Student Counsellor

Mount Rowan Secondary College is located in Wendouree, north-west suburb of Ballarat.

We provide a high quality education for year 7 to 12 students. We are the local secondary school for students living in Wendouree, Ballarat North, Invermay, Clunes, Creswick, Mt Blowhard, Miners Rest and surrounding areas.

Our whole school community follows our school values of Pride, Respect, and Excellence through Effort. We offer a broad curriculum in year 7 to 10 and VM and VCE to years 11 and 12 students. Students from year 10 to 12 can also choose a VET subject.

The school is structured around four vertical houses. All students and staff are associated with a House. Students are placed in a Home Group within their house and each Home Group is made up of students from year 7 to 12. We pride ourselves on welcoming and accepting all students and work diligently to meet their individual needs on an academic, social and emotional level.

All Mount Rowan staff celebrate learning with our students, not only academically, but guiding our students to be respectful citizens of the 21st Century.

SC 1 Demonstrated capacity of high level communication skills in liaising with and coordinating relevant systems of care, including the courts, child protection, health and mental health services, and education systems.

SC 2 Demonstrated relevant experience in working with young people and families with complex mental health, trauma and low socio-economic status.

SC 3 Demonstrated ability and skills in triaging, crisis counselling, mandatory reporting, documenting and assessing risk of suicide, self-harm, substance use and family violence.

SC 4 Experience in managing complex caseloads and competing demands.

SC 5 Demonstrated ability to work within a school environment where intuition, initiative, positive communication, organisation skills and flexibility are required.

Range 3 is distinguished by the introduction of management responsibility and accountability for the delivery of professional support services. The role will usually impact beyond the work area or professional field. It seeks to gain cooperation of other staff members or members of the school community to achieve specific objectives, such as in school administration, operations or educational programs.

Direction on targets and goals is provided but the position will have some degree of latitude in determining how they are achieved. This latitude will generally be limited by standard procedures and school policy.  Deviation from standard procedures and school policy will require guidance and direction from senior management.

The provision of business management responsibilities becomes a feature at range 3.  Management of staff to achieve the expected outcomes is a key responsibility.  Staff management issues will be resolved with minimal reference to senior management, although guidance will be required in more complex cases.  Senior management will be provided with timely reports and advice, although this will generally be confined to matters relating to the immediate work area, service provision or educational program and is unlikely to impact substantially on whole of school operations.

This is the minimum range for positions that carry a mandatory qualification requirement of not less than four years.  Professional student support positions become a feature at range 3 (e.g. therapists, psychologists) where standard professional services are delivered.  Professional support and guidance will be close at hand and deviation from standard procedures and school policy will require guidance and direction from senior management.

An education support class position supports the educational services being provided to students, but must not include duties of teaching as defined in clause 2.6.1 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) or its successor.  Supervision of students cannot be required except where it is an integral part of the employee¿s position or involves supervision of students individually or in small groups, in controlled circumstances, where the responsibility for students remains clearly with a teacher.

• Support families to access local services, navigate systems, improve their parenting skills and meet with the school.  
• Liaise with external services as an advocate for students. 
• Triage and counsel students and complete risk assessments, safety plans and support plans for students in line with industry best practice.  
• Overseeing visiting counsellors & programs (Ie. provisional psychologists, external group facilitators and visiting specialists)  Manage school uniform ordering and distribution including monitoring and maintaining stock within the school. 
• Manage school uniform ordering and distribution including monitoring and maintaining stock with the school.
• Complete scholarship applications for at-risk students. 
• Collect parent and carer feedback to guide program development. 
• Maintain professional case notes and contribute updates and data to our student and material aid database. 
• Attend and participate in Wellbeing Core Team planning and review meetings and broader Wellbeing staff meetings. 
• In consultation with the Student Wellbeing Team, contribute to development, implementation and evaluation of student support processes, policies and structures across the school. 
• Engage in regular supervision practice. 
• Other duties as directed by the Principal, Assistant Principal. Wellbeing Manager.

Individuals with the aptitude, experience and/or qualifications to fulfill the specific requirements of the position.

Applicants seeking part-time employment are encouraged to apply for any teaching service position and, if they are the successful candidate, request a reduced time fraction. Such requests will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to the operational requirements of the school.

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).

Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via *******@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:

 https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/child-safe-standards/policy

The department's employees commit to upholding the department's Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. The department'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 department values is available at:

 https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/values-department-vps-school-employees/overview

• 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