• 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 re-engagement program for 9-12 year-olds who have disengaged from mainstream education. It aims to support children, their families and schools to develop skills that foster positive school engagement.

Project REAL is a Flexible Learning Option (FLO) for students who are ages 9-12 who demonstrate persistent Tier 3 behaviours at local schools. Many such students have also experienced trauma or early adversity. Commenced in 2017, Project REAL has undergone extensive evaluation, and is now regarded as a benchmark of effective practice in the Flexible Learning space. Project REAL accepts 6-7 students per annum, for 3 days per week at school, and provides 1:1 teaching and learning with Department of Education and Training registered teaching and learning staff, as well as family support services.

For the duration of students’ enrolment at Project REAL, our team provides intensive family or caregiver support, including referrals and collaboration with community agencies and allied health professionals, coaching support for referring schools, and professional development on key areas of our practice.

It is through a holistic and collaborative approach with students, families, mainstream schools, and community organisations that Project REAL can achieve the best available outcomes for children and successfully re-engage them back into their mainstream schools.

The rationale for the program is based on a solid body of research into the importance of repairing self-regulatory abilities in ensuring the educational engagement of young people who have experienced complex trauma and/or high levels of adversity and stress.

Banksia Gardens Community Services is the lead agent in delivering Project REAL. We do this in partnership with The Gateway School, Outer Urban Projects, DPV Health, the Department of Education and Training, Roxburgh College and fourteen local primary schools.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Project REAL (Re-engagement in Education and Learning) employs a multi-disciplinary team to work with these young people using a therapeutic framework, with the ultimate goal of re-engaging them into their school by achieving the following objectives:

• 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.

The NCESE Coach component of the role 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

• Project REAL
• Northern Centre for Excellence in School Engagement

ABOUT YOU!

• Highly committed, qualified and experienced teacher with tertiary qualifications 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.

A full position description is attached below.

To submit your application, click "Apply Now".

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: Project REAL Teacher / NCESE Coach enquiry via EthicalJobs, if you have any questions.