School Counsellor - Dorrigo High School

NSW Government; Dorrigo; On-site; AUD 104,000 - 166,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

School holiday leave

Travel allowances

Fitness Passport health/wellbeing

Indemnity insurance

Job summary

NSW Department of Education is seeking a School Counsellor to deliver counselling services and psychological assessments for students at Dorrigo High School. You will contribute to student wellbeing, work with families and teachers, and support learning across primary and high school ages.

The role includes departmental induction, ongoing professional learning and supervision within a multidisciplinary team, with opportunities to engage across districts and communities in regional NSW.

Qualifications

• Experience in counselling using evidence-based interventions with a demonstrated understanding of the mental health needs of children and young people.
• Experience in the psychological assessment of children and young people, including case formulation and report writing.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with key stakeholders to improve learning and wellbeing outcomes for diverse learners.

Responsibilities

• Provide counselling and psychological assessment to students to support learning and wellbeing.
• Collaborate with teachers, families and external services to develop and implement support plans.
• Participate in supervision and professional development within a multidisciplinary team.

Skills

Counselling

Psychological assessment

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Registered psychologist

Eligible for registration with Psychology Board of Australia

Job description

Location

Regional NSW

Advertisement Number A900160437

Number of Positions

1

Total Remuneration Package: Package valued at up to $187,933. Base salary ranges from $104,156 to $165,812, plus leave loading and employer's contribution to superannuation. Base salary rates above the minimum are available depending on experience. *Note there is no automatic progression to $165,812 - SCAC. Access to SCAC is available once a school counsellor has progressed through all salary steps and upon successful application for Advanced Certification level against the NSW School Counselling Service PPF.

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 Dorrigo High 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.

Dorrigo High School is a comprehensive Years 7–12 school with an enrolment of 117 students, including 15% from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and 13% from non-English speaking backgrounds. Located on the scenic Dorrigo Plateau in a vibrant rural township, with Dorrigo National Park on our doorstep, we pride ourselves on a strong tradition of academic achievement and a broad curriculum. Our learning community is shaped by high expectations and guided by our values of respect, responsibility, and resilience. In our first year of embedding the Resilience In Our Teens and Respectful Relationships Education programs, we are strengthening our student wellbeing supports, fostering a positive, inclusive environment for all. The success of our school relies on teamwork and developing productive links with all members of our community. Our strategic directions include engaged learning, leading collective efficacy, and supporting the delivery of quality teaching and learning in every classroom, ensuring that every student is supported to achieve and thrive. For more information, please visit the school website Dorrigo High School

Specific Selection Criteria

• Experience in counselling using evidence-based interventions with a demonstrated understanding of the mental health needs of children and young people.


• Experience in the psychological assessment of children and young people, including case formulation and report writing.


• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with key stakeholders to improve the learning and wellbeing outcomes of children and young people including students from diverse backgrounds and needs.

Conditions

• Be a registered or provisionally registered psychologist, or eligible for registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.


• Ability and willingness to travel between work sites. Must have a valid unrestricted provisional or full driver’s licence with the ability to drive oneself.


• This position is under the Teachers award( Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024 ).To be eligible to apply, you must have an unconditional, full approval to teach or have eligibility to apply for an approval to teach. 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.

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

Applicants are to include details of their WWCC clearance number as part of this application - must be NSW WWCC.

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 people of all backgrounds, including but not limited to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, people of any age or gender, people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups and/or from the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees, people with disability, people with sensory differences, and neurodiverse people. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better help you shine, please reach out to the contact person for this recruitment, details listed above. For more information, visit the NSW Department of Education’s Diversity, equity and inclusion webpage .

We pay respect to the Traditional Custodians and First Peoples of NSW, and acknowledge theircontinued connection to their country and culture.