Position Information

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 a primary school or high school in NSW (see below Location Nomination form with current vacancies) 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.

Selection Criteria

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 policies

Conditions

Ability and willingness to travel between worksites.

Right of return provisions for permanent teachers in NSW public schools:

If you are currently appointed to a permanent teaching position and you accept a temporary appointment as a school counsellor you will retain a right of return to a position at the same teacher level, at the time of exiting the position.

You will not retain a right of return to your current permanent teaching position. At the end of the temporary appointment as a school counsellor, you will be given nominated transfer status to the nearest suitable classroom teacher/school counsellor vacancy to your previous substantive school location, in accordance with the relevant departmental recruitment practices.

Employees who currently hold a permanent position as a school counsellor will not be considered for temporary appointments of less than twelve months.

All Department of Education employees working in an SSP are required to be vaccinated as outlined at Vaccination requirements for school sites (nsw.gov.au). The successful candidate for this position will be required to confirm vaccination status prior to the department finalising their appointment and entry on duty. Find the department’s latest advice on COVID-19 (coronavirus) at https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19.

Special Notes

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

Please use the Current Vacancy Locations Nomination Form to nominate which location you are interested in applying for. Please ensure the Vacancy Location Nomination Form is submitted with your application.

About the NSW Department of Education

The Department of Education is the largest provider of public education in Australia with responsibility for delivering high-quality public education to two-thirds of the NSW student population. We welcome applications from all ages and genders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees and people with disability. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better enable you to shine, please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Team ([email protected]) or visit NSW Department of Education Diversity and Inclusion

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.

Please apply online at www.iworkfor.nsw.gov.au. Job reference:00009UW9

Applications close at 4:00pm, Wednesday 16 Augst 2023.

For more information, please contact Lisa Warner on telephone 0457 188 128  or via email to [email protected]