Five Central Coast schools are among the first in NSW to welcome a highly trained School Wellbeing Nurse, thanks to a first-of-its-kind NSW Government initiative.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast and Member for Terrigal said the role involves providing students with mental health support while also attending to day-to-day medical issues.
“Each School Wellbeing Nurse is a University-qualified health professional and has also completed two months of mental health training at the Central Coast Local Health District,” Mr Crouch said.
“This new position will add to the existing supports and structures available in every public school.
“The role has been created to reduce the stigma surrounding School Counsellors, offering students an alternative pathway to access mental health and wellbeing support without feeling judged by their peers.”
Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said the new nurses are part of the four-year expansion of a successful pilot program.
“Our children and young people can feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders as they try to make sense of an unpredictable, changing world and their place in it,” Mrs Taylor said.
“School Wellbeing Nurses are another important part of the web of support we’re putting in place to make sure we can deliver the right healthcare, at the right place and at the right time.”
An independent evaluation of the pilot program found that School Wellbeing Nurses were successful at supporting students and families to achieve positive health and education outcomes, and linking school and community health and wellbeing interventions.
The five schools to benefit from School Wellbeing Nurses are Gosford High School, Narara Valley High School, Point Clare Public School, Valley View Public School and Wyoming Public School, and have been selected on the basis of need.