Procedures for applying for
Positions in the Catholic Education Office Ballarat (CEOB)
Position: / Education Officer-Additional Learning Needs – WarrnamboolFull time position based in the Warrnambool Office
Primary Objective: / Provide Special Education services to students in Catholic primary schools and secondary colleges in the Southern Zone of the Ballarat Diocese.
Starting Date: / Start of Term 3 of the 2016 school year or by mutual agreement with the successful applicant/s
Closing Date for Applications / Friday 3rd June 2016
Applicants need to download an application form and reference proforma from www.ceoballarat.catholic.edu.au.
Queries can be answered by the HR Manager,
Mr. Peter Kerwan – Phone: 03 53377123 –
Email: .
Contents
Page1. / Introduction / 3
2. / General Principles for Selection and Appointment / 3
3. / Criteria for Selection / 3
4. / References / 4
5. / Contract Conditions and Periods / 4
6. / Employment Collection Notice / 5
7. / Schools of the Diocese / 5
8. / Vision and Strategic Intents of CEOB / 5
9. / Position Description for Education Officer-Additional Learning Needs / 7
10. / Knowledge, Skills and Experience / 9
1. Introduction
Thank you for your interest in applying for a role in the Catholic Education Office Ballarat (CEOB).
This procedures document is designed to assist you should you wish to be considered for any position.
You need to be aware of the following procedural matters:
· Applications close at 4.00pm on the due date.
· The selection and appointment of CEOB staff are conducted according to the policy of CEOB.
· Your application will be acknowledged as soon as it is received.
· You will be informed of the progress of your application after short-listing.
· The preferred format for applications is:
o Personal/cover letter
o Application form
o An evidence-based statement addressing the selection criteria
o Curriculum Vitae.
· Please do not bind your application. It should be left loose for ease of copying.
· If selected for an interview you will be contacted first by telephone and a letter or email will follow.
· Applications and reports from referees will be destroyed after all positions have been filled, other than for successful applicants, where applications will be held on file by the Catholic Education Office.
· Applications should reach the Catholic Education Office Ballarat by 4.00pm on Friday 3rd June, 2016
· Address for applications: ATTN Mr Peter Kerwan
HR Manager
2. General Principles for Selection and Appointment
The Director of Catholic Education is the responsible party in the matter of selection and appointment of CEOB staff.
All appointments shall be made by the Director of Catholic Education after positions have been advertised and applicants interviewed by a properly constituted selection panel. All proceedings of the selection panel shall be strictly confidential and no information gained from applicants shall be divulged to any person or organisation outside the selection committee.
3. Criteria for Selection
The Education Officer-Additional Learning Needs is a teacher with postgraduate qualifications in a relevant specialist area. The role is to build the capacity of school based coordinators in implementing the following tasks independently. The complexity of the school based coordinators’ role requires the need for strategic professional development to ensure competencies in the following areas:
o Identifying individual student’s learning needs.
o Identifying the adjustments required to enable the student to participate in the education program.
o Understanding and managing the student’s specific learning needs and behavioural challenges.
Applicants for the position of Education Officer-Additional Learning Needs should be able to provide evidence of:
1. A commitment to the ethos, values and mission of Catholic education.
2. An approved teacher qualification/s acceptable for registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.
3. A comprehensive understanding of the Victorian Government’s “Child Safe Standards” and their implication to this role with respect to the principles of;
· promoting the cultural safety of Aboriginal children
· promoting the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds
· promoting the safety of children with a disability
4. Post Graduate qualifications in the area of special education – intervention.
5. Demonstrated ability to participate effectively in a team environment and to develop collaborative working relationships.
6. Recent knowledge and experience of school community needs in the area of adjustments required for students with additional learning needs.
7. Recent experience in delivering professional development activities in the area of curriculum adjustments for a variety of learning profiles.
8. Knowledge and experience in the use of diagnostic assessment tools and screeners
9. Experience in managing a prioritised case load
10. Well-developed communication and interpersonal skills, particularly in consulting with professionals and school communities to provide services to school students
11. A comprehensive understanding of the impact of disability on accessing all areas of the school curriculum and funding processes.
Key understandings to explicitly relate to schools within this role are that -
· All students can learn and benefit from an inclusive education.
· Schools adapt to the needs of students, rather than students adapting to the needs of the school.
· Individual differences between students are a source of richness and diversity, and not assumed to be “problems that need to be fixed”.
· The diversity of needs and pace of development of students are addressed through a wide and flexible range of learning responses
It is essential that applicants hold:
1. A current driver’s license.
2. VIT registration
4. References
Applicants are asked to provide the names and contact details of three verbal referees. Referees should include your current employer or an appropriate representative of that employer (for example a current Team Leader).
The panel has an obligation to obtain as much credible information as possible about each of the candidates in order to make an informed decision. If further references are required, a member of the selection panel will contact you to discuss this.
In seeking information, confidentiality and sensitivity to the particular situation of the applicant (eg. current principal in small country centre) are carefully observed.
5. Contract Conditions and Periods
Catholic Education Office positions fall into one of three categories:
1. Permanent positions as outlined in the Victorian Catholic Education Multi Enterprise Agreement 2013.
2. Contract positions as outlined in the Victorian Catholic Education Multi Enterprise Agreement 2013.
3. Senior Contract Positions that are outside the terms of the Victorian Catholic Education Multi Employer Agreement 2013.
This position:
· is an ongoing full time position
· attracts six weeks annual leave plus one “closure” week between Christmas and New Year
· is currently remunerated in accord with the Victorian Catholic Education Multi Enterprise Agreement 2013. Dependent upon qualification and years of experience the current full-time salary range is $95,099 - $111,395 per annum
6. Employment Collection Notice
In applying for this position you will be providing the selection panel and the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Ballarat (CEO) with personal information. We can be contacted at 5 Lyons Street, Ballarat, telephone 03 5337 7135.
1. If you provide us with personal information, for example your name and address or information contained on your resume, we will collect the information in order to assess your application. If the personal information we request on the application form is not provided, we will not be able to consider your application.
2. Information concerning you may be collected from other parties. These will most commonly be those referees you have nominated, but the selection panel does reserve the right to contact other parties who may be able to assist in its deliberations.
3. You agree that we may store this information until the end of the current year.
4. You may seek access to your personal information that we hold about you if you are unsuccessful for the position. However, there will be occasions when access is denied. Such occasions would include where access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others.
5. We will not disclose information about you to a third party without your consent. We may disclose your personal information to the following types of organisations: other schools, State and Federal Government Departments, the Victorian Catholic Education Commission, the Diocese of Ballarat and parishes, schools within other diocese, our insurers and medical practitioners.
6. If you provide us with the personal information of others, we encourage you to inform them that you are disclosing that information to the Catholic Education Office and why, that they can access that information if they wish, that the Catholic Education Office does not usually disclose the information to third parties and that we may store their information until the end of the current year.
7. Schools of the Ballarat Diocese
There are 52 primary schools, one F-8 and 11 secondary schools within the Diocese of Ballarat. The work for this position will be supporting the primary and secondary schools in the Warrnambool Region of the Ballarat Diocese.
8. Vision & Strategic Intents
During 2012, the Catholic Education Office staff has undertaken a process of renewing the Vision statement for our team.
Our Vision
As partners in Catholic education and open to God’s presence, we pursue fullness of life for all
Strategic Intents – for 2013 to 2015
In all that we do, we aim to contribute positively to school (and office) improvement, with the intent that:
· Catholic Identity is promoted, enhanced and nurtured in our education community.
· Student learning and engagement are enhanced by skilled practitioners who use data effectively.
· Leaders at all levels are identified, encouraged and grow in capacity.
/ POSITION DESCRIPTIONCatholic Education Office
Ballarat
POSITION TITLE: / Education Officer-Additional Learning Needs – ongoing full time position
Remuneration Scale: / Remunerated is in accord with the Victorian Catholic Education Multi Enterprise Agreement 2013. Dependent upon qualification and years of experience the current full-time salary range is $95,099 - $111,395 per annum
Reports to: / Assistant Director – Educational Services
Full time equivalent: / Full Time
Location: / Warrnambool
Commencement: / Start of Term 3, 2016 or by mutual agreement with the successful applicant
Authorised by: / Director of Catholic Education, Ms Audrey Brown
Date: / May 2016
Primary Objective – Education Officer-Additional Learning Needs
The role of the Education Officer – Additional Learning Needs is to maximize the participation of all learners in the Catholic primary schools and secondary colleges in the Warrnambool and Southern Zone Region. Guiding principles of this role are embedded within an inclusive education pedagogy. Foundational to this role is the responsibility to all students and school communities to develop understanding and ensure practices that remove barriers and enable all students to learn. The primary areas of concern include students with autism, behavioral challenges, specific learning difficulties and disabilities.
Critical ways that this role achieves these fundamental principles is through professional development workshops, collegial support, collaborative consultation, discussions, whole school practice review and by ensuring that schools develop strategy to undertake-
· Making learning more meaningful and relevant for all, particularly those learners most vulnerable to exclusionary pressures.
· To critically review, evaluate, prioritise and restructure policies, curricula, cultures and practices in schools learning environments
· To ensure that diverse learning needs can be met, whatever the origin or nature of those needs in accordance with the DDA.
Organisational Environment
The Catholic Education Office (CEO) is a formal office of the Bishop of Ballarat.
The Catholic Education Office participates and cooperates in the work of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV), which has key responsibilities for the allocation and distribution of government funding, facilitating cooperation across the four Victorian Dioceses, and working in cooperation with government statutory authorities.
The Director of Catholic Education acts within a delegation from the Bishop in the organisational, administrative, support and service matters related to Catholic schools within the Diocese, including matters related to leadership and faith formation.
The Director of Catholic Education and all delegations via that position operate within the parameters of Canon Law and the Catholic Church structures and processes. The CEO is not the controlling or employing authority for Catholic schools, and the authority of the Canonical Administrators within their parish and/or school is acknowledged and respected.
Key Responsibilities
1. Provide support to schools in their mission of being Inclusive, catering for the needs of all children.
2. Integrate wellbeing/welfare practices within curriculum, focussing on the emotional, cognitive, behavioural and social aspects of learning.
3. Undertake educational assessments to inform the identification and programming for students with disabilities/learning difficulties and gifted and talented.
4. Support schools (teachers, parents and school support personnel) with the provision of professional development relating to the supporting students with additional learning needs within an Inclusive environment.
5. Liaise regularly with Special Education Co-ordinators, providing on-going professional learning for Co-ordinators.
6. Work collaboratively with the appropriate Educational Consultants (primary and secondary) to facilitate the provision of a comprehensive and integrated service to schools.
7. As appropriate, develop networks and work collaboratively with local agencies.
8. Oversee the Students with Disabilities (SWD) program in the Warrnambool and Southern Zone region of the Ballarat Diocese.
9. Be a contributing member of the Educational Staff Team and the Diocesan Education Team.
10. When requested, represent the Director on CECV/Interagency committees.
Accountability
The successful candidate is responsible to the Assistant Director – Educational Services.
Ongoing Role Specification
This position description may be adapted throughout the contract period to ensure efficient and relevant practice.
10. Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Knowledge
§ Accredited teaching qualification /
§ An understanding of Catholic ethos and governance in the Catholic school context /
§ A knowledge of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team /
§ A working knowledge and understanding of evidence based learning and teaching practices /
§ A knowledge of school structures and the role of leadership in improving student outcomes /
Skills/Capabilities
§ Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills /
§ Highly developed time management and problem solving skills /
§ Ability to work without close supervision and to act independently where appropriate /
§ Hold a current Driver’s Licence /
Experience
§ Exemplary experience working in support of an inclusive practices pedagogy. /
§ Experience delivering professional learning /
§ Prior experience working as part of a team /
Ratified by the Director of Catholic Education