Student Wellbeing

At Mentone Grammar, your child’s Wellbeing is at the very centre of your education experience. Our Wellbeing Program offers support, specialist counselling and resources your child can use whenever they need.

Wellbeing Program

Every one of our teachers and staff are a part of our Wellbeing Program and are here to care for and support your child. Whether it be a Mentor, teacher, administrator or specialist staff, there is always a supportive network of multiple staff members who can help.

If your child isn’t sure where to start, it’s always a good idea for them to speak with their Mentor or Year Level/House Coordinator first. They can help your child work out how to get the best support for their issue.

Our specialist support staff – counsellors, nurses, chaplains, careers counsellors and the learning enhancement team – are all here to help your child work through any challenges they may be experiencing.

Talking To Our Counsellors

If your child would like to talk with one of our counselors, you can arrange a confidential session by simply sending us an email (during the School term).

Our counselling team includes registered psychologists, who can help your child with a range of issues and challenges, from academic difficulties, anxiety, stress, grief or loss, social and emotional difficulties, behavioural issues, family issues, safety (online/bullying), friendships, relationships and more.

Where To Go For Counselling And Specialist Support

Our specialist support staff are located in our Wellbeing Centre, opposite the Gregory Fish Library on the Frogmore Campus.

In the Wellbeing Centre, there are counselling rooms, a chill-out space, a Health Centre, Careers Centre, learning spaces, a Chaplaincy office, a kitchenette and some helpful resources.

Where To Get More Information On Our Wellbeing Support, Connect With Community Contacts And Other Services Available For Your Child

You can find our more information on Wellbeing in our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section below.

If you’d like to get in touch with support services in your community, please scroll down to Community Contacts. To connect with services such as headspace, Youth Beyond Blue, Smiling Mind and more, please scroll down to Wellbeing Support.

Wellbeing FAQs

Start by talking with your child’s subject teacher or, if further assistance is required, the Faculty Coordinator to obtain clear feedback about how they are going. Our teaching staff have extensive experience in assisting students with a range of learning styles, so reach out if you feel assistance is required. Most subjects run extra help classes before and after school as well as lunchtime sessions.

Your child can get in touch with their Mentor, Year Level Coordinator or House Coordinator for advice. You can also speak with the Head of Campus or one of our School counsellors.

The counselling team at School consists of registered psychologists who are bound by privacy and confidentiality standards set by the Australian Health Practitioner and Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Counselling at School is confidential except in situations where there may be concerns about a person’s safety (either your child's own safety or someone else’s). You can always ask the counsellors more about this.

Absolutely. Once your child's appointment is arranged, they can simply arrive at the Wellbeing Centre at the appointment time and the campus PA will be informed that they are absent from class (the reason is marked as ‘student services’, to maintain your child's privacy).

While social distancing restrictions are in place, all counselling sessions are conducted over Microsoft Teams, so it’s completely up to your child who they want to inform.

It’s a good idea for your child to have a think about what they would like to talk about and get out of counselling (perhaps a goal they would like to achieve), but we will guide your child through this in the first session.

There are no strict rules about the amount of counselling sessions your child can have. The purpose of School counselling is to help our students work through any challenges they may be experiencing that are negatively impacting their schooling.

Our counsellors don’t provide ongoing therapy to students. If your child needs more ongoing or intensive therapy, our counsellors can refer them to an external psychologist.

Key Contacts

For more information on School counselling, please click here to email us.

Community Contacts

Kids Helpline – Call 1800 551 800
Free confidential phone counselling for children and adolescents, 24/7 

Kingston Youth Services – Call 1300 36 94 36
Free counselling, information, referrals and groups in Cheltenham

Bayside City Council Youth Services – Call 9599 4622
Support, programs and events for 10-25 year olds and their families 

headspace – Call 9526 1600
Free counselling in Highett

Family Life – Call 8599 5433 (Sandringham) 9770 0341 (Frankston)
Family and youth counselling and family support 

Connect Health and Community – Call 9575 5322
Youth and family counselling 

Wellbeing Support

Youth Beyond Blue
Youth Beyond Blue is designed to provide information about anxiety and depression to young people in Australia aged 12–25

Beyond Blue – The Brave Program
If you are a young person who would like support managing worry and anxiety, The BRAVE Program is an interactive, online program for the prevention and treatment of anxiety. The program provides ways for young people to better cope with their worries. There are also programs for parents.

Beyond Blue – Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service
Stay up to date with information, advice and strategies to help you manage your wellbeing and mental health during COVID-19.  

Bite Back
Improve your mental fitness, increase your happiness, reduce stress, improve your friendships and your focus with the Bite Back Mental Fitness Challenge. 

headspace
headspace provides tailored and holistic mental health support, information and services to 12 – 25 year olds, and their family and friends across Australia.

eheadspace
A national online and phone support service, staffed by experienced youth mental health professionals. It provides young people and carers with a safe, secure and anonymous place to talk to a professional – wherever they are.

Kids Helpline
Free, private and confidential (and anonymous) phone and online 24/7 counselling service specifically for young people aged 5 – 25 years.

Parentline
Parentline is a phone service for parents and carers of children from birth to 18 years old. They offer confidential and anonymous counselling and support on parenting issues).

Raising Children
An Australian parenting website that provides parents with up-to-date information and advice from Australian experts. Find parenting videos, articles and apps for parents with newborns to teenagers

ReachOut
Australian online mental health service for young people and their parents. ReachOut provides self-help information, support, tools and tips to help young people get through everyday issues to tough times. ReachOut’s self-help information, peer-support program and referral tools save lives by helping young people be well and stay well.

SchoolTV
SchoolTV is an Australian, empirically based online resource which provides useful information and strategies on topics which as mental health, cybersafety, school survival, healthy body, positive parenting and other specialist topics.

Smiling Mind and Thrive Inside
Smiling Mind is a non-for-profit web and app-based meditation program developed by psychologists and educators to help bring mindfulness into your life.
Thrive Inside helps you stay calm and healthy in the physical constraints of your home, while remaining calm and healthy inside your mind. Foster good mental habits during the Coronavirus crisis.

The Resilience Project
The Resilience Project teaches positive mental health strategies to help people become more happy. 

Importance of Gratitude