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 , 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 .
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 (staff login required). Refer to Records management for corporate (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.
Reviewed 20 December 2023