023 MHiPS school
Results from the 2022 MHiPS pilot evaluation - a comparison of 100 MHiPS schools and 50 ‘business as usual’ schools - were overwhelmingly positive, with MHWLs and school staff from the MHiPS schools observing:
• greater changes in school culture (more positive language around mental health and wellbeing and less stigma)
• greater confidence to identify and respond to student mental health and wellbeing needs
• increased school prioritisation of student mental health and wellbeing
• better access to services
• improved student mental health and wellbeing.
In 2022, the Victorian Government demonstrated its commitment to the initiative by announcing a $200 million investment.
“[I’ve observed] easier referrals and contact points, better relationships and responses from professionals, better working/collaboration with professionals and services, greater knowledge of referral pathways and supports, and better outcomes for students.“
Staff member, 2023 MHiPS school
More information about our evaluation results and links to the Full Report 2022 and Summary Report 2022 can be found on the MHiPS website.
Collaborative efforts for nationwide expansion
Northern Territory (NT)
In discussions with NT Department of Education regarding a potential role for MHiPS, in collaboration with Be You.
Western Australia (WA)
Initial discussions with the WA Department of Education in mid-2024, with follow-up discussions planned for late 2024.
South Australia (SA)
September 2023 Commenced research to scope how the MHiPS model could be applied in South Australia.
September – December 2023 Conducted consultations and workshops to understand the South Australian policy and resource environment, seek feedback on the proposed model, and develop a proposal for MHiPS implementation and evaluation.
May 2024 Conducted workshops with key stakeholders to confirm the parameters of a two-year research project of MHiPS in 20 primary schools.
Future plans
Commence process of adaptation/ contextualisation of MHiPS training program and evaluation framework in preparation for implementation and evaluation in 2025.
Tasmania (TAS)
No activity at this stage.
Our vision is for every primary school in Australia to have the support of the MHiPS initiative.
MHiPS would like to acknowledge the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation for their support of the expansion of MHiPS into Queensland, and The Ian Potter Foundation for their support of the MHiPS nationwide expansion.
New South Wales (NSW)
No activity at this stage.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
No activity at this stage.
Victoria (VIC)
2019 Collated insights from school leaders, teachers, and school health and wellbeing staff regarding student mental health and wellbeing and to develop a model for increasing the capacity of schools to identify and respond to student mental health concerns.
2020 Piloted MHiPS in 10 Victorian primary schools.
2021 Expanded the pilot to 26 schools, with an additional 26-school control comparison group for evaluation.
2022 Expanded the pilot to 100 schools, with an additional 100-school control comparison group for evaluation.
2023 Commenced statewide rollout of MHiPS to all government and low-fee non-government primary schools, with evaluation activities ongoing.
2024 The MHiPS initiative reaches 850 schools as statewide rollout continues.
Future plans
2025 A further 418 schools to commence MHiPS.
2026 The final 573 schools to join MHiPS, bringing the total number of MHiPS schools in Victoria to more than 1800.
Queensland (QLD)
March 2024 Tim Fairfax Family Foundation (TFFF) introduce MHiPS to key Queensland stakeholders, including members of philanthropic trusts and foundations and Queensland Department of Education representatives.
May 2024 TFFF funding approved and commenced consultation and research to scope how the MHiPS model could be applied in Queensland, with a focus on rural and small schools.
August 2024 Visited Mount Isa Education Precinct to meet with principals, Department of Education staff, health and community services to start to understand the local context and potential adaptations to the MHiPS model.
Future plans
A visit to the Mackay region with Department of Education representatives , to test the opportunity for a pilot of MHiPS in a cluster of ‘small schools’.
A second visit to Mount Isa to continue the process of listening to schools and health service leaders to inform how MHiPS could be applied in a remote context.
Adaptation and contextualisation of the MHiPS model in preparation for implementation and evaluation.
MHiPS and the child mental health landscape
The MHiPS initiative and primary schools more broadly form one part of a broader network of services and supports for children and families.
All interventions can be placed on a spectrum from universal promotion and prevention through to intensive, individualised intervention. MHiPS sits primarily as a universal promotion and prevention model, although it also supports schools to help students who require more targeted and intensive support.
MHiPS is first and foremost a capacity-building initiative. Its aim is to increase mental health and wellbeing resourcing in schools (in the form of a dedicated Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader) and the capability of school staff to support student mental health and wellbeing, both within and outside the school gate.
There are many programs, tools and resources available to help schools support the mental health and wellbeing needs of their specific cohort of students. The MHiPS design and development process revealed that navigating available resources to find the best fit for a school’s context – while ensuring it is backed by strong research evidence – is often overwhelming for teachers and schools. MHiPS plays an essential coordinating role to help schools navigate the programs, tools and resources available to them, to evaluate their evidence-base, and to select those they determine to be the right fit. We have strong relationships with Beyond Blue (and specifically their Be You initiative), Smiling Mind, ARACY and their Common Approach, the Queensland Brain Institute’s Brain Health in Schools Project, and others, and reference many of their tools and resources throughout our training and support.
Government policy, frameworks and standards
• National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy
• Australian Student Wellbeing Framework
• State and territory child mental health policies
• Child and family education and health services Workforce Practice Standards
• Central and regional government leadership and supports
• Australian curriculum
• Improving Outcomes for All report
Delivery capacity in schools
• Leadership
• Educators and staff
• Infrastructure
Builds capacity
Dedicated role in schools
Evidence-based training and support
Research, monitoring and evaluation
Packages of support in schools Navigates and coordinates support
• Curriculum delivery
• Workforce resourcing and content
• Mental health and wellbeing programs and training
Government leadership
Accessible services and support
Equipped schools
Better child mental health and wellbeing outcomes
Empowered families
Future-proofed students
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (MHWL) plays a capacitybuilding, navigating and coordinating role for schools. It builds the capacity of staff to deliver better mental health and wellbeing support for students and supports staff to navigate the packages of mental health and wellbeing support available for schools, coordinating those that best fit the needs of the school. Evidence-based training and ongoing support provided by MHiPS supports the MHWL role.
Pathway to greater impact
Meaningful and genuine community work takes time, expertise, partnerships, and funding.
Building on the achievements to date, our strategy for the next phase of MHiPS expansion focuses on sustainability and growth, with the support of state and federal governments and philanthropy.
Commonwealth Government Philanthropy
MHiPS National Hub
• Engagement with new jurisdictions
• National monitoring for quality and fidelity
• Continuous quality improvement for MHiPS training and support
• Development of a national data platform
• Knowledge translation for communication of learnings
State/Territory Governments State-based implementation
• Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role in schools
• Training delivery and support from Learning Leaders
• Jurisdiction-specific evaluation
• Central and regional government support
We are seeking funding for two areas that together are pivotal to our sustainability and growth:
A National Hub
Establishing a central hub is critical to ensuring consistent quality and fidelity as MHiPS is implemented across different states and territories. This hub will play a critical role in developing and implementing the business case for sustainable scaleup, maintaining the integrity of the initiative and further contributing to a robust evidence base.
Funding from philanthropy and the Commonwealth Government will support the core team across Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne to provide oversight of the MHiPS initiative nationally; including enabling engagement with jurisdictions not currently implementing MHiPS, monitoring
A place-based approach
Tailoring the MHiPS initiative for regional, rural, and remote (RRR) schools, where disadvantaged children are disproportionately represented and at higher risk of poor mental health outcomes, is essential to ensure MHiPS meets the unique needs of these communities.
While MHiPS has received overwhelming support and demonstrated significant impact on schools, teachers and students in Victoria, we recognise that a onesize-fits-all model will not adequately address the specific challenges experienced by RRR schools across different jurisdictions in Australia. However, with MHiPS providing a robust evidence-based framework and strong foundation, we see a great opportunity to tailor and pilot
national implementation to ensure quality and fidelity and continuous quality improvement of MHiPS training and support, developing a national data platform to bring together data and evaluation findings that can be readily accessed to inform state and national policies and programs relevant to children’s mental health and wellbeing and build on the research base for MHiPS, and knowledge translation expertise to communicate our impact.
Individual states will fund their own implementation (including the salaries of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader role in schools, training delivery by Learning Leaders, and research evaluation in their local area).
We are planning that by year five, the MHiPS entity is generating enough surplus operating capital to subsidise philanthropic funding and can be self-sustaining via Commonwealth funding, state-based contracts and other revenue generating offerings to be determined.
Investment: $1,300,000 per year for five years
the model to RRR school settings in collaboration with key local and statebased stakeholders, including working closely and in partnership where relevant with Indigenous researchers, experts and community members.
With the generous support of the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, the team has commenced scoping what an adapted model of MHiPS might look like in a very remote community in Queensland. However, as regional, rural and remote communities can differ significantly across jurisdictions, we are keen to understand what further adaptations and contextualisation might be required to meet the needs of communities in other Australian states and territories, including those with high Indigenous populations.
Funding for the RRR strategy will enable us to (1) extend our understanding of enablers and barriers to supporting student mental health which will (2) allow us to codesign and (3) implement and evaluate tailored prototypes of the MHiPS initiative that respond to the unique needs of regional, rural and remote school settings, including those with high Indigenous populations.
Investment: $660,000 per year for five years
Total investment: $9,800,000 over five years
Investment opportunity
The MHiPS initiative not only addresses the immediate mental health needs of children but also contributes to systemic changes in how schools approach mental health and wellbeing. By prioritising preventative support and embedding mental health into the fabric of school life, we are building a legacy that will benefit generations to come.
Together, we can continue to make significant strides to address children’s mental health in schools. Our aim is to ensure that every child can achieve their full potential with the support of a school community that understands and nurtures their mental health and wellbeing.
For more information on how you can make a difference, please reach out to us.
Thank you to all the children who participated in our ‘Children at the Heart’ photo shoot, images of which have been incorporated throughout this document.
Contact us
We would love to discuss how you can make a difference.
For more information on how we can work together to deliver groundbreaking research that has a long-lasting and positive impact, please contact:
Rebecca Harford
Head
of Philanthropy
E rebecca.harford@mcri.edu.au
T +61 438 546 298
Megan Keyes
Manager,
Engagement and Impact (MHiPS)
E megan.keyes@mcri.edu.au
T +61 439 631 331
