Mental Health in Primary Schools (Reference 130)
The Victorian Government is providing $200 million over 4 years and $93.7 million ongoing to expand the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) program to every government and low-fee non-government primary school in Victoria.
Scaling up across the state from 2023, by 2026 every primary school will receive funding to employ a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader to implement a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing.
Eligibility
All government school campuses with primary-aged enrolments are eligible for MHiPS funding, including:
- Primary
- Primary/Secondary (primary enrolments only)
- Specialist (primary enrolments only)
- Language (primary enrolments only)
‘Secondary’ and ‘Camp’ schools and campuses are ineligible for MHiPS funding.
Virtual School Victoria is eligible for MhiPS funding.
MHiPS will be rolled out based on area between 2023 and 2026. The schedule is:
- 2023: Barwon, Brimbank Melton, Goulburn, Hume Merri-bek, Outer Gippsland
- 2024: Mallee, Ovens Murray, Southern Melbourne, Western Melbourne
- 2025: Inner Gippsland; Loddon Campaspe, Outer Eastern Melbourne, Wimmera South West
- 2026: Bayside Peninsula, Central Highlands, Inner Eastern Melbourne, North Eastern Melbourne
All MHiPS Pilot schools will continue in 2023.
Calculation
Participating campuses are funded to employ a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader, at a Classroom Teacher 2–4 level, ranging from a minimum of 0.4 FTE to 1.0 FTE.
A campus’s FTE allocation is based on primary enrolments.
Funding allocation = Base FTE × Rate + School on-costs
| Campus enrolments | FTE |
|---|---|
| 1 to 199 | 0.4 |
| 200 to 499 | 0.5 |
| 500 to 699 | 0.6 |
| 700 to 849 | 0.7 |
| 850 to 949 | 0.8 |
| 950+ | 1 |
Enrolments used to calculate MHiPS funding will be updated at each SRP cycle (‘Indicative’ to reflect principal enrolment projections, ‘Confirmed’ to reflect February census enrolment and ‘Revised’ to reflect audited enrolments). Funding is allocated through credit funding.
Rate
Rate = $118,288.39 including school on-costs (Classroom Teacher 2–4)
Schools that are only receiving PWO in 2022 but are entering into MHiPS in 2023
In 2023, these schools will transition into MHiPS and will receive the higher of their 2023 MHiPS allocation or their 2022 PWO allocation.
Contact information
For further information contact mentalhealth@education.vic.gov.au
Reviewed 21 June 2023