School-Based Play Therapist Role Description (Tora)

Type of Employment: Casual and/or Fixed Term Contract 

Reports to: Clinical Manager 

Location: Davidson, Northern Beaches, NSW

Position Overview 

The role of the school-based Play Therapist is to: 

Provide teaching staff with knowledge and ongoing support to implement Teachers Optimal Relationship Approach (TORA) into their everyday interactions with students; and to  

Help children to make sense of difficult life experiences or complex psychological issues through group and/or individual play therapy. 

Responsibilities 

• Conduct training in TORA to teaching staff, followed by classroom observation, and ongoing support in the implementation of the approach 
• Develop strong relationships with all teaching staff that facilitate trust and confidence in play therapy and TORA in schools 
• Conduct Individual and/or Group Play Therapy with identified students to a high, professional standard that adheres to play therapy professional practice guidelines and ethical considerations.  
• Using strong clinical skills, create a welcoming and non-judgmental atmosphere for students to express their thoughts, emotions, and challenges through play 
• Collaborate with teachers, school wellbeing staff, parents (as required), and other relevant stakeholders to gather information about students’ emotional and behavioural needs, and advocate for children’s developmental and psycho-social needs.  
• Liaise with other health professionals and organisations as appropriate 
• Write and store confidential clinical records in accordance with professional standards and compliance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act), NSW, AustraliaWork in a collegial and collaborative manner with other Be Centre Play Therapists and with the Fundraising & Development Team to help promote Be Centre brand/services 
• Adhere to Be Centre’s policies and procedures 
• Adhere to the specified policies and procedures of the school  
• Act ethically, responsibly, and respectfully at all times 
• Engage with the Clinical Manager and Be Centre Warriewood team as required 

Knowledge, Skills & Qualifications required 

• Undergraduate degree in health sciences, teaching, nursing, counselling or a similar degree aligned with the provision of health and developmental services to children 
• Post Graduate Masters in Play Therapy (or equivalent) and Filial Therapy training and clinical experience  
• Flexibility and adaptability to work within a school environment, collaborating with different stakeholders and adapting to the school’s schedule 
• Empathic, with an open and friendly manner 
• The ability to establish trust with a diverse range of children 
• A broad knowledge of child development 
• A good understanding of the different ways children communicate their feelings both verbally and non-verbally 
• Resilience and insight for working with children in emotional distress 
• The ability to work with difficult behaviours or information, without making judgements [i.e., developed skills in upholding unconditional positive regard (UPR)] 
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to establish rapport with students, teaching staff, and parents 
• Competent in Information Technology (IT) software and hardware, including digital clinical record keeping and clinical scheduling systems that prioritise confidentiality 
• An understanding of the process of being a mandatory reporter and being able to do so when/if required 

Other Role Requirements 

• Maintain association membership and uphold annual professional development hours for membership(e.g. PACFA, APPTA, APTA, PTI, BAPT) 
• Undertake supervision with a high degree of reflective participation  
• Keep abreast of legislative requirements that relate to Play Therapy practice in NSW, Australia 
• Provide and keep current a Working With Children check 
• Dress appropriately in professional attire for play therapy practice 

Measuring Success 

• Clinical success for TORA and Group Play Therapy will be measured quantitatively and quantitatively via the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ), the Student Teacher  
• Relationship Scale (STRS), observation of TORA Teacher practice, and feedback from teaching staff and the school. 
• Clinical success for individual play therapy will be measured using SDQ (teacher/parent), project arts assessments, and feedback/service evaluation from child clients.  
• Success may also be measured via other school statistics including school attendance, behaviour  
• Incident reporting, and suspensions/expulsions. 

Session Expectations 

• One day per week delivering and embedding the TORA with teaching staff including training, classroom observation, and ongoing supervised skills development and reflection. 
• One day per week delivering group play therapy with a minimum of 3 group play therapy sessions delivered per week. 
• Individual play therapy as deemed suitable.