Page 4116 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 23 October 2018
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In addition to this work, ACT Health is part of the ACT implementation and engagement advisory group for local implementation of the beyondblue national education initiative to support mental health promotion and suicide prevention activity for early childhood to secondary school.
ACT Health also funds Mental Illness Education ACT, better known as MIEACT, to provide programs such as the school education program and the anybody’s call program to students and teachers in schools. As part of these programs, teachers are given the skills to deal with stigma, create safe environments and encourage help-seeking behaviour and recovery in their students.
These are just a few examples of the kinds of initiatives which support the mental health and wellbeing of our students, but also our teachers, and which help our teachers to best respond to the changing needs of each schooling community and each cohort that comes through their schools.
I think it is fair to say, and it has been reflected in the discussion today, that being a teacher is not an easy job. It is one that requires skill, patience, compassion and dedication to the welfare of our young people and their families. I am sure most teachers would add a few other traits to that list. It is often said that in addition to their classroom duties teachers are also required to be nurses, psychologists and social workers among the many other and varied roles they fulfil on a daily basis. We are grateful to our teachers for their hardworking commitment to shaping the next generation and providing all students with the opportunity to achieve their potential.
I also want to take this opportunity to recognise that our school system has faced some challenges in recent years. We need to keep working with our principals, teachers and families to respond to these issues and reverse some concerning trends. Tomorrow we will have the opportunity to go into detail about the recent WorkSafe ACT investigation into occupational violence in our schools. While I do not want to pre-empt the debate we will have as part of private members’ business tomorrow, it is important to reiterate that everyone is entitled to a safe and supportive work environment, and our teachers are no exception.
Providing care and support for children with complex needs is never easy. We must ensure that our teachers have the skills and supports in place so that their safety is not put at risk as they seek to provide that care and support. Last year’s budget included more than $18 million over the forward estimates to provide needs-based funding for students with a disability and/or complex health needs in ACT’s public schools. The enforceable undertaking agreed between WorkSafe ACT and the Education Directorate outlines further investments to support the safety and welfare of staff. This is a crucially important issue and one that must be taken seriously.
We have, of course, recently experienced similar concerns about staff safety in our inpatient mental health wards, and I have committed to looking at ways to change our practices and arrangements to ensure that risks are mitigated and incidents are prevented wherever possible. I look forward to further discussion about how we can better prevent and manage occupational violence in our schools as part of tomorrow’s debate.
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