Psychologist

Role

:
1. To provide adolescent psychological services at Matthew Flinders Girls.
2. To facilitate access, participation and maximise educational outcomes for MFG students.
3. To utilise psychological expertise in education and learning to support and build the capacity of our MFG school community.
4. To assist with Disability Inclusion Scheme applications.

Responsibilities

1. Undertake educational and psychological assessment and diagnosis in all areas of child and adolescent development, including:

·Psycho-educational assessment involving intellectual and ability assessment tools, clinical measurement, clinical interview and observation.

·Diagnosis requiring analysis and synthesis of multiple measures, other information and understanding of diagnostic criteria.

·Knowledge, experience and understanding of developmental disabilities.

·Clear understanding of normal and abnormal child and adolescent development.

·Psychological assessment of mental health issues involving clinical measures, clinical interview skills, and observation and information from other sources.

·Knowledge and understanding of mental health disorders and their relationship to child and adolescent development.

2. Provide psychological counselling, therapy and programs for individuals and groups for a

range of mental health, emotional and family issues. This involves:

·Experience and competence with individual psychological therapy, including a range of evidence-based therapies.

·Familiarity and experience with evidence-based group programs for mental health issues and resilience building.

·Delivery of system level programs for students transition programs, peer support, study skills, remedial, etc.

·Facilitating small group preventative and proactive programs for students ( social skills and anger management)

3. Plan evidence-based interventions in collaboration with other staff, relevant professional and parents. This may involve:

·Communication and planning evidence-based interventions with school staff.

·A good knowledge and understanding of diversity of the student population and school community (, CALD, ATSI, disadvantage, disability, giftedness etc.) and principles and practices for inclusion.

·Ability to coordinate and participate in a multidisciplinary team.

·Developing interventions to facilitate the educational services provided to students.

·Communication and planning evidence-based interventions with parents.

·Writing reports and professional letters.

·Liaison with external professionals and agencies.

·Developing links with relevant community agencies.

·Referring parents and students to professionals or agencies as needed.

·Advocating for students with special needs and other issues.

·Supporting the Leader of Alternative Leaning with Disability Inclusion Scheme funding applications.

4. Participate as a member of School Staff and provide psychological input to the development, implementation and evaluation of school learning programs, goals and outcomes. This will involve:

·Attending administrative meetings (school staff and colleagues) as appropriate to role.

·Contributing to school level policy input, behaviour, student well-being, supportive school community strategies.

·Developing interventions to assist students at points of transition.

·Participating in relevant curriculum development as requested.

·Participating in the life of the school community as required, within the limits of ethical boundaries.

5. Provide professional learning and information to build capacity of schools and families to improve students¿ learning and developmental outcomes. This may involve:

·Providing advice to the Principals and MFG Leadership team regarding management of individuals, groups or events.

·Providing and facilitating professional learning and information for teaching staff.

·Providing professional learning and information to parents.

·Writing items for communication to parents/carers and staff on relevant issues.

·Clearly articulating the role of the School Psychologist, including ethical boundaries to the staff and broader school community.

6. Respond to and assist our schools¿ organisation in their response to critical incidents and emergencies. This can require:

·Knowledge of current evidence on management of traumatic incidents.

·Participation in the development and review of school policies and plans for critical incident response.

·Assisting with school wide management of, and response to, critical incidents and emergencies.

·Providing individual and group support to students, families and staff.

·Liaison with external service providers where necessary.

·Advising and supporting school staff and parents with managing their own responses.

7. Collect, collate and maintain student information and records to meet legislative and

Department of Education and Training requirements to inform research and policy development, such as:

·Keeping and maintenance of individual records, files and notes.

·Collection, collation and maintenance of practice related data, caseload demographics, outcome measures.

·Maintaining an awareness of school community issues and events which may impact on the school, and work with staff to manage such issues.

·Informing the Principals and MFG Leadership team regarding current referral issues and suggest strategies to manage these.

8. Maintain professional competence and continued professional learning.

·Familiarity with PsyBA mandated APS and DET Code of Ethics and Guidelines.

·Continuing professional development.

·Peer consultation.

Who May Apply

Individuals with the aptitude, experience and/or qualifications to fulfill the specific requirements of the position.

EEO AND OHS Commitment

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.

The Department of Education is committed to the principles of equal opportunity, and diversity and inclusion for all. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQ+, 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 family friendly, supportive, safe and harassment free workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work, diversity and safety across all schools and Department workplaces. It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for persons with a disability (see ).

Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via

Child Safe Standards

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:

DE Values

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:

Conditions of Employment

5. All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.
6. Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.
7. A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.
8. Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at

Location Profile

MFG is a vibrant learning community that nurtures and serves the aspirations of girls. ¿We createlifelong learners who live the MFG traits as positive members of their communities.¿

In 2018 we consulted with the school community ¿ students, staff, and parents/carers - to develop a set of eleven traits, behaviours, and dispositions that we, as a school community, believe are important to foster in our students. These 11 traits are:

Kind, compassionate and trustworthy

Caring and respectful of others and themselves

Knowledgeable about learning and self-aware

Deep thinkers who are curious and creative

Problem solvers

Resilient, adaptable, and able to learn from mistakes

Hard-working, ambitious, and confident

Able to respect and celebrate difference and diversity

Optimistic about the future

Responsible and active local and global citizens

Flexible collaborators, leaders, and team members

Surrounded by a supportive `sisterhood,¿ our young people aim to achieve excellent learning outcomes and develop qualities of character that will enrich their own lives and impact positively on the lives of others.

Matthew Flinders Girls (MFG) has a long and proud history. The original foundation stone was laid in 1856 when there were few other schools in Geelong. We are one of eight girls-only state educational providers (since 1940) and the only girls-only provider outside of the metropolitan area.

A group of ex-students, currently aged in their 70s and 80s, meets twice a year. Some students in the school are third generation members of the school community. There is an ever-growing Facebook presence of past student groups, and a College Alumni Facebook Page has been established to reconnect alumni and allows them to share stories. Our alumni are important to our school and return to share their learnings and stories

Our school is centrally situated within the business, arts, and sporting precincts of Geelong. It has excellent access to public transport (buses and trains). A proportion of students are from the immediate locality, but a considerable number come from outside the City of Greater Geelong, from areas such as Colac, Barwon Heads, Indented Heads, Lara, Inverleigh, Bannockburn, Werribee, and Anakie. There are more than 50 feeder Primary schools from where the students have been drawn over the past 5 years.

Our student population incorporates a diverse range of cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, and family blends.

In serving the aspirations of students, our curriculum provision and quality of teaching are fundamental. Curriculum in Years 7-10 is based on the Victorian Curriculum and is framed by challenging and provocative `essential questions.¿ A balance of explicit teaching and Inquiry Based Learning to Teaching and Learning is at the heart of learning in Years 7 ¿ 9. Our Teaching and Learning Model underpins the work and learning of our teachers with a distinct emphasis on differentiation, high impact teaching strategies, the power of formative assessment and the development of intellectual character.

A wide range of options is made available to Later Years students, including the opportunity to accelerate into VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) studies. Our school offers a range of VCE units, access to some Vocational Education and Training Programs and Vocational Major.

MFG is an accredited member of The Academy of Select Entry Accelerated Learner Program (TAASS), the only one in the State which is in an all-girls¿ setting. This program gives students the opportunity to be selected at Year 7 according to academic and leadership potential to undertake an alternative curriculum for Years 7 to 9.

All students in Years 7 ¿ 12 participate in a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program. Students are encouraged to purchase the technology which best suits their needs for learning. The school outlines minimum specifications and recommended devices to support parents when making decisions.

Instrumental Music is a key component of our school¿s co-curricular Program. Students can learn voice, percussion, drums, singing, woodwind, brass, guitar, and keyboard at school. MFG is also the educational home of the Sweethearts, an exceptionally talented and well-known neo-soul all-girls music group that performs frequently in professional contexts, nationally and internationally.

A community garden has been established and exemplifies our school¿s permaculture focus of ¿earth care, people care and fair share.¿ A key component of the garden is the construction of an urban agricultural garden where students can grow healthy organic food and share this with people in our local community. It has also been the focus of a few environmental engineering. In addition, we have also started constructing tiny houses using recycled products.