Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion Workforces

Advice

This policy is intended to bring together key operational information for schools on the regional and area-based Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion Workforces (HWIW), including providing guidance on the Health Wellbeing Key Contact (HWKC) function.

Summary

The department values the health, wellbeing and inclusion of all students. The department’s priority initiatives include mental health, disability and inclusion and self-determination reforms, and the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0), placing wellbeing alongside learning at the heart of education outcomes.

The HWIW work as integrated, multidisciplinary teams to provide support to government schools across Victoria. They support schools in meeting the engagement, wellbeing, inclusion and learning needs of students.

The HWIW includes identified staff who, as a function of their role, provide schools with support as a HWKC. This function enables schools to access timely advice regarding information and support for student, cohort and whole-school needs on matters of health, wellbeing, and inclusion. Guidance on the HWKC can be found on the Guidance tab.

The HWIW is comprised of education and allied health professionals with specialist skills, knowledge and expertise in a range of health, wellbeing and learning needs of students and schools:

• Student Support Services (SSS) (psychologists, social workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and behaviour analysts)
• primary and secondary school nurses
• visiting teachers (VTs)
• Koorie engagement support officers (KESOs)
• other region or area-based staff whose key role is to provide health and wellbeing support to schools.

Related policies

• Behaviour – Students
• Disability Inclusion Funding and Support
• Disability Inclusion Profile
• EAL – Provision for Newly Arrived Students
• Equal Opportunity and Human Rights – Students
• FISO 2.0
• Health, Safety and Wellbeing
• Koorie Education
• LGBTIQA+ Student Support
• Mental Health in Schools
• Student Resource Package – Target Initiatives
• Student Voice, Agency and Leadership
• Student Support Groups
• Supporting Students in Out-of-Home Care

Contact

For advice regarding the health and wellbeing supports available for students, schools should contact their Health Wellbeing Key Contact via their regional office.

For general enquiries relating to the HWIW, contact the Health, Wellbeing, Inclusion and Resilience team who will direct your query: health.wellbeing.inclusion.resilience@education.vic.gov.au

Guidance

This guidance provides information on how the department’s Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion Workforces (HWIW) deliver services to support and build capability of schools in the engagement, wellbeing, inclusion and learning needs of students.

The guidance contains the following chapters:

• Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion Workforces service provision in Victorian government schools
• Health and Wellbeing Key Contact function

Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion Workforces service provision in Victorian government schools

Introduction

This guidance provides information on how Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion Workforces (HWIW) can support schools with student engagement, wellbeing, inclusion and learning outcomes. Each workforce within the HWIW has specific expertise to provide effective service delivery.

HWIW must provide services in a safe and respectful manner, consistent with the department's policies related to equal opportunity and human rights for both staff and students. For more information, refer to the Resources tab.

Service operations

Consent to provide health, wellbeing and inclusion services

Where existing processes require consent for providing a health and wellbeing service directly to a student, schools must seek parent/carer (or mature minor or adult student) consent for these services using one of the following forms:

• SSS and VTS consent form
• Victorian School Nursing Program consent form
• Disability Inclusion Profile forms.

For advice and consent forms relating to therapy and other supports funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in schools (provided by external providers), refer to the NDIS Funded Therapy in Schools policy.

Secure electronic information and record keeping

HWIW must access and store all records securely in line with the department’s Corporate Records Management Policy (staff login required). This applies to both hard copy and electronic records. HWIW must ensure that all records are protected to the extent required by the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). All health records created by department employees remain the property of the department.

Working collaboratively in the education context

The department encourages a multidisciplinary approach in delivering health, wellbeing and inclusion services. HWIW consider in-depth the needs of schools and students. HWIW work in partnership with each other, their area and regional colleagues and external services to improve health, wellbeing and learning outcomes.

The Health Wellbeing Key Contact (HWKC) supports schools to access services and supports to enhance student learning and wellbeing outcomes. To promote a multidisciplinary approach, the HWKC assists schools to prioritise and implement universal and targeted approaches to health, wellbeing and inclusion. For more information, refer to the HWKC guidance chapter.

Health Wellbeing Key Contact function

Purpose of the HWKC function

The Health Wellbeing Key Contact (HWKC) meets regularly with the school contact to identify trends in student, cohort and whole-school health and wellbeing needs. The HWKC helps schools to plan a course of action designed to meet needs, improve outcomes and manage risk. This includes:

• mobilising and strengthening the school's current internal resources
• accessing regional resources to build staff capability and provide time-limited direct support to students and families
• identifying external services who can better meet student needs.

Description of the HWKC function

The HWKC enables schools to access timely advice regarding supports for student, cohort and whole-school need on matters of health, wellbeing and inclusion. Every government school is allocated a HWKC by their leadership. A HWKC can be any member of the Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion Workforces (HWIW). The HWKC function may be provided by someone who is employed as a Student Support Services (SSS) staff, visiting teacher, Koorie education support officer or another regional role; it is a function of their core role in the area.

Benefits of engaging the HWKC

The key benefits to schools of engaging their HWKC are:

• increased knowledge of and access to department specialist resources and external supports, in a proactive and timely way
• strengthened multidisciplinary practices and collaboration with regional staff
• enhanced identification of appropriate supports due to improved use of data-based decision making, proactive and preventative planning, and monitoring of student wellbeing and learning.

The role of the HWKC

The HWKC has regular conversations with a consistent school contact. The HWKC and school contact use evidence to identify trends, problem solve and plan for proactive and preventative student, cohort and whole-school health, wellbeing, and inclusion needs. This includes:

• providing advice and guidance through tiered interventions
• accessing regional resources to build staff understanding of the workforces and support available
• identifying external services who can better meet student needs
• supporting schools to reflect on the effectiveness of interventions.

The HWKC supports the school contact to:

• clarify student, cohort and whole-school needs and assist them to prioritise and plan a course of action
• provide general guidance on how to access support for critical incidents
• reflect on the supports available within the setting and how to mobilise these
• access department and/or external services
• identify specialists to deliver the needed professional learning services
• work with school leadership to identify targets for the School Strategic Plan (SSP) and Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) relating to health, wellbeing and inclusion need and identify services that best support the school leadership team in their planning.

The HWKC does not:

• engage in the direct delivery of health, wellbeing and inclusion services to schools or students
• undertake case management – case management is performed by the school contact
• deliver professional development services to schools or teachers
• monitor school performance – this is monitored through the SSP
• triage critical incident responses – there is a department-wide process for seeking support for managing critical incidents that is separate from the HWKC function. Refer to Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies).

The difference between the HWKC and the SSS Key Contact

The purpose of the HWKC function and the SSS Key Contact function are different. The SSS Key Contact focuses on available SSS supports, while the HWKC has a broader health and wellbeing focus. In some regions and areas, the HWKC function may be embedded into existing SSS Key Contact meetings. For example, the SSS Key Contact meeting may also achieve the objectives of the HWKC function to assist schools to identify supports available within the school and how to mobilise these, and how to access appropriate department specialist supports (outside the SSS), resources and external services. While they may be the same person, the purpose of each meeting is different.

HWKC meetings

Purpose

The HWKC meeting uses evidence to identify trends, problem solve and plan for proactive and preventative student, cohort and whole-school health, wellbeing and inclusion needs. These discussions may then lead to the school connecting with or referring to any of the HWIW to address those needs.

Initiating a meeting

The HWKC will initiate contact with the school to offer HWKC meetings.

If a school declines HWKC meetings twice in a term, the HWKC will contact the school directly to discuss potential benefits from their support.

If the school accepts the invitation, the HWKC and school contact are to reach agreement on how the administrative roles for HWKC meetings will be met, such as scheduling the calendar invitations for HWKC meetings.

If you are unsure who your HWKC is and would like to set up a meeting, you can contact your regional office.

Meeting attendance

The school can decide who is the most appropriate staff member(s) to attend the HWKC meeting. Generally, this is a staff member(s) with a leadership role or with oversight of the school’s learning, wellbeing and inclusion needs. This includes having access to and responsibility for using student data to plan instruction and intervention to meet student health, wellbeing and inclusion needs.

Meeting frequency

Schools can discuss the frequency of meetings with their HWKC. Meeting frequency may vary depending on need and other priorities. All schools are offered at least 2 HWKC meetings per term.

Meeting outcome

The HWKC meeting determines the most appropriate supports, resources and services to meet the health and wellbeing needs discussed. The HWKC and school contact may reflect on outcomes from previous meetings and discussions to determine other cohorts or students who would benefit from available supports, resources and services.

Process for making referrals following a HWKC meeting

HWKCs support the school to identify the relevant workforces, such as HWIW (including SSS, visiting teachers, senior wellbeing and engagement officers, Koorie engagement support officers or other departmental supports or programs) and external agencies they need to engage to best support school and student needs. Schools are responsible for contacting or completing the required referral process to the identified HWIW.

Record keeping

The school is responsible for storing HWKC meeting notes or records in accordance with the Records Management – School Records policy. The school may share personal and health information of students, staff and others to carry out school and department functions, for other related purposes and in other limited circumstances such as where there is a risk to health and safety. Refer to the Privacy and Information Sharing policy for further advice.

The HWKC refers to these notes or records when entering the HWKC meeting information into the HWIW Data App. If the HWKC identifies a need to create any other notes related to the HWKC meetings, the creation and storage of these notes must be in accordance with the Corporate Records Management Policy (staff login required). Refer to Records management for corporate staff (staff login required) for more advice.

Historical HWKC records and existing notes created by the school or HWKC as part of the HWKC function are records that must be kept according to the Records Management – School Records policy.

SSS Key Contact meetings

Purpose

The SSS Key Contact meeting (if required) determines the need for a referral to Student Support Services (SSS) – the discussions typically centre on school and student needs that SSS can respond to (and forms part of the pre-referral process for SSS intake). In areas where SSS Key Contact meetings are not provided frequently, your HWKC can connect your school with a SSS representative.

Initiating a meeting

The SSS Key Contact will initiate contact with the school to offer SSS Key Contact meetings.

Meeting attendance

The school can decide who is the most appropriate staff member(s) to attend the SSS Key Contact meeting. Generally, this is a staff member with a leadership role or with oversight of the school’s learning, wellbeing and inclusion needs. Not all areas provide SSS Key Contact and HWKC meetings, as the functions may be delivered during the HWKC meeting.

Meeting frequency

Meeting frequency is negotiated and agreed between the school and the SSS Key Contact and should consider the frequency and timing of the HWKC meetings.

Meeting outcome

The SSS Key Contact meeting determines the need for a referral to SSS.

SSS Key Contacts may also facilitate a more in-depth discussion of student and school needs to plan for a more detailed course of action. SSS Key Contact meetings may also involve similar questions to HWKC meeting, but actions and outcomes are addressed in relation to referrals to SSS.

Process for making referrals following a SSS Key Contact meeting

The school is responsible for making referrals to SSS using the SOCS platform once it has been determined that a SSS referral is most suitable to address the student’s or school’s health, wellbeing and inclusion needs.

The SSS intake team will review the referral documents and allocate the referral to a SSS team member. If additional supports from wider HWIW or external agencies would be more appropriate to address the needs stated in the referral, the school will be contacted and advised where to direct the referral.

Record keeping

Schools should speak to the SSS branch manager or SSS team leader to confirm how the SSS Key Contact meeting notes or records are to be created and stored.

Resources

Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion Workforces (HWIW) must provide services in a safe and respectful manner, consistent with the department's policies related to equal opportunity and human rights for both staff and students, including:

• Inclusive Workplaces
• Respectful Workplaces
• Reportable Conduct
• Equal Opportunity and Human Rights – Students
• Human Rights Charter (employees)
• Health, Safety and Wellbeing (employees)