Supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing procedure

Audience

All state schools

Purpose

This procedure outlines the responsibilities of school staff when supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all students in state schools; and the processes that will enable schools to support students’ mental health and social and emotional wellbeing across a continuum of support from promotion to specialised intervention and case management.

Overview

The department’s Student learning and wellbeing framework (the Framework) guides schools as they develop a whole school approach to learning and wellbeing. The Framework assists schools to provide inclusive and supportive environments that nurture students so they become lifelong learners and healthy, confident and resilient young people.

This procedure, which supports the Framework, focuses specifically on students’ mental health and social and emotional wellbeing and the responsibilities and actions associated with:

• Mental health and wellbeing promotion – developing a whole school approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing, including targeted curriculum activities, to create a supportive school environment that develops and sustains all students' social and emotional capabilities and promotes positive mental health and wellbeing.
• Early intervention – implementing strategies that help to identify and intervene early with students who may be at increased risk of developing social and emotional issues or mental health difficulties.
• Specialised intervention and case management – intervening when students may be at significant risk of developing mental health difficulties, present with suspected mental health difficulties or are diagnosed with mental illness and require case management or specialist intervention via a clinical care provider.

For general information about mental health and how to recognise and support students’ mental health and wellbeing please see Fact sheet – Mental health.

Responsibilities

All school staff

• Promote and support students’ social and emotional development, mental health and wellbeing through all school activities.
• Inform the nominated officer when there is a reasonable suspicion a student may have a social and emotional issue or mental health difficulty that prevents them from engaging at school.
• Participate in the development, implementation and review of the Personalised learning plan in the Student plan on OneSchool (DoE employees only). Implement reasonable educational adjustments, as required.
• Immediately follow processes in the Student protection procedure and Student protection guidelines (DoE employees only) when there is suspicion that a student may harm themselves or others as a result of their mental health difficulties or may be at risk of harm from others. 
• Immediately discuss concerns with the principal and follow the school’s suicide prevention and/or postvention plan when a student may be at risk of suicide or has expressed suicidal thoughts. Refer to Responding to suicide risk and events (DoE employees only) for more information.

Nominated officer

• Be the key contact for staff to discuss students’ social and emotional issues and mental health difficulties.
• Assist the principal with adjustments to the curriculum, learning environment and attendance procedures.
• When required as part of an intervention or student plan, facilitate referrals to appropriate internal or external professionals or agencies with valid student or parent/carer consent and using the required referral form (see Fact sheet – Obtaining valid student or parent/carer consent).

Case manager/guidance officer

• Lead and implement the specialist intervention processes, as required.
• Participate in the development, implementation and periodic review of the Student plan.
• When required as part of an intervention or student plan, facilitate referrals to appropriate internal or external professionals or agencies with valid student or parent/carer consent and using the required referral form (see Fact sheet – Obtaining valid student or parent/carer consent).

Principal

• Foster a whole school approach to supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing by implementing actions suggested in the Student learning and wellbeing framework reflection and implementation tool (DoE employees only).
• Ensure each student’s individual mental health and wellbeing needs are identified and supported and reasonable adjustments are made so the student can continue to engage with their learning.
• Ensure valid student or parent/carer consent is obtained when referrals are made to internal or external professionals or agencies (see Fact sheet – Obtaining valid student or parent/carer consent).
• Designate an appropriate staff member as the nominated officer.
• Negotiate an appropriate case manager from within school staff when a complex case is identified and a guidance officer is unavailable.
• Build the capability of all school staff to support the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of all students in the school community.
• Build capacity for mental health promotion and intervention by linking with local agencies and health providers including key local specialist mental health services such as the Child and Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS) and headspace centre.
• Ensure the school has clear processes in place for referrals to both internal and external agencies/ professionals and processes are documented and available to school staff.
• Ensure processes are in place to develop, implement and review students’ Student plan.
• Ensure the school’s suicide prevention and postvention response plans are published and available.

Principal’s supervisor (or delegate)

• Support the school based implementation of policies that promote and enhance all students' mental health and social and emotional wellbeing.

Regional Director (or delegate)

• Receive applications for supplementary funding when a student's educational adjustments, as documented in the Student plan, cannot be accommodated from within existing school resources.
• Ensure applications for supplementary funding are assessed and the school informed of the outcome.

Process

Promoting mental health and wellbeing

1. The principal works with the nominated officer and guidance officer to embed programs and activities into whole school practices that promote and support students’ social and emotional development. Refer to the Supporting schools webpage (DoE employees only) for a range of educational resources for school staff.
2. The principal supports the nominated officer to make reasonable adjustments to school procedures related to curriculum, learning environment, attendance and discipline in order to promote positive mental health.

Early intervention

1. A staff member identifies factors that may indicate a student is at increased risk of developing a social and emotional issue or mental health difficulty (refer to Understanding mental health for more information - DoE employees only).
2. The staff member and the nominated officer discuss the identified risk factors.
3. The nominated officer consults with the guidance officer, senior guidance officer, regional Principal Advisor - Mental Health and/or other appropriate regional staff.
4. The nominated officer and staff member meet with the parents/carers, relevant staff and, where appropriate, the student to:

• discuss the student’s social and emotional wellbeing and mental health;
• negotiate reasonable educational adjustments; and
• identify supports or strategies to escalate if necessary.

5. The nominated officer ensures consent is obtained from the student or parent/carer prior to sharing personal information or making referrals to other professionals or agencies (see Fact sheet – Obtaining valid student or parent/carer consent).
6. The nominated officer, staff member and other relevant staff develop, implement and periodically review the Personalised learning plan in the Student plan, including implementing reasonable adjustments.
7. The nominated officer ensures the principal is informed of any wellbeing issues or mental health difficulties that may affect a student's attendance or participation.
8. Relevant staff continue to monitor and support the student’s mental health and wellbeing.
9. The nominated officer ensures the Student plan is updated to reflect current supports and reasonable adjustments and relevant forms, plans and reports are uploaded to OneSchool with appropriate access restrictions.
10. The nominated officer advises the principal when a student has more complex and significant support needs requiring specialist intervention.

To enact specialised intervention and case management

1. The nominated officer informs the principal that a student has complex and significant support needs.
2. The principal selects an appropriate case manager.
3. The case manager reviews available information in relation to the student’s social and emotional wellbeing and mental health, as well as current supports and educational adjustments recorded in the Student plan.
4. The case manager meets with the parents/carers, relevant staff and, where appropriate, the student to discuss the student’s social and emotional needs and mental health difficulties and to identify if specialist intervention or case management is required.
5. When the student requires complex case management, the case manager will commence a process including developing and implementing a complex case management plan.
6. When the student requires specialist intervention, the case manager will:

• obtain valid consent from the student or parent/carer to share personal information using the SSMH1 Form – Consent form (see Fact sheet – Obtaining valid student or parent/carer consent);
• complete the SSMH2 Form – Request for information from clinical care provider and seek information and advice from the student’s existing clinical care provider;
• use the SSMH3 Form – Student referral to clinical care provider to refer the student to a clinical care provider when the student does not have a current clinical care provider;
• include any clinical care provider/s in the Student plan;
• develop, implement and periodically review the Personalised learning plan in the Student plan;
• consult, where relevant, with recognised Indigenous agencies or transcultural mental health providers; and
• upload all forms, plans and reports onto OneSchool and apply the appropriate level of restrictions.

When a student requires additional resources, the case manager can apply to the Regional Director or delegate for further funding using the SSMH4 Form – Application for supplementary funding to support students with mental health difficulties.

When a student is admitted to a child and adolescent inpatient or day facility, on discharge the case manager may develop a supported re-entry to school program, including additional educational support.

Definitions

Legislation

• Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Qld)

Delegations/Authorisations

• Nil

Other resources

• Student learning and wellbeing framework
• Inclusive education policy
• Student protection procedure
• Information privacy breach and privacy complaints procedure

• Responding to suicide risk and events (DoE employees only)

• Principal Advisor – Mental Health contact details (DoE employees only)

Superseded versions

Previous seven years shown. Minor version updates not included.

3.0 Supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing