About the business

Arethusa College is an independent, co-educational school catering for students from Year 7 to Year 12. Arethusa College provides an alternative approach to education for students where previous schooling in a mainstream setting has not been successful due to social, emotional, physical, educational, familial or situational difficulties. The College believes that engagement in education has the potential to empower marginalised students.

Arethusa’s holistic programs aim to re-engage and support students who are experiencing a wide range of risks, challenges and difficulties, aiming to establish a pathway to their employment. By providing flexible learning environments, with targeted and diverse curriculum programs, Arethusa College strives to support and develop its students, both physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually and academically. All programs are underpinned by elements of quality pedagogy, targeted literacy and numeracy development, 21st Century skills, design thinking and the development of responsible, global citizenship.

Arethusa College offers students a ‘fresh start’ and an alternative approach to education, seeking to develop each student’s core knowledge and skills; as well as guiding them to develop and achieve both personal and career goals. The College provides supportive and educational programs to assist students’ social, emotional and physical health.

The Context

Arethusa College is an independent, co-educational school catering for students from Year 7 to Year 12. Arethusa College provides an alternative approach to education for students where previous schooling in a mainstream setting has not been successful due to social, emotional, physical, educational, familial or situational difficulties. The College believes that engagement in education has the potential to empower marginalised students.

Mission and Values

Mission

Arethusa College is one school with many campuses that exist to reconnect disengaged students, by creating alternative educational communities that facilitate, ‘Real Connections’, ‘Real Learning’ & ‘Real Futures’.

Values

Arethusa College is committed to creating a culture where we in practical ways ‘Believe in our students’, ‘Where we Expect of them’ and ‘Where we Celebrate with them’. 

The Role

We an opportunity for an Inclusive Education Support Officer (IESO) available at our Spring Hill Campus. The role is a unique opportunity to work within a Special Assistance School where individualised and personalised learning is prioritised for the students who have previously disengaged from mainstream education. These students present with diverse learning needs and require interventions and adjustments to enable them to flourish and succeed. Involvement and participation in the pastoral care framework of the College, as well as in the co-curricular program, is an integral part of the Inclusive Education Support Officer’s role.

This position works under the direction of the Principal towards whole of school’s inclusive education practices. It is designed to support students with special needs, learning difficulties and/or social-emotional stressors, to achieve and succeed in their education, building upon inclusive practices within the College. It is unreprinted by the College’s firm commitment to inclusion for all students.

The ideal candidate will have relevant experience within a school setting, be exceptionally caring and can develop an excellent rapport with staff, students, families and community members. They will be able to prioritise competing demands, seek assistance from team members when required and develop an effective working relationship with all staff. They will be familiar or willing to develop familiarity with funding applications, compliance documents and accountability requirements, as well as having the skills to present and use data to inform teaching.

The role reports to the Principal and requires close work with the Inclusive Education Teachers, campus and cross campus teams to ensure the best outcomes for all students. The Inclusive Education Support Officer will need strong administrative, organisational and record keeping skills as well as high levels of confidentiality.

The Inclusive Education Support Officer will be responsible for fulfilling the following duties and the delivery of the following key task:

General Duties

• Support the attendance processes at a campus level in line with the policy and procedures (e.g., late slips, accurately recording student attendance) by working collaboratively with the Teachers and the Campus Support Officer as required.
• Follow processes for campus-based policy and document management in line with the College requirements.
• Complete various administrative tasks as required. This may include effective use of relevant Microsoft Office programs to create documents and collate learning resources.
• Facilitate small groups of students as required including both inside and outside the classroom setting, or off-campus activities (this may include excursions or camps)
• Complete other duties that provide support for the campus under the direction of the Principal
• Contribute to the development of a classroom culture where all students are valued members of the group and opportunities for the development of meaningful relationships are encouraged.
• Promoting responsible learning, where all students are encouraged to participate. Support the teacher by reinforcing classroom rules and setting high expectations for student engagement in learning.

Curriculum Planning and Delivery

• Follow planning documents to deliver learning activities to small groups of students.
• Under the direction of the teacher, deliver lessons and facilitate activities which engage learners.
• Manage times efficiently to ensure that opportunities for student learning is maximised.
• Implement a variety of effective strategies to support the literacy and numeracy development of all the students.
• Provide feedback to develop and update student support plans (including IEPs, ESPs)

Assessment and Reporting

• Maintain anecdotal records on students for use in reviewing student’s development and special needs.
• Provide regular and ongoing informal feedback to students regarding their progress.

Inclusive Education

• Develop and maintain effective professional relationships with campus and cross campus teams.
• Undertake tasks in support of whole of school processes including Education Adjustment Program (EAP) and Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) under the guidance of the Inclusive Education Coordinator.
• Undertake training in intensive interventions in line with whole of school strategies (e.g. Literacy, Numeracy, Personal and Social Capabilities.
• Working together with the teaching team, deliver, track and report upon intensive interventions Behaviour Support and Intervention.
• Support consistent and clear behaviour expectations for all activities (inside and outside the classroom) using clear rules and routines.
• Effectively use verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to encourage and motivate students to engage in the learning environment.
• Support effective behaviour management practices aimed at maximising student engagement.
• Identify behaviour support needs for student and implement appropriate support strategies.
• Proactively implement Restorative Practices through regular use of circle time, and restorative chats and conferences as required.

Qualifications

•   Certificate III in Inclusive Education/Special Education essential.

Applicants will hold a current Working with Children (Blue Card).

Include a copy of a current paid Working with Children Blue Card, cover letter as well as a detailed resume with your application.