Kyneton High School is a single campus, Year 7-12 school that offers an inclusive, co-educational learning environment based on the values of Respect, Diversity, Excellence and Sustainability. Our school vision is to build a safe, caring, stimulating and sustainable learning community where students can thrive and become confident, responsible adults with the skills and knowledge to enable success in a rapidly changing world. We strive to create a learning environment that promotes student voice, agency and leadership, and inspires students to achieve their full potential.
At Kyneton High School we are a proud public school that is open to learners from all backgrounds; our commitment is that all students will be given access to an education that fosters excellence and challenges them to achieve their best learning growth. We welcome members of our school community with the assurance that they will be treated with respect and dignity, understanding that it is through partnership that we can best support our students to improve their learning and wellbeing outcomes.
Kyneton High School is located in the Macedon Ranges, 84kms north-west of Melbourne and 65kms south of Bendigo. Three quarters of the students travel to school by bus from the surrounding district and townships in the Macedon Ranges. Since 2017 there has been a significant program of capital works which has seen a substantial improvement in facilities. The latest addition of a new building in late 2023 provided facilities for Art, Science and Food Technology, as well as new general-purpose classrooms for the Middle Years. Concurrent works also delivered refurbished Music, Drama and Wellbeing spaces.
Our school provides access to a wide range of learning and career pathways. Not only do we offer the Victorian Curriculum for Years 7-10, and a comprehensive VCE (including Vocational Major) and VET program; we also provide flexibility in our approach to course design, catering for the individual needs of our students. We achieve excellent exit destination results with most students having positive pathways to either University, TAFE, apprenticeships or employment. The school¿s enrolment has grown steadily in recent years and is at 640 in 2026. Enrolments are expected to stabilise at around 670 students from 2027. The overall socio-economic profile, based on the Student Family Occupation and Education Index which takes parents¿ occupation and education into account, places the school in the low-medium range.
The school¿s staffing profile is made up of a Principal, Assistant Principal, five Lead Teachers, Three Learning Specialists and 58 other teaching staff. Teaching staff are supported by 29 educational support staff resulting in a total FTE staffing of 79.2
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Experience in implementing evidence-based interventions and strategies to support young people with mental health issues and those with a neurodiverse profile.
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Demonstrated skills and experience in supporting young people from diverse backgrounds including those who identify as First Nations, LGBTQIA+ community, and twice exceptional learners.
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Demonstrated ability to assess student need and to develop case plans and appropriate interventions for young people in an individual or group arrangement.
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Demonstrated experience in working collaboratively with families, staff and other professionals to improve the attendance of students and engagement in learning.
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Display capacity building techniques and best practice to support staff to understand and cater for the complex needs of young people including those from a trauma background and those with behavioural difficulties.
The Youth/Social Worker will provide high quality advice and support to students, staff and families. They will support and comply with DET and Kyneton High School¿s procedures and policies in order to best support the wellbeing and inclusion of students and to build the capacity of staff. They will provide individualised support to students to foster resilience, improve attendance and respond to identified behavioural, social, emotional and educational needs.
Range 3 is distinguished by the introduction of management responsibility and accountability for the delivery of professional support services. The role will usually impact beyond the work area or professional field. It seeks to gain cooperation of other staff members or members of the school community to achieve specific objectives, such as in school administration, operations or educational programs. The person in this role is able to work unsupervised with students which may involve trips into the local community.
Direction on targets and goals is provided but the position will have some degree of latitude in determining how they are achieved. This latitude will generally be limited by standard procedures and school policy. Deviation from standard procedures and school policy will require guidance and direction from senior management.
The provision of business management responsibilities becomes a feature at Range 3. Management of staff to achieve the expected outcomes is a key responsibility. Staff management issues will be resolved with minimal reference to senior Leadership, although guidance will be required in more complex cases. Senior Leadership will be provided with timely reports and advice, although this will generally be confined to matters relating to the immediate work area, service provision or educational program and is unlikely to impact substantially on whole of school operations.
This is the minimum range for positions that carry a mandatory qualification requirement of not less than four years. Professional student support positions become a feature at Range 3 (e.g. therapists, psychologists) where standard professional services are delivered. Professional support and guidance will be close at hand and deviation from standard procedures and school policy will require guidance and direction from senior Leadership.
An Education Support Class position supports the educational services being provided to students, but must not include duties of teaching as defined in clause 2.6.1 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) or its successor. Supervision of students cannot be required except where it is an integral part of the employee's position or involves supervision of students individually or in small groups, in controlled circumstances, where the responsibility for students remains clearly with a teacher.
Youth/Social Worker duties may include:
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Case management of students completed through a collaborative process that includes the young person, family and other staff
Design and implement programs to support disengaged students through evidence-based interventions
Facilitate group sessions that develop social/emotional skills
Organise and facilitate programs for minority/vulnerable students
Communicate with all key stakeholders including family and school staff to support the young person
Collaborate on the design and implementation of behaviour support strategies for students needing de-escalation and regulation plans
Support whole school initiatives such as Breakfast Club and lunch time co-curricular activities
Support school/cohort reinforcement systems to reinforce positive behaviour
Participate in decision making conversations around referral pathways for students
Communicate with external support services/community groups to improve outcomes for students
Assist in the development, implementation and review of student wellbeing/management policies
Actively participate in professional development activities and programs and share knowledge and expertise with other staff.
Provide support for critical incident management.
Liaise between the school and community agencies including facilitation of referrals to community agencies, psychologists and educational psychologists
Abide by Legislative policies on privacy and child safety.
Individuals with a relevant qualification such as a degree in Youth Work or Social Work and/or extensive experience in a relevant position that fulfils the specific requirements of the role.
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
This vacancy is to replace an employee on parental absence and is for a period of seven years or until the employee absent on leave returns to duty at the school.
