School Counsellor – Wee Waa High School ($20K Recruitment Bonus)
Location
Regional NSW
Number of Positions
1
Total Remuneration Package: Package valued at up to $182,461. Base salary ranges from $101,122 to $160,983, 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 $160,983 - 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 Wee Waa 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.
Wee Waa High School is a co-educational, comprehensive rural secondary school in North-West NSW, enrolling around 190 students from Wee Waa, Burren Junction and Pilliga. We respectfully acknowledge the Gamilaraay people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we learn. With about 43% of students identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, the school celebrates its cultural diversity through strong educational programs and dedicated support. The school offers a broad curriculum that prepares all students for both tertiary study and vocational pathways. Alongside successful programs in Agriculture, Primary Industries, Manufacturing and Engineering, and Hospitality, students access a strong academic stream, including Advanced and Extension Mathematics and English, as well as other academic subjects designed to challenge and extend learning. Located in a region shaped by agriculture, the school draws on local industry knowledge to enhance classroom experiences. A supportive welfare structure and varied extracurricular opportunities in sport, creative arts, agriculture and STEM promote engagement and personal growth. Partnerships with local and national businesses provide valuable real-world learning, helping students develop the skills and adaptability needed to thrive as lifelong learners in a changing world.
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 worksites. 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.
The successful applicant may be eligible to receive a one-off recruitment payment of $20,000 (conditions apply). Where the successful candidate is seeking ongoing part time employment this payment will be pro-rata.
Successful applicants will be provided with a Departmental induction program, ongoing professional learning and professional supervision.
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, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees, neurodiverse people and people with disability.
We pay respect to the Traditional Custodians and First Peoples of NSW, and acknowledge their continued connection to their country and culture.
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