The NSW Department of Education provides, funds and regulates education services for NSW students from early childhood to secondary school, delivering world-class education through its public schools and providing funding support to non-government schools. We employ, develop and support teachers, leaders and other staff to deliver the best outcomes for students and to advance the wellbeing of Aboriginal people.
About the Role
School Learning Support Officers provides support for students with identified diverse learning needs including disability in classrooms and other learning environments under the direction and supervision of a teacher to support the achievement of educational outcomes. This support includes student welfare, health and wellbeing activities as required. In addition School Learning Support Officers may provide specific support for students in the following streams or settings: pre-school, vision support, hearing support, and bilingual. Student Learning Support Officers working in these streams/settings have specific additional duties, in addition to the general duties for School Learning Support Officers that are required to be performed.
Essential Requirements
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Working with Children Check Clearance
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Completion of mandatory training required by the Department of Education and a willingness to undertake first aid training relevant to the School Learning Support Officer role.
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Administration of Medications – training to be provided based on student needs.
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Health support training to be provided based on student needs (subject to transition provisions).
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Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a team.
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Ability to work with students with emotional, physical or intellectual disabilities.
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Awareness of the needs of students with emotional, physical or intellectual disabilities.
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Effective communication skills.
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.
To meet the page limits outlined in the guidelines, all application attachments must be submitted in PDF format. Please note that late applications will not be accepted.
Additional Information
The Highlands School is a School for Specific Purpose (SSP), is situated on Gundungurra Country, and pays respect to the Gundungurra people, the traditional custodians of the land on which the school is located.
The school focuses on Positive Education and is located in a semi-rural setting in Renwick, near Mittagong in the Southern Highlands. The school has a current enrolment capacity of 42 students (21 identified Behaviour Disorder (BD), 21 Multi-Categorical (MC)), from schools in Wingecarribee Shire and Wollondilly in Years 5-10 who exhibit challenging behaviours, emotional disturbance and/or autism spectrum disorders and the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Our students are placed at the school through a Regional Placement Panel held once per term into one of our six classes.
The school is well-resourced with a science laboratory, working industrial kitchen and cafe, basketball court, school hall, playing field, music room, art room and a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) laboratory.
Our wellbeing programs, including Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL), are underpinned in whole-school trauma-informed practices and are the key-drivers to ensure students have a strong sense of belonging and inclusion and are ready to learn. Staff are trained in the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) and adjust practice to ensure the five domains: body, stamina, engagement and character, all anchored by relationships, are the pedagogical lens through which daily classroom teaching and learning is informed.
Student goals for attendance, behaviour and learning are set through a strong collaborative process that involves a positive relationship with parents/carers, culminating in an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and Personal Learning and Support Plan (PLaSP) that is reviewed regularly. Parents attend a review meeting multiple times a year to set/adjust goals, monitor progress and challenge students to continuously improve their emotional, social, cultural and academic performance.
How to Apply
To apply for this role, please submit an application by clicking “Apply Online” below. You will need to attach a covering letter (max. 3 pages) and your resume (max. 5 pages), in either Word or PDF format, that demonstrates how your skills, knowledge and experience can contribute to the success of this role in accordance with the Selection Criteria as outlined in the Statement of Duties. It is a requirement that you include the name and contact details of two referees.
If there are targeted questions, you must respond to these (maximum 300 words) and include in your covering letter.
Note: It is a requirement that all applicants submit their applications online on iworkfor.nsw.gov.au. No paper based, email based or late applications will be accepted.
Targeted Question 1
How do you tailor your support strategies to meet the individual communication and sensory needs of person with Autism while also managing their challenging behaviours, within a trauma-informed framework?
Targeted Question 2
Can you describe a specific example of how you have applied trauma-informed practices to de-escalate a behavioural episode in a person with both Autism and a behaviour disorder, and how you supported their emotional regulation afterwards?
