NDIS Navigator

BULLEEN HEIGHTS SCHOOL PROFILE

Effective teaching at Bulleen Heights is the provision of a safe learning environment within which consistency is valued and motivated staff engage, instruct and assess students along a continuum of learning to achieve individual goals.

The Bulleen Heights School community is diverse. It includes all those individuals and groups who work in direct and indirect ways, both at our school and in the wider community, to achieve goals and targets outlined in the schools Strategic Plan 2023 - 2026 and our vision and mission statements. The school promotes and upholds the values of: integrity, high professional standards, care and support, and consistency.

Bulleen Heights School is a Department of Education (DET) specialist school for students with autism spectrum disorder. Our school currently provides exemplary educational programs for approximately 260 students ranging in age from five to eighteen years. Classes vary in size with staffing reflecting student needs. The school has two campuses: Primary School and Secondary School. Students are in classes based upon a combination of age, developmental level and maturity. Inclusion learning  programs are a feature of students¿ programs and involve local primary and secondary schools. DET contracted buses and taxis transport most of our students to and from the school.

Bulleen Heights School is situated across two closely located campuses at Bulleen and Lower Templestowe in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and approximately 14kms from the city center. Both campuses are in residential areas close to public transport and local community facilities such as the Macedon Square and Bulleen Plaza shopping centers and the Bulleen Library.

The school provides excellent teaching programs and learning experiences designed to develop and extend the particular skills and strengths of each student. This is achieved by encouraging decision-making and risk-taking within a structured, predictable and secure environment. Bulleen Heights is committed to providing core teaching and learning programs and supporting students and their families. It looks at both immediate and long-term goals in the belief that all students can learn, achieve success and enjoy adult life as contributing members of a community.

Curriculum development and implementation across the school is based on the Victorian Curriculum, providing a framework for planning the whole school curriculum by setting out standards for students to achieve in core areas. This curriculum assists the development of individual learning plans, and assessment and reporting on student achievement and progress. Program delivery, using Applied Behavior Analysis teaching techniques, continues to be an option predominantly for students in our Primary School. Applied Behavior Analysis teaching methodologies are implemented by a team of therapists in this specialist area, in partnership with classroom teachers.  As an accredited senior secondary school students in Year 11 and 12 maybe enrolled in the VPC program offered by the school. 

Specialist programs in Health and Physical Education, STEAM and Visual Arts provide an integrated approach to personalized learning. Our Multidisciplinary Team supports classroom staff in the achievement of exemplary learning outcomes of our students. A psychologist, social worker, occupational therapists, speech therapists, support our extensive educational programs. This team of professionals compliments our educational programs.  The school is closely linked with tertiary and post-graduate students working with the school community to conduct research and complete practicum placements.

Partnerships between parents, siblings, past students, local schools, consultants, universities, government and non-government agencies and the local community provide vital contributions to programs. The varied characteristics of our student population demand the implementation of a range of evidence based teaching methodologies. Individual Learning Plans are developed through Student Support Group meetings involving parents/carers, teachers and other appropriate professionals and/or agencies. Teaching and learning takes place within many contexts including the community and is structured to be functional and meaningful. Social, academic, independent living, recreational, behavioral and vocational goals are developed for each student.

More information is available from our website: http://www.bulleenheights.vic.edu.au

• Demonstrated highly developed interpersonal skills and communication skills. 
• Demonstrated capability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships between people with disability and their parents and carers, other organisations or agencies and the wider community.
• Demonstrated understanding of issues facing students with autism and their parents/carers.
• Experience in building the capacity of others to navigate complex systems.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the operations of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and/or operations of specialist schools.

Children and young people with disability can require a greater degree of parental or family involvement in their education and care than their peers without disability. Parents and carers of children with disability play several supporting roles, including as advocates and as people who can provide valuable insight into their child¿s specific needs for services such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the broader health and community services system.

The Victorian Government is introducing new NDIS Navigators from 2023 in government specialist schools to provide support to parents and carers to help them navigate and understand the NDIS, enabling them to get the most out of the supports available. They will also provide support to schools, parents and carers to better understand the interface between the education system and the NDIS. 

The NDIS Navigator will carry out the following with a high level of autonomy (within broad guidelines), professional leadership and minimal day-to-day direction: 

• provide support and advice for parents and carers to build their capacity to understand, advocate for and access appropriate NDIS funded support services available to their children
• develop and maintain relationships with parents, carers, school staff and local services to enable productive working relationships between schools, parents, carers and the NDIS
• support collaborative practices between NDIS funded services and the school including by providing appropriate information, documentation and/or logistical support for approved NDIS-funded therapist on-site visits. (School to edit/amend if they do not allow NDIS therapists to delivery therapy on school site)
• working collaboratively across their school, the NDIS Navigator will support families and carers to resolve issues experienced with the NDIS through appropriate channels. 

The NDIS Navigator will not:

• contact the National Disability Insurance Agency or NDIS funded agencies on behalf of families or carers except in limited circumstances, following consultation with the principal 
• act as an advocate for families, carers and students in matters that are the responsibility of the school. 

The NDIS Navigator role is not a teaching role or a clinical role and is not designed for direct intervention, individual student case management or crisis management. The role will not implement or perform supports and adjustments in schools.

In some circumstances the NDIS Navigator may need to consult with the principal to prioritise families that have more complex needs that require additional support. 

Relevant experience in the NDIS, disability, youth or education sectors is desirable but not essential.

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 Workplace adjustment guidelines).

Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via *******@education.vic.gov.au

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:

 https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/child-safe-standards/policy

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:

 https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/values-department-vps-school-employees/overview

• All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.
• Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.
• A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.
• Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/Pages/default.aspx