Organisational Environment
The role of the Department of Education and Training is to support Victorians to build prosperous, socially engaged, happy and healthy lives. It does this by supporting lifelong learning and healthy development, strengthening families and helping to equip people with the skills and knowledge for a 21st century economy and society.
The Department's responsibilities cover three overlapping stages of life: Early childhood development (birth to eight) - covering health, learning and development services School education (five to eighteen) - covering primary, secondary and special school services for children and young people from Prep to Year 12 Higher education and skills (fifteen and over) - covering higher education, vocational education and training, apprenticeships and traineeships, and adult, community and further education.
The goal over the next decade is to place Victoria's education and development outcomes into the global top tier. Four areas of focus that will contribute to measurable improvements are:
Achievement:
Raise standards of learning and development achieved by Victorians using education, development and child health services
Engagement:
Increase the number of Victorians actively participating in education, development and child health services
Wellbeing:
Increase the contribution education, development and child health services make to good health and quality of life for all Victorians, particularly children and young people.
Productivity:
Increase the economic and social return on expenditure on the Departments services.
The Department currently comprises of the following structure:
Seven central business areas - Early Childhood and Education ; School Programs and Support, Higher Education and Skills, Policy, Strategy and Performance; Schools and Regional Services ; Finance, Policy and Information Services; Victorian School Building Authority and People and Executive Services
Four Departmental regions North-Eastern Region; North-Western Region; South-Eastern Region; and South Western Region Three independent statutory authorities: the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) and the Merit Protection Board (MPB)
Staff work in a diverse range of roles across the Department. The Department recognises that its people are its greatest asset, and having the right people and culture are integral to fulfilling our goals. The Department strives to be an organisation that respects the skills and contribution of its people, and values innovation and
collaboration. The Department also works in conjunction with the following statutory bodies: Adult, Community and Further Education Board; Children's Services Coordination Board; Disciplinary Appeals Boards; Victorian Children's Council; and Victorian Institute of Teaching.
Further information about DET is available at www.education.vic.gov.au.
Role Context
Schools and Regional Services comprises 17 Areas within four regions across the state, as well as four central
Divisions. The responsibilities of Regional Services include:
- Service delivery including performance, contract management, funding delivery and acquittal
- Program implementation including detailed implementation planning and delivery
- Local area engagement, advice, support and partnerships
- Workforce capability development, professional practice leadership and delivery
- Emergency management including critical incident response.
The Area-based regional operating model is designed to:
- Provide greater responsiveness, innovation and joined-up responses to local needs
- Enable a focus on place as an organising structure for schools and other services
- Enable regional staff to engage more effectively with our service providers, schools, students and
learners, families and local communities, and to understand what they need
- Facilitate better relationships and collaborative networks that more effectively support learners to move
more seamlessly through our education system and beyond
- Enable complex issues to be addressed through more targeted, integrated and coordinated responses.
- Specialist Expertise:
- Competency and experience in clinical nursing assessment and ability to work as a sole health professional within schools.
- Demonstrated expertise in adolescent public/school health, community health, health promotion or development paediatrics.
- Demonstrated experience in effective client record management, activity recording, assessment, and care planning.
- Cross Cultural Awareness:
Communicate well with, relate to, and see issues from the perspective of people from a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds.
- Communication:
Confidently conveys information in a clear and interesting way; considerate of others; able to express own views in a constructive and diplomatic way; develops reports and correspondence for clients and others using clear and readily understood language; writes in a clear, fluent, and concise manner; produce written communications that are appropriate and readily understood by the intended audience; organise information in a logical sequence.
- Analytical, conceptual and information seeking skills:
Deal with concepts and complexity comfortably, be intelligent and perceptive, use analytical and conceptual skills to reason through problems, have creative ideas and project how these can link to innovations; translate creative ideas into workplace improvements
- Service excellence:
Constantly looks for continuous improvement opportunities and ways to innovate and encourages others to do the same; makes specific changes in work methods to improve outcomes, quality and timeliness of service.
The Secondary School Nursing Program is managed and led by the Department of Education (the Department) and places nurses within the wellbeing teams of selected secondary schools to help reduce negative health outcomes and risk taking behaviours amongst young people. The Secondary School Nurse is a member of the School Nursing team; Health, Wellbeing and Specialist Services team; area and regional teams.
The Secondary School Nurse role supports the school in addressing contemporary health and social issues facing young people with a focus on health promotion and primary prevention including health education, classroom education sessions and small group education and limited primary health care including student assessment, referral and support. The Secondary School Nurse works collaboratively with students, teachers, wellbeing staff, school leadership and school communities to build capacity and improve - health outcomes.
The incumbent is required to practice in accordance with the Department policy and procedure as well as the various Professional Codes, Guidelines and Registration Standards set by Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Authority.
Secondary School Nurses undertake a variety of roles and responsibilities that may include (but are not limited to):
- Demonstrate competency and experience, and preferably postgraduate qualifications, in adolescent health and development, primary health care, community health, mental health, public health, education and/or health promotion.
- Function as a sole practitioner in a school setting, providing appropriate high quality preventative health care to assist young people in making healthy life style choices through individual health counselling, health education, assessment, support, and referral and health promotion activities.
- Governed by established departmental policy and procedures, develops, implements, and evaluates a planned evidence based approach to whole of school health promotion activities focussing on identified school priorities.
- Use initiative and judgement to select and apply established procedures and practices to unusual or complex nursing issues in the school environment.
- Work as part of the school community, particularly the school welfare team, to effectively promote a broad social view of health.
- Communicate with a range of people in the school environment, the family and other service providers, promoting knowledge of and facilitating collaborative links between young people, families, the school community, relevant primary health care services and relevant community based organizations.
- Maintain accurate and timely records of clinical activity for assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation purposes as required.
- Cooperate with managers in consultative processes that improve health and safety by using the relevant tools and systems, such as procedures, guidelines and policies.
- Observe safe working practices and protect own and others¿ health and safety
Essential:
- Current registration as a Division 1 Registered Nurse with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority.
- Current Victorian Working with Children Check.
- Current Victorian Drivers Licence.
Desirable:
- Relevant tertiary qualification and/or experience in the areas of child or adolescent health, health promotion, community health, mental health, sexual health, public health, primary health care, education, experience as an independent practitioner.
The department is committed to diversity and inclusion and developing a workforce that is representative of the community we service. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQA+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for roles within the Department. The Department recognises that the provision of safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work and diversity across all schools and Department workplaces. It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for staff with disability (see Workplace adjustment guidelines).
Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander candidates from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via [email protected]
Applicants seeking part-time employment are encouraged to apply for any teaching service position and, if they are the successful candidate, request a reduced time fraction. Such requests will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to the operational requirements of the school.
Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards. All schools have a Child Safety Code of Conduct consistent with the department's exemplar available at:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/child-safe-standards/policy
The department's employees commit to upholding the department's Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. The department's Values complement each school's own values and underpin the behaviours the community expects of Victorian public sector employees, including those who work in Victorian Government Schools. Information on the department values is available at:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/values-department-vps-school-employees/overview
- All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.
- Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.
- A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.
- Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/Pages/default.aspx
