Counselling Position

**Overview**:
**Work Type**:Fixed-term - Part-time

**Salary**: Salary not specified

**Grade**:Education Support - Level 1, Range 3

**Occupation**:Health and allied health

**Location**:Melbourne - Northern suburbs

**Reference**:1484003

**Location Profile**:

- Eltham High School is a large secondary school on the urban rural fringe of north eastern Melbourne. The school's
primary focus has always been to enhance student outcomes through the provision of high quality teaching and
learning strategies.
Eltham High School is highly regarded as an educational institution. Its reputation as an outstanding academic
school is well recognised within the community and education circles. The co-curricular opportunities offered to our
students across a range of areas including the performing and visual arts programs and the elite sports program are
outstanding. Engagement with student leadership initiatives is sustained across all areas and levels of the school.
Eltham High School has established a tradition through its strong commitment to the areas of:
Inspiring through excellence Creativity
- Individuality
- Social Justice.

Eltham High School is a school with high expectations where you feel safe to be yourself and challenged to think
critically, to work independently and in teams, to show leadership and to achieve success along many pathways.
We believe that the 'Deeds that Count' are:

- Respect
- Integrity
- Respect for diversity
- Environmental and social responsibility.

**Selection Criteria**:

- Demonstrated experience in the delivery of positive, proactive, and preventative programs or groups to promote positive health and wellbeing.
- Demonstrated experience in the delivery of professional therapeutic interventions for students in response to an identified need.
- Demonstrated ability to contribute to a team of wellbeing professionals.
- Demonstrated understanding of common approaches, policies, and research relating to student mental health, wellbeing, and engagement.
- Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills.

**Role**:

- 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.
- 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.

**Responsibilities**:
**Responsibilities**
- The Counsellor will:

- respond to student needs.
- support preventative social and emotional learning programs.
- through case work and/or counselling or referral, support students who are experiencing difficulty academically, socially or in their personal life e.g., school refusers; students who are habitually late; students with behaviour issues; students unable to cope with the demands of the academic program, etc.
- work specifically with students who live independently of their families. These students are at high risk of exiting from school and require regular contact and support.
- work with the Student Services Team, including the Mental Health Practitioner, the Art Therapist, the Student Support Worker, SSSO staff, Visiting Teachers, Careers/Pathways Co-ordinator, Sub-School Teams.
- provide opportunities for regular dialogue amongst relevant groups, including sub-school team members, class teachers, support agencies, parents, students, and a dynamic mix of these.
- engage with external organisations including (but not limited to) - Austin and Maroondah CYMHS, Royal Children's Hospital, Headspace, Berry Street, Navigator, Mental Health Services Health