Inclusion Outreach Coach

The East Gippsland Specialist School provides a comprehensive and innovative curriculum for primary and secondary students with intellectual disabilities. The school recognises that every child is special and that our students require additional resources and individual and innovative support to enable them to succeed.

The school encourages a supportive environment where teamwork between members of the school community is paramount to foster an environment of ability where every student fulfils their full potential. Our belief that every student can achieve is fostered in a strengths based, stimulating, caring and secure atmosphere. We promote values of safety, respect and learning, attitudes of cooperation, responsibility and respect for self, for others, for culture and religious diversity, for property and environment through the PBS framework.

Students are taught in small groups and are supported by a multi-disciplinary team including teachers, assistants, allied health professionals and other specialists. The school is committed to providing a progressive, stimulating and safe school environment that takes into account sound management practices, good communication between all members of the school community, best practice in delivering the curriculum and innovative community partnerships.   The school has introduced the STAR and LINKS programs for students with Intellectual Disabilities (including Autism Spectrum Disorder) in 2016.   These programs were developed by STAR Autism Support and are comprehensive behavioural teaching practises that incorporate the Applied Behaviour Analysis strategies of: Discrete Trial Training, Pivotal Response Training, Teaching Functional Routines and the Academic Skills.

East Gippsland Specialist School is situated in the thriving town of Bairnsdale which is also the commercial centre of East Gippsland. The town itself has pleasant wide streets set around historical, award winning, Main Street Gardens. It is the gateway to Australia’s largest and most beautiful inland waterways, the Gippsland Lakes as well as beautiful beaches and Victoria’s High Country. The environment lends itself to many leisure opportunities including fishing, sailing and boating, riding, cycling, bush waking, climbing and skiing.

The East Gippsland Specialist School was built in 2003 and has been steadily growing since this time. It now has 75 students and 43 staff with state of the art facilities, extensive IT resources and specialist sensory resources.

1. Demonstrated high level experience in inclusive education practice (teaching and learning) and developing processes for observation and feedback of teacher practice and peer collaboration.
2. Demonstrated experience planning, implementing and evaluating evidence-based intervention strategies for students with disabilities and providing feedback to teaching staff to inform their effectiveness and development.
3. Demonstrated ability to input into the development, implementation and evaluation of processes and strategies relating to teaching students with disability and diverse learning needs in a range of school settings.
4. Demonstrated ability to provide explicit advice to teaching staff to assess and monitor student achievement and learning progress in line with the Victorian curriculum, and support teaching staff with effective strategies to engage with parents and families, including to report on student progress.
5. Highly developed communication, networking and interpersonal skills including the ability to liaise effectively with a wide range of people.
6. Ability to provide leadership, professional learning and coaching that informs and influences the work of others involved in the engagement and wellbeing of children and young people.

Inclusion Outreach Coaches provide coaching, collaboration, professional learning and support through delivering whole-school, small group and targeted interventions aimed at supporting educators to enhance the learning experiences all students, including students with disability and diverse learning needs. The initiative has a dedicated focus on improving school outcomes, through provision of on-site coaching in school-wide inclusive practices, and classroom-based instruction and pedagogical feedback and support.

1. Demonstrating high-level expertise in teaching and learning practice and modelling exemplary practice and values in inclusive education, to support the development of an inclusive school culture.
2. Delivering high quality, explicit technical advice on best-practice for educators to effectively engage students in inclusive classrooms, so that they reach full participation.
3. Supporting the school-based leadership team to establish processes to help identify how to make school-wide adjustments to develop a high performing, inclusive school culture that id conducive to delivering inclusive practices.
4. Playing a key role in implementing professional learning, including through coaching, and supporting schools to design and implement interventions delivered through a multi-tiered systems of support framework.
5. Modelling effective inclusive education whole school and classroom practices and supporting teachers to seek, analyses and act on feedback on their practice.
6. Provide leadership and professional learning to others, such as school leaders and teachers to help ensure quality inclusive practices are provided by schools to improve students’ learning and developmental outcomes.
7. Maintain professional competence and attend ongoing professional learning, including attending professional development coaching activities throughout the year.
8. Maintain active involvement in Inclusion Outreach Coaching Communities of Practice for educator and coaching workforces.
9. Collect and analyses implementation and evaluation data of Inclusion Outreach Coaching initiative and liaise with the Regional Inclusion Outreach Coordinator to respond to identified needs.

Additional Area Responsibilities

Operating in collaboration with the Department of Education and Training's Area teams, this role will also have the following Area responsibilities:

• Using rigorous problem-solving procedures to identify and respond to school and school-based staff need; and coaching others to do so.
• Delivering both inclusion inreach and outreach models of support to ensure the adoption and effective implementation of inclusive practices across a range of school settings.
• Collecting, analysing and using data effectively to monitor and report the measurable impact of the inclusion in/outreach practices being implemented in collaboration with the Regional Inclusion Outreach Coordinator.
• Partnering and collaborating with other coaches and workforces within the Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion and School Improvement teams in a multidisciplinary approach.
• Maintaining connectedness and capability support within the hiring specialist school (equivalent to one day per week) through:

1. dedicated time to work with specialist school learning specialists and leadership teams
2. coaching educators in specialist school classrooms
3. attending specialist school meetings where appropriate

Required

Applicants must:

• Currently hold registration or be eligible for registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching and qualified to teach and/or have demonstrated experience in the curriculum area(s) specified for the position.

Desirable:

• A graduate or postgraduate qualification in special/inclusive education and/or disability.
• Experience in, or understanding across various school settings.
• Demonstrated experience in inclusive education.
• Demonstrated experience working with students with disabilities and diverse learning needs.

The Department of Education is committed to the principles of equal opportunity, and diversity and inclusion for all. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms – gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQ+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for roles within the Department.  The Department recognises that the provision of family friendly, supportive, safe and harassment free workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work, diversity and safety across all schools and Department workplaces.  It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for persons with a disability (see Workplace adjustment guidelines).

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants can contact Brett West, Yamatji man, in the Koorie Outcomes Division to talk about the recruitment process, the Department and supports for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the Department. Mobile: 0477 726 *** or email on: **********@education.vic.gov.au

Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards. All schools have a Child Safety Code of Conduct consistent with the Department’s exemplar available at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/protect/Pages/childsafestandards.aspx

The Department’s employees commit to upholding DET’s Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. DET’s Values complement each school’s own values and underpin the behaviours the community expects of Victorian public sector employees, including those who work in Victorian Government Schools. Information on the DET values is available at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/workm/Pages/Public-Sector-Values.aspx

Inclusion Outreach Coaches are based in specialist schools and partner with mainstream schools for defined periods, to provide coaching support to school leadership and staff aimed at strengthening inclusive practices. Coaches partner with the schools to increase their capability to implement preventative, evidenced-based strategies that benefit all students. Together, the coach and school use data to identify a goal to work towards and plan and monitor for improvement and sustainability. Coaches collaborate with Departmental regional team members in a team-based response to the identified need. There is an emphasis on Tier 1 preventative, system change practices. Coaches do not work directly with students or provide individual student support. Coaches will undertake training to support schools in data-based decision making and Multi-tiered Systems of Support.  Coaches use a hybrid delivery model, so travel will may be required. To be eligible to apply you must have a current Working with Children Check and drivers licence.

This is a Three (3) Year, Tenured position

Please ensure that your application includes:

• a resume including relevant experience as well as personal details (name, address and contact numbers, business and home)

• a section addressing the selection criteria and the requirements for application under the Who May Apply section

• names and contact numbers (telephone and email if possible) of two referees who are able to attest to the claims made in your application.

Please note that the selection panel may seek additional referees beyond those you name. Consistent with policy, we shall advise you if we will take this action.

The start date of this position is flexible and may be negotiated.

• All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.
• Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.
• A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.
• Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/Pages/default.aspx

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To be eligible for employment, transfer or promotion in the principal or teacher class a person must have provisional or full registration from the Victorian Institute of Teaching. In addition, from 3 August 2020, to be eligible for employment in the principal class or teacher class, a person who graduated from a Victorian Initial Teacher Education program after 1 July 2016, must demonstrate that they have passed the literacy and numeracy test for initial teacher education (LANTITE) requirements. This condition is satisfied where the LANTITE requirement is part of the Victorian Initial Teacher Education program completed by the person.