Mental Health Fund and Menu

5. Purchasing Menu items with the Fund

Schools must only use their Fund allocation to purchase programs, staff or resources from the Schools Mental Health Menu (Menu). The Menu includes 59 purchasable programs, 22 department-funded programs.

Procurement process for Menu programs

Schools are expected to follow the Procurement rules of use (DOCX) (staff login required) when using their Fund allocation to purchase from the Menu. Following the Procurement rules of use will support schools to ensure they:

• receive the best value for money offering
• have the required oversight in place to monitor service quality and other specifications
• comply with legislative and procurement policy requirements.

The Menu has been established as a panel of providers with pricing, terms and conditions that have been negotiated by the department with the best interests of schools in mind. Contracts have been signed by providers and the department, which means schools do not need to sign a contract agreement with the provider, reducing the administration associated with engaging Menu programs.

Additionally, schools must not sign or agree to any further terms and conditions as requested by Menu providers. Schools should email mentalhealth@education.vic.gov.au if they are requested to do so before service delivery.

All procurement documentation must be stored by schools for audit purposes.

Resources and templates are available to support schools to meet their procurement obligations at each step, and this includes procedural advice on procurement thresholds. Refer to the Procurement rules of use (DOCX) (staff login required) for further information on each step of the procurement process.

Staffing services are not subject to the Procurement rules of use. Please refer to the following policy information for schools if you intend to employ staff, contract a health service or use CRT that meet the requirements of the Skills checklist, found on the Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu resources page.

For more information, refer to Engaging staff with the Schools Mental Health Fund.

Aggregated buying

Schools may choose to collaborate and pool funding with other schools to address common mental health and wellbeing objectives. Pooling funding may help schools to:

• access programs, staff or resources from the Menu that are beyond the reach of a single school’s allocation, yet are identified as a collective need by multiple schools in a local area
• support a larger community-focused initiative that needs sustained support to result in long-term practice change
• strengthen links with local schools and other education settings, enabling a more collaborative approach to identifying and meeting the needs of children and families in the local community.

The same procurement thresholds apply whether a school is purchasing individually or together as an aggregated activity.

Advice on how schools can pool funding or enter an aggregated buying arrangement are available in the Procurement rules of use (DOCX) (staff login required).

When schools take an aggregated buying approach to purchasing programs or resources from the Menu, one school must be selected as the lead to sign the agreement for aggregated purchases.

Schools are encouraged to contact the Schools Procurement Branch (schools.procurement@education.vic.gov.au) to support them to design and articulate the terms of their aggregated buying arrangement.

Providers should not require schools to pool funding or all purchase the same program to enable delivery if their program is available statewide and the school meets the contracted minimum participant requirements.

Department-funded programs on the Menu

The Menu includes 22 department-funded (DE funded) programs available to schools. DE funded programs are free for schools; however, for some programs there may be associated implementation costs which can be covered by the Fund.

The Menu webpage lists how each DE funded program can use the Fund to support implementation. This may include time release for staff (including CRT) or specific ways the Fund can support implementation of the program. Refer to the Menu summary (DOCX) for all linked DE programs.

Alternative funding sources

Schools may choose to add to their Fund allocation to purchase Menu items through these alternative sources:

• Disability Inclusion Tier 2 Funding
• Equity Funding
• Mental Health Practitioner 6% Budget
• National Student Wellbeing Program Funding (if applicable)
• Free software funded for schools through ARC Software and Arc Learning.