The Student Welfare Worker at Mango Hill State School will be responsible for working with children, young people and families by providing support to students, families and future families, and making referrals to external agencies and others. The Student Welfare Worker will coordinate and deliver a variety of programs to support children and young people by developing personal skills and attributes that promote wellbeing and support positive life choices; connecting children to education, school based welfare activities, supporting and outreach to families and community; and strengthening service delivery outcomes.  The Student Welfare Worker will provide outreach to families of students experiencing attendance concerns.

Mango Hill State School, which services the growing Mango Hill community, welcomes all students and families who live within the catchment. The school vision is to Deepen Connection and Clarity by Design. This position is Part Time Contract (25 hrs / week – term time) for Semester 1 2023, with possibility of extension.

The successful candidate will be paid between $31.75 to $42.25 (depending on qualifications). 

Experience, Qualifications and other requirements:

• Skills and qualifications that meet the Social and Community Service (Queensland) Award 2001 as follows:

A student welfare worker:

a) is a person who is recognised by the school community and the school’s chosen AEA as having the skills, experience and qualifications to deliver the approved work plan activities to the school community; and

b) holds, or is working towards, competency in the Certificate IV in Pastoral Care or Youth Work, or an equivalent or higher qualification; and the certificate or equivalent/higher qualification contains one unit of competency in two of the key topic areas of ‘making appropriate referrals’, ‘mental health’, ‘working with young people’ or ‘cultural awareness and support’. 

Examples of accepted equivalent qualifications 

A worker’s qualification may be considered equivalent to or higher than a Certificate IV in Pastoral Care, Youth Work, or Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care, if the qualification is relevant to the role of a chaplain or student welfare worker, includes units in the relevant areas of competency, and:  

1. is a Certificate IV or higher from the Community Services Training Package under the Australian Qualifications Framework; or
2. is a qualification listed as an accredited course by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council and contains an accredited sequence of psychology units (for example, a Bachelor of Arts may be acceptable if there is a psychology major); or
3. Is a qualification consistent with the requirements for membership with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW); or
4.  Is a qualification which enables registration as a teacher in Queensland; or 
5.  enables full membership with the Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA) and has been advised by ACWA in their membership approval that they hold qualifications congruent with the minimum qualification requirements.

A Student Welfare Worker must:

• Hold, or be eligible to apply for, a Blue Card or exemption notice from the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian.
• Hold, or be eligible to apply for an Application for Suitability Check by the Queensland Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.
• Undergo a National Police Check (NPC) for working with children conducted by the Australian Federal Police(AFP)
• Complete all Education Queensland mandatory training and school-based training.

Responsibilities:

• Work closely with members of the school team to plan for and deliver student resilience and wellbeing services.
• Provide children, young people and their families with support and/or appropriate referrals.
• Develop relationships with, and refer children, young people, and parents/carers to specialist services within the school as appropriate or externally under the direction of the School Principal or delegate.
• Organise one-on-one or group sessions with children, young people and parents and other members of the school community as requested and required by the school team.
• Appropriately document all contacts, actions and planning.
• Deliver activities such as lunchtime clubs, friendship groups and support programs as required by the school team.
• Develop and deliver social-emotional learning programs to whole class groups, small groups and individuals. 
• Facilitate activities connecting children and young people with other members of the community and coordinate mentoring opportunities as required by the school team.
• Perform other duties as directed that are within the limits of the employee’s skill, competence and training and the scope of the employee’s award classification.
• As an employee, work in a healthy and safe manner and encourage others to do the same; comply with all warning & safety signage; report or rectify any unsafe conditions; adhere to all school and Department of Education policies and procedures and complete all required school and Department of Education training.

Selection Criteria

Below are the essential (unless otherwise indicated) demonstrable experience a person requires in order to successfully fulfil the responsibilities of this position.

An applicant must provide specific information and/or examples of how you can meet each of these criteria in your application in order to be considered for this position.

SC1:    Demonstrated understanding of the barriers impacting on a child or young person’s resilience and wellbeing. 

SC2:    Demonstrated ability to provide support to children and/or young people. 

SC3:    Experience and skills in the delivery of a range of specialist activities to children and young people. 

SC4:    Advanced communication and computer skills to plan and deliver the program, ensure accurate collection of relevant data, maintain records of all activities, liaise with stakeholders, and develop mandatory reports. 

SC5:    Knowledge of, or the ability to acquire, local community support services and networks. 

SC6:    Proven ability to work independently and as an effective team member.   

Please submit maximum 2 page response to selection criteria, and resume.

Applications close 3:00 pm Monday 14 November 2022.