Student Wellbeing Package

Supporting children and young people's wellbeing and mental health is critical. Schools play a significant role in supporting the wellbeing and mental health of their students. To ensure schools are well-placed to support all students, the Queensland Government has made a $106.7 million investment over 3 years in a Student Wellbeing Package which is:

• increasing the wellbeing workforce to provide access to mental health and wellbeing support for every Queensland primary and secondary state school student
• piloting a program placing General Practitioners in 50 state schools with secondary students 1 day per week.

Department staff can access additional information on OnePortal.

Increasing the wellbeing workforce

 

The Student Wellbeing Package will ensure every Queensland primary and secondary state school student has access to a wellbeing professional at school. From 1 July 2021, schools and regions have been working closely to recruit additional wellbeing professionals, including psychologists, guidance officers (with a counselling focus), social workers and youth workers, to support students' wellbeing and mental health at school.

Every Queensland state school will benefit from the Student Wellbeing Package and schools do not need to apply to access additional support from wellbeing professionals. Funding is being provided in 3 phases over the duration of the initiative.

Additional wellbeing professionals provided through the Student Wellbeing Package complement and add to the support already provided to students in Queensland state schools by guidance officers, school-based youth health nurses, youth support coordinators and other wellbeing support staff. Additional wellbeing professionals are working as part of schools' established student support teams and contribute to schools' whole-school approach to supporting students' wellbeing and mental health.

Information about employment opportunities for wellbeing professionals in Queensland state schools and Department of Education regions is available from the wellbeing workforce webpage.

GPs in Schools Pilot

 

The GPs in Schools Pilot is placing General Practitioners (GPs) in 50 Queensland state schools with secondary students. The service provides students with free access to a GP at school 1 day per week, removing barriers students may otherwise face to receiving timely and appropriate healthcare. The provision of this service has positive impacts for students' health and wellbeing and their readiness and ability to engage at school.

All Queensland state schools with secondary students were invited to apply to participate in the pilot by responding to an expression of interest, outlining the level of need in their school and how providing access to a GP at school would benefit their students' health and wellbeing.

Following a great deal of interest from schools, a decision was made to expand the pilot from supporting 20 to 50 schools to provide a GP service to their students.

Schools participating in GPs in Schools Pilot