School Counsellor

The Oxford Academy, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX4 6JZ

20 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  September 2024

• Closing date

  16 August 2024 at 12pm (midday)

• Date listed

  19 July 2024

Job details

• Job role:
  • Pastoral, health and welfare
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £31,379.00 - £33,555.00 Annually (Actual) Grade 10 Point 27 to 30 ; £35,745 - 38,223 FTE; £31,379 – £33,555 pa pro-rata for 39 weeks incl holidays

School Counsellor job summary

Are you interested in a role which enables you to genuinely make a difference to the lives of young people?

The Oxford Academy is committed to improving children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and knows that some students need additional support to thrive at school and in life. School counselling is an easily accessible, non-stigmatising and effective form of early intervention for reducing psychological distress in children and young people. A trained school counsellor gives a young person a place that is focused 100% on their needs – a safe space to help them to understand and cope with what they’re going through. Speaking to a school counsellor can be a transformative experience for children and young people. It can help them cope with the difficult circumstances they face in their lives - and to go on and flourish in the future.

We are seeking a dynamic, enthusiastic and organised person to join our school as our School Counsellor. You will be someone who has high expectations of themselves and others, and someone thoroughly committed to making a difference to students' lives.

In return, the successful candidate can expect:

• To play a key role in an ambitious and improving school

• Outstanding professional support at every stage of your career

• A comprehensive Induction Programme

• A supportive Senior Leadership Team

• Opportunities to work in a dynamic and supportive team with excellent facilities

• A positive student body who love learning

• The opportunity to work in the beautiful city of Oxford, serving the communities of Littlemore, Blackbird Leys and Rose Hill

As our School Counsellor, you will be a vital member of support staff, providing a crucial service supporting, promoting and developing positive mental health and well being in students in order to improve attainment, attendance, behaviour, confidence and resilience. You will also support and develop the practice of staff in school and in the broader partnership to encourage positive mental health and well being in students. In this role, you will work within other counselling colleagues and within a broader wellbeing and inclusion team

For full details of the role, please refer to the job description and person specification. For further information about the Oxford Academy, please visit the school's website. Note that due to the nature of this role, the postholder must have a full, valid driving license.

We encourage interested candidates to visit the school before application. To arrange a visit please contact us on recruitment@theoxfordacademy.org.

Recruitment for this position is on going and successful candidates might be invited to interview as applications are received.

Education has the power to change lives, communities and society for the better. At RLT we believe that we can achieve more for our pupils, trainees, staff and communities by working together rather than alone. Schools in RLT are united by a common belief in the benefits of working together, and by our commitment to shared principles.

OUR VISION is for our schools and SCITT to improve rapidly, continuously and sustainably: to be better faster together.

OUR ‘WHY?’ is that children and young people ‘only get one go’ in school and therefore as part of RLT we aim to ensure the best possible ‘go’ for our pupils.

OUR ‘HOW?’ is through the highest support and challenge for our schools and each other, underpinned by our principles.

Our employees benefit from a wide variety of support including extensive continuing professional learning and development opportunities, wellbeing and staff networks and access to Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (TPS and LGPS) for all staff. For more information on what it is like to work for the Trust, and the benefits you could access, please see our “Working in RLT” guide.

This role includes regulated activity relevant to children.

The River Learning Trust and The Oxford Academy are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and preventing extremism. All staff must ensure that the highest priority is given to following the guidance and regulations to safeguard children and young people. The River Learning Trust are required to conduct online searches about you as part of their shortlisting process in accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance in order to identify any incidents or concerns which are publicly available online. By applying for this role, you acknowledge that such searches will be conducted as part of the shortlisting process. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check Employment will also be conditional on the receipt of at least two acceptable references (one from current/latest employer) and evidence of the formal qualifications required for the role. The River Learning Trust is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from a range of backgrounds to represent diversity in line with our schools’ community. It is an offence to apply for certain roles within schools if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children. You should contact the school if you are unsure if this role includes regulated activity relevant to children.

For all RLT Safer Recruitment Documentation candidates should click on the following link RLT Safer Recruitment Documents for Candidates

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. Which means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. For further guidance for applicants click on the this link List of offences that are not filtered

Our staff are expected to maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school, by not undermining fundamental British values including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

The Oxford Academy may hold interviews as and when applications are received, and this job may be withdrawn at any point without notice. With this in mind, you are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Applying for the job

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Using the application form

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

About The Oxford Academy

• School type: Academy, Church of England, ages 11 to 19
• Education phase: Secondary
• School size: 1159 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 19
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report (opens in new tab)
• School website: The Oxford Academy website (opens in new tab)
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/the-oxford-academy (opens in new tab)

The Oxford Academy is a warm, friendly and vibrant school that is built on an ethos of high expectations for all and a belief that every child will be successful - academically, personally and as a lifelong contributor to the wider world.

Our inclusive Christian values underpin all that we do. Staff at our school have a firm belief in the power of education to shape children’s lives for the better. The Oxford Academy is centred on a culture of excellence where we respect each other, are self-motivated, determined, responsible, have a thirst for learning, and a strong sense of pride in belonging to the Academy.

We are committed to providing educational opportunities of the highest quality for all our students and we believe in educating the whole child. We aim to deliver a broad education that is ambitious, varied and stimulating in a caring environment that creates well-rounded individuals who excel and benefit from our approaches to teaching and learning. At the Oxford Academy, we are inclusive and a school for all in our community. We work to meet the needs of our students - whatever it takes.

The Oxford Academy is driven by raising aspirations, expectations and achievements for all. We are very much outward facing and seek to engage with local, national and international partners, in order to build an ambitious network of support for the children in our care. Our fundamental aim is to create vibrant and dynamic learning experiences, so every child has the opportunity to become an ambitious, confident learner.

Our website will enable you to discover more about the Academy; I hope that you will quickly gain a sense of the rich potential of our students and staff, their achievements and the wider life of our school.

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