School Psychologist

BSS; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Lunch provided

Fitness center on-site

Professional learning

Job summary

The Bishop Strachan School in Toronto seeks a qualified School Psychologist to support students across day and Boarding. You will provide short-term counselling, conduct risk assessments, develop wellbeing plans and collaborate with Student Services and Boarding staff to promote resilience.

You have a Ph.D. or MA in Child/Adolescent and/or School Psychology, are licensed in Ontario, and bring experience in diverse school settings.

Qualifications

• Ph.D or MA in Child/Adolescent and/or School Psychology required.
• Licensed as a School and Clinical Psychologist in Ontario.
• Certified Psychologist or Psychological Associate (College of Psychologists of Ontario).
• Strong understanding of education policies and differentiated instruction.
• Ability to build professional relationships with children and adolescents.

Responsibilities

• Provide short-term individual and group counselling.
• Conduct risk assessments and referrals to outside agencies.
• Crisis intervention and trauma-informed practices.
• Embed equity into mental health practices across the school.
• Support Boarding staff and students with wellbeing programming and crisis response.
• Collaborate with Learning Services to create learning plans when needed.
• Provide professional learning on mental health topics to staff.

Skills

Google Suite

Microsoft Office

Education

Ph.D or MA in Child/Adolescent and/or School Psychology

Certified Psychologist or Psychological Associate (Ontario)

Licensed School/Clinical Psychologist

Tools

Google Suite

Microsoft Office

Job description

For more than 155 years, The Bishop Strachan School has empowered talented girls to grow into fearless women, equipped with intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and compassion to navigate the world. We inspire our students to discover their purpose, build confidence, and express themselves with a strong, independent voice. Our strategic plan was launched in January 2023, and we are continuing to make progress on our collective commitment to inspire girls to be fearless and educate them to be the leaders the world needs.

Collaborating with the Dean of Student Well-being and others in the department, the School Psychologist works across the whole school, day and Boarding, to help students of all educational levels understand and proactively deal with mental health, emotional regulation, learning challenges and conflict resolution. They will suggest strategies for a diversity of situations students may face, with an emphasis on developing a growth mindset which will encourage students to collaboratively solve problems, thereby increasing their resilience and well-being. The School Psychologist provides expertise and a continuum of psychological consulting services including short term individual student and group counselling, referrals to outside agencies, crisis intervention and follow up, and staff consultation.

What You’ll Do:

• Meets individually, on a one-off or short-term basis, with students and/or parents in order to identify areas of concern
• Provides appropriate identification and referral of students to outside agencies, including conducting risk assessments
• Crisis intervention and follow-up employing trauma-informed clinical strategies and practices
• Embeds equity into mental health practices
• Follows-up with high risk students, including continued communications with parents and staff
• Provides expertise in Students of Consideration meetings and accept referrals from Student Well-being Department
• Supports Boarding by:
  • Liaising with Boarding staff and students’ parents when there are situations of concern
  • Facilitating small group interventions for boarders
  • Working with Boarding staff to support their wellbeing programming
  • Being available to support individual or groups of students outside of the regular school day when there is a crisis
  • Serves as a resource to Student Services, the Principals, Vice Principals, Head of School, Human Resources, and Dean of Boarding
• When required, collaborates with the Learning Services team to create co-ordinated learning plans for students experiencing mental health issues, learning challenges or situational distress
• Provides a holistic overview of the academic and psychological needs of the student while balancing the interests of the school
• Co-constructs Wellness Plans for students returning after a critical episode or students with prolonged mental health concerns
• Provides professional learning on a range of mental health topics to staff, and workshops on learning and social-emotional well-being for students
• Maintains knowledge and expertise in most recent and promising practices to improve students’ positive wellbeing in schools

Who You Are:

• Certified Psychologist or Psychological Associate and is a member of the College of Psychologists of Ontario
• Ph.D or Masters of Arts in Child/Ad olescent and/or School Psychology
• Licensed to work as a School and Clinical Psychologist
• Proven experience as a school psychologist in diverse educational settings and an understanding of the unique needs and rhythms of schools, ideally including independent schools with Boarding
• Knowledge of clinical presentations of disorders of childhood and adolescence, including learning exceptionalities, individual therapeutic approaches, collaborative problem-solving techniques and whole school based programmes to increase mental well-being in children and adolescents.
• Strong understanding of education policies and regulations
• Strong understanding of learning profiles, IEP’s, differentiated instruction
• Ability to quickly establish professional and genuine relationships with children and adolescents, in order to solve problems
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to work with details, prioritize, multi-task and problem-solve in a fast-paced flexible learning environment
• Demonstrate understanding of and desire to work enthusiastically in pursuit of the school’s vision
• Proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office

Why Work at BSS?

At BSS, we value and recognize the following core competencies in our employees; trust and integrity, collaboration, flexibility and adaptability, initiative, community focused and strong communication skills . Our employees are lifelong learners and apply these core competencies in all aspects of the school environment.

Additionally, BSS offers a competitive total compensation package that includes:

• Extensive health and dental benefits package
• Lunch provided everyday!
• Use of on-site fitness center
• Professional Learning opportunities
• And a chance to be part of a great community!

Salary: $110,000 - $140,000 depending on experience

BSS Values Diversity:

BSS is committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse and respectful environment. We believe that diversity in our school fosters a rich, inclusive and creative environment. We are actively engaged in building a more diverse school and encourage all qualified applicants to apply.

We are committed to providing an accessible experience and an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, beginning with the recruitment process. If you have restrictions that need to be accommodated to fully participate in any phase of the recruitment process, please contact the HR Admin at 416-483-4325, ext. 1920 or by email at hradmin @bss.on.ca . All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Please note, this is an existing vacancy at the school. We thank all candidates for their applications; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.