AddressAbout Concord School
Located in Bundoora, a northern suburb of Melbourne, on two campuses, Concord is a specialist school which caters for students with mild intellectual disability between the ages of 5 and 18 years. Students come from a wide geographical area and a diverse socio-economic background. The Watsonia Campus caters for students aged between 5 and 9 years of age. The Bundoora Campus caters for 9 to 18 year old students. Both campuses are situated in attractive, well maintained grounds with excellent facilities.
The school, with 150 teaching and ancillary staff, has a current enrolment of 440 students. Enrolment is dependent on eligibility criteria as determined by the Department of Education. Concord School supports integration into or from mainstream schools. Support services available to parent/carers and students include access to educational psychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and visiting teacher services. Intensive social competency programs also form part of the core curriculum across the school
Role
Children and young people with disability can require a greater degree of parental or family involvement in their education and care than their peers without disability. Parents and carers of children with disability play several supporting roles, including as advocates and as people who can provide valuable insight into their child¿s specific needs for services such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the broader health and community services system.
The Victorian Government is introducing new NDIS Navigators from 2023 in government specialist schools to provide support to parents and carers to help them navigate and understand the NDIS, enabling them to get the most out of the supports available. They will also provide support to schools, parents and carers to better understand the interface between the education system and the NDIS.
Responsibilities
The NDIS Navigator will carry out the following with a high level of autonomy (within broad guidelines), professional leadership and minimal day-to-day direction:
· provide support and advice for parents and carers to build their capacity to understand, advocate for and access appropriate NDIS funded support services available to their children
· develop and maintain relationships with parents, carers, school staff and local services to enable productive working relationships between schools, parents, carers and the NDIS
· support collaborative practices between NDIS funded services and the school including by providing appropriate information, documentation and/or logistical support for approved NDIS-funded therapist on-site visits. (School to edit/amend if they do not allow NDIS therapists to delivery therapy on school site)
· working collaboratively across their school, the NDIS Navigator will support families and carers to resolve issues experienced with the NDIS through appropriate channels.
The NDIS Navigator will not:
· contact the National Disability Insurance Agency or NDIS funded agencies on behalf of families or carers except in limited circumstances, following consultation with the principal
· act as an advocate for families, carers and students in matters that are the responsibility of the school.
The NDIS Navigator role is not a teaching role or a clinical role and is not designed for direct intervention, individual student case management or crisis management. The role will not implement or perform supports and adjustments in schools.
In some circumstances the NDIS Navigator may need to consult with the principal to prioritise families that have more complex needs that require additional support.
Selection Criteria
SC 1: Demonstrated highly developed interpersonal skills and communication skills.
SC 2: Demonstrated capability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships between people with disability and their parents and carers, other organisations or agencies and the wider community.
SC 3: Demonstrated understanding of issues facing students with disability and their parents/carers.
SC 4: Experience in building the capacity of others to navigate complex systems.
SC 5: Demonstrated knowledge of the operations of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and/or operations of specialist schools.
