• Are you a highly experienced Teacher with a background in student wellbeing?
• Do you have a passion for social justice and inclusive education?
• Are you interested in coaching others to be trauma informed educators?

Looking for a vibrant and dynamic educational setting, supporting the most vulnerable children and young people, where you can participate in creating positive systemic change? If you are, THEN THIS IS WHERE YOU NEED TO BE!

ABOUT US

Banksia Gardens Community Services is a vibrant community service and charitable organisation operating in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Our programs focus predominantly on education and training, young people, early childhood, environmental sustainability and community participation and advocacy.

An exciting position is available in our Project REAL, a re-engagement program integrated in the Northern Centre for Excellence in School Engagement (NCESE). Project REAL is dedicated to the re-engagement in education and learning of primary school-aged children showing clear signs of disengagement, often as a result of exposure to early adversity and stress.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Project REAL is a flexible learning option (FLO) serving local schools in the Hume municipality and has been led by Banksia Gardens Community Services (BGCS) since it commenced operating in February 2017.

The aim of the project was to develop and test a re-engagement program for local primary school students who manifest behavioural issues and significant disengagement. This is a result of experiences of adversity and stress that have disrupted their emotional and cognitive development.

The program is based on a solid body of research into the importance of repairing self-regulatory abilities to support educational engagement for young people who have experienced complex trauma and/or high levels of adversity and stress. Project REAL works closely with our NCESE partner schools, providing coaching and practical support to assist schools with students displaying Tier 3 behaviours. Similarly, supporting our students’ parents / caregivers in order to maximise the conditions for their successful re-engagement is a key component of the Project REAL model.

The NCESE was established in 2020, as a formal collaborative network of 15 primary schools, one secondary school, the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET), and BGCS, which acts as its backbone organisation. NCESE is a logical extension of Project REAL and it focuses heavily on building the capacity of its partners to better meet the needs of the most vulnerable students in our community.

The Learning Specialist - Student Engagement will be a key member of the teaching and learning team, leading specific subject areas, and supporting the team with the overall design and implementation of the Project REAL curriculum. However, this position will have a strong focus on capacity building, mainly through the provision of coaching and mentoring support to NCESE partner schools.

about the role

A key focus of this position will be the provision of mentoring and coaching for partner schools, and other activities that support capacity building, such as the delivery of professional development sessions. However, the Learning Specialist - Student Engagement needs to be extremely familiar with the Project REAL model, as this is the professional development engine of the NCESE. Therefore, it is envisaged that approximately 40% of the role will be focused on providing support for the Project REAL team as a senior member of the teaching team.

• Increase the child’s sense of self-esteem and agency;
• Establish corrective relational experiences;
• Apply the latest evidence to support the repair of neuro-psychological damage caused by traumatic experiences and other adverse events;
• Maintain and improve community connections with school and ‘circle of friends’;
• Help participants to develop constructive interests and hobbies;
• Build a body of knowledge that can help build our capacity to effectively work with severely disengaged youth.

The purpose of this position is to assist in the delivery of the teaching and learning programs of Project REAL and to provide support to the lead teacher. This can encompass leading specific topic areas, supporting the teaching team and contributing to overall design and implementation of Project REAL curriculum. As a valuable member of the team, you will work towards creating a ‘ready to learn’ context conducive to a successful re-engagement journey for our young children.

There is a core component of the role that requires you to lead and facilitate collaborative coaching sessions on a regular basis with the mainstream teachers of our Project REAL students. In addition to providing one-on-one coaching sessions to enable PR teachers and mainstream teachers to work together on joint strategies which incorporate trauma informed practice principles, and you may also conduct in-classroom observations and provide strategies to support the improvement of classroom management techniques. Part of this role is also to build relationships with staff at referring schools, to identify and work together on short, medium and long- term strategies that foster engagement.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT

To learn more please read through the Position Description that is attached below.

• Project REAL
• Northern Centre for Excellence in School Engagement

ABOUT YOU

• Highly committed, qualified and experienced teacher with 5+ years of experience
• Tertiary qualification in either Primary or Secondary teaching
• You are a trauma informed, passionate and innovative teacher with significant experience in student wellbeing and engagement programs.
• Interested in working with highly disengaged children and their families
• You are able work collaboratively and inspire a high performing team to continue delivering high-quality engagement and learning programs in a fast paced, dynamic educational setting.
• You are committed to reflective practice and rigorous evaluation and capable of building the capacity of other teachers and schools to better understand and meet the complex needs of our students.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• Part-time 0.8 FTE flexible teaching position.
• Join a passionate and dedicated team making a positive difference in our community.
• Encouraged work-life balance and a broad range of leave entitlements, including annual leave, personal leave, purchased leave, leading paid parental leave, study leave and paid family and domestic violence leave.
• Access to a range of mental health and wellbeing supportive initiatives, including confidential counselling services and education programs, through our Employee Assistance Program.
• Salary packaging and novated lease arrangements on offer with leading provider, AccessPay, reducing your tax.
• Access to a range of ongoing learning and development opportunities that will benefit and support you in your role.

Our organisation is proud to serve the City of Hume, one of the most culturally diverse places in the whole of Australia. BGCS is committed to human rights, gender equity and fundamental freedoms, in particular the rights of minorities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the LGBTQIA+ community.

We genuinely acknowledge and respect everyone’s individual values, beliefs, efforts, ideas, language and cultural and religious backgrounds and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

BGCS is a child-safe organisation and is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children and young people with zero tolerance for child abuse. All successful applicants will be required to undertake a National Police Record Check and provide VIT registration.

To submit your application, click "Apply Now" by the closing date.

Alternatively, feel free to contact Jaime de Loma-Osorio Ricon - Deputy CEO [email protected] or Seral Fehmi - Project REAL Lead Teacher [email protected] using the subject line: Learning Specialist - Student Engagement enquiry via EthicalJobs, if you have any questions.

A position description is attached.