Developing the MHiPS Model

Needs Analysis

The MHiPS model emerged from a year-long needs analysis conducted in Victoria in 2019, which was designed to understand:

• the barriers and challenges schools face in identifying and supporting children with potential and recognised mental health concerns
• the programs, interventions and resources schools need to better promote child mental health competencies and support children with recognised mental health concerns.

In addition to data gathered through multiple focus groups, more than 1000 responses were received to school surveys across metropolitan, rural and regional Victoria, which enabled a thorough exploration of the perspectives of Victorian primary school leaders, teachers, health and wellbeing staff, and allied health support staff. Analysis of the data found that:

• teachers were motivated to support student mental health and wellbeing as they could see the disruption to learning arising from poor mental health
• teachers were concerned about the difficulties of balancing their teaching responsibilities with supporting their students’ mental health and wellbeing
• participants recognised the importance of partnerships with families to support children’s mental health and wellbeing
• participants recognised the importance of a school culture that prioritises mental health
• external factors – including inaccessibility of external support services, insufficient support staff in schools, and poor child mental health literacy – also impeded school’s ability to support student mental health and wellbeing.

Codesign

Following analysis of the data, two codesign workshops were held with a selection of Victorian schools; the first tested the findings from the needs analysis and took a deeper dive into the experiences of schools and the second facilitated the codesign of the MHiPS model.

Codesign is also used to adapt the MHiPS model to new contexts. We understand that every jurisdiction is different and that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach to responding to student mental health and wellbeing needs. As MHiPS expands into different states and territories, the team undertakes a process of understanding each new jurisdiction’s context and particular needs, including specific policies, frameworks or cultural adaptations that may need to be incorporated into the training and/or existing or new data collections that could be incorporated into the evaluation.

Evaluation

Each year, the MHiPS team undertakes evaluation of the MHiPS model, exploring both implementation factors (how feasible, acceptable and appropriate the model is for schools, and the factors that enable or challenge implementation of the model in schools) and impact (how embedding mental health and wellbeing in schools impacts teachers, students and families).

Evaluation data feeds back into adaptations made to the MHiPS model and training program, in a process of continuous quality improvement.

See our Research Findings for more information about our evidence base.