Counsellor

St Joseph’s Primary Port Macquarie is a school of 387 students ranging from Kindergarten to Year 6. We are located close to town on the Hastings river, on the NSW Mid North Coast, halfway between Sydney and Ballina.

At St Joseph’s Primary School, we aim to promote a welcoming, warm, and caring environment to facilitate maximum student learning and parental participation in the educational process. We believe that parents are the primary educators of their children and we work hand in hand with them to ensure that the individual needs of each child are addressed. We have a Welfare Team comprised of all those who (including the School Counsellor) work closely to ensure that all student needs are considered in providing a range of services within the school.

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

Part-time/Full - Time (3-5 days per week)

The School Counsellor position will be offered for three years commencing 28 January 2020 through to 26 January 2023. 

The role of the School Counsellor is to support and assist school teams to better understand and manage student mental health issues, with a view to improving student outcomes.

As a School Counsellor, you will be an integral part of a school’s pastoral care support and will work with students, families, school staff and external agencies to maximise educational and wellbeing outcomes for students.

Selection Criteria to be addressed with your application:

• Current registration with Psychology Board of Australia; or membership of Australian Association of Social Workers Association or membership of PACFA (Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia)/ ACA (Australian Counselling Association).

• A strong understanding of the professional body’s ethical and legal requirements, especially in relation to working within a school setting.

• Excellent communication skills with the proven ability to work collaboratively with teaching teams, and to engage and relate to students, families and staff.

• Demonstrated understanding of child adolescent development and youth mental health interventions.

• Ability to work independently with limited supervision and manage caseloads.

• Willingness to take an active part in the full life of the school and to support, accept, and uphold the mission, teachings and ethos of the Catholic Church’s work in schools.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience in providing evidence based interventions with children and young people, individually and in groups.

• Proven experience and ability to respond appropriately in crisis situations and to students presenting with complex needs.

• Experience or willingness to provide professional learning to school staff and families.

Applicants are asked to submit all documents as one PDF to the Principal:

Principal Tess Koning

tess.koning@lism.catholic.edu.au

1. Covering letter that addresses the selection criteria.
2. Catholic Schools Office application form
3. Current Resume
4. Academic transcript/s

All applications must be received by 3.00pm Friday 6 December 2019.

The successful applicant will be required to complete the registration for employment process with the Lismore Diocese in accordance with the Diocesan Website.

Child protection legislation requires preferred applicants to be subject to employment screening.

Information on how to Register for Employment in the Lismore Diocese is available on the Catholic Schools Office website http://www.lism.catholic.edu.au/employment/employment-information/