Dean Winter says Labor would establish mental health and wellbeing programs in schools

As more and more young students struggle with anxiety and depression, Labor says mental health and wellbeing programs will be rolled out in schools if the party wins government.

Labor leader Dean Winter and Jess Munday Labor candidate for Franklin in Lindisfarne with Ella Haddad Labor member for Clark, and Sarah Lovell, MLC for Rumney. Picture: Linda Higginson

Labor leader Dean Winter has announced new wellbeing programs for Tasmanian schools saying students have lost their lives due to their struggles with mental health.

He says Labor will invest $10m over two years for mental health and wellbeing programs which have been hailed by SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY and the Resilience Project.

Labor candidate for Franklin Jessica Munday told of the difficulties she had faced as a parent getting help for children struggling with their mental health describing it as “one of the most heartbreaking aspects of parenting”.

Labor leader Dean Winter speaks to media in Lindisfarne on Saturday 5th July Picture: Linda Higginson

Mr Winter said the program would provide dedicated support for schools.

“I’ve met with teachers who have lost students who just didn’t have enough support in their schools,” he said.

“Nothing could be more important than the mental health of our students, of our young people and growing their resiliency and getting them ready for life.

“This is so serious and yet after 11 years of the Liberals we haven’t got the support available in schools for our students.

“We have students who are really struggling. We have students who are losing their lives to mental health battles.

“We need to do everything we can to support schools to do what they do best, and that’s build resiliency, help to educate their students and prepare them for life.”

Labor education spokeswoman Sarah Lovell said schools would be funded to select mental health programs based on what suited their community.

Ms Lovell said the program worked well in Victorian schools and mental health and wellbeing was “really critical for good educational outcomes for students”.

“The wait times to see school psychologists, school social workers, speech pathologists and other allied health are completely unacceptable,” she said.

Jess Munday Labor candidate for Franklin speaks to media in Lindisfarne with Ella Haddad Labor member for Clark, and Labor leader Dean Winter. Picture: Linda Higginson

“Students are waiting more than a year to see some of these services.”

Resilience Project CEO Ben Waterman described establishing evidence-based wellbeing programs in Tasmanian schools as “a fantastic initiative”.

“It will provide schools with the opportunity to access much needed programs and funding to proactively support the wellbeing of their school communities,” he said.

Mitch McPherson, founder of SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY, said he had been working in schools for almost a decade and “we know that they have a variety of needs and challenges to meet when it comes to well-being”.

“To have a broad range of options that are evidence informed and approved - is welcomed by us.”

Ms Munday said while schools had a “deep desire” to help students they did not have sufficient resources.

She said many other parents were in similar positions and the programs would help “both educators and the kids who are crying out for help”.

“I’ve been fighting for workers for a really long time but one of the biggest battles that I’ve had to face in my personal life is getting the right support for my kids.

“If a child is struggling with mental health, with anxiety, depression or other mental health conditions, they’re not learning as well as they should be.

“So this to me isn’t just about supporting their mental health, it’s about supporting them to get better education outcomes too.”

Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the government already funded SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY to deliver programs in government schools. He said there were wellbeing programs and trauma-informed support already available in schools.