School Counsellor - Bourke Public School

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School counsellors are an essential part of the department’s school counselling service.

They provide counselling and psychological assessment of students to complement and enhance the work of teachers to strengthen student learning and wellbeing outcomes, and they help families understand and manage their children’s learning and mental health needs. This is a truly collegiate role offering unique challenges and opportunities – both in your professional development and your ability to make an impact on the lives of children and young people. 

The successful candidate will be based at Bourke Public School and provided with opportunities to work across the lifespan with both primary and high school aged students. Working as a School Counsellor in a NSW Public School will enable you to engage with a diversity of students (and school communities) like no other child and adolescent psychologist role can. This is a chance to use your skills to make a real difference in the lives of children and young people at a time in their lives when it matters most.

School counsellors receive regular, individual professional supervision with the Senior Psychologist Education and participate in group and peer supervision as a member of the broader district school counselling team. You will most likely be collaborating with a number of school communities and colleagues, as well as outside agencies, with the opportunity to use and expand the full range of your skills and expertise as part of a supportive, multidisciplinary team. 

School counsellors are provided with regular opportunities to participate in continuing professional development and the NSW Department of Education will support you to complete or maintain your registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. Other benefits include school holiday leave, travel allowances, and health and wellbeing benefits such as our Fitness Passport program. The department will also cover your indemnity insurance as a psychologist.

Bourke Public School draws its enrolment from the Shire of Bourke, situated on the banks of the Darling River, including the immediate township and surrounding areas in the far north west of NSW. The school has a current enrolment of approximately 182 students (including 78% Aboriginal students and 3 Support classes). The school has a supportive Parents and Citizens Association and Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG). Our talented, motivated and caring staff inspire children to have a love of learning using innovative and challenging educational programs and pedagogies. Bourke Public School has a strong focus on Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL), Digital Technologies and targeted and individualised Learning and Support processes.

In 2012, the school became part of the Connected Communities Strategy. Connected Communities is a strategy to drive improved educational outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people. The strategy positions schools as community hubs that broaden the influence of the community and school leadership in the delivery of key services that support children and young people from birth through school into further training, study and employment. For more information, please visit the school website Bourke Public School

We are looking for School Counsellors with qualifications in Education and Psychology. To be successful in these roles you will have:

• Teaching qualifications and eligibility for an approval to teach in NSW Department of Education schools
• Be a registered or provisionally registered psychologist, or eligible for registration with the Psychology Board of Australia
• Have demonstrated understanding of the mental health needs of children and young people
• Experience in counselling children and young people using evidence-based interventions
• Experience in cognitive, emotional and behavioural assessment of children and young people
• Well-developed interpersonal, oral and written communication skills, including report writing
• Ability to work collaboratively and liaise with key stakeholders to enhance outcomes for children and young people
• Knowledge of and commitment to the Department's Aboriginal education policy

• An unconditional full approval to teach is a requirement. If you do not hold a full approval to teach with the NSW Department of Education, you are required to commence the application process at the same time as you apply for this teaching opportunity.
  
• Ability and willingness to travel between worksites

The successful applicant may be eligible to receive a one-off recruitment payment of $20,000 (Conditions Apply)

Rural and Remote Incentives Rural and Remote Incentive Package are available for eligible school counselling positions.

Successful applicants will be provided with a Departmental induction program, ongoing professional learning and professional supervision.

Find out more about working in the school counselling service.
Visit the Department’s School Counselling Service pages to discover more about working as a school psychologist or School Counsellor in NSW Public Schools.
Applicants are to include details of their WWCC clearance number as part of this application.

About the NSW Department of Education 

New merit selection application guidelines for classroom teachers, executives and principals have been introduced to provide greater clarity to applicants and selection panels. The guidelines are located here. To ensure that your application complies with the guideline page limits, your attachments must be in PDF format.