NSW high schools to get 450 full time mental health workers

The NSW Government will place a full time school counsellor and student support officer in every public high school in the state.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian met with students at Mt Annan High School this morning.

• Developers: Jobs needed to support housing
• Anglicare plans $158 million seniors development

The NSW Government will place a full time school counsellor and student support officer in every public high school in NSW.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the $88 million investment at Mt Annan High School this morning.

The school currently employs one counsellor, Mitch Watkins, who splits his time between Mt Annan High School and another school.

Mr Watkins said that at one point he was working at three different schools in a week.

Ms Berejiklian announcing the plan this morning joined by Mt Annan High School principal Brad Mitchell.

The Government will look to employ 100 additional full time school counsellors or psychologists as well as 350 student support officers.

Ms Berejiklian said expanded mental health services inside the school system would improve the health of students.

“So many students present with stressful situations, needing an expert to talk to, needing counselling services, needing mental health support and a whole range of issues in that space,” she said.

Mr Watkins said larger school populations and a lack of counselling services were a growing problem and he welcomed the announcement.

“As we grow and schools become larger and larger just from a percentage point of view you are going to get greater issues, so it is really important that we have someone on deck full time,” he said.

Mt Annan High School in south west Sydney.

“One of the frustrating things about being a school counsellor is that you get to work really closely with students but you probably don’t get to put as much intervention in as you would like, so I’m hoping this will mean more preventive programs.

“This will also increase our capacity to refer out. So (that means) identifying those issues as they arise and then also supporting those students to access those services available outside the school.”

IN OTHER EDUCATION NEWS

Mr Watkins said he would often have between 10 and 20 students seeking his services each week across several schools.

“I’d say the case load ongoing that I’m working with at this school (Mt Annan) would be in excess of 50 students,” he said.

The announcement comes weeks out from the March 23 State Election.