KSC1: Specialist Expertise:

• Competency and experience in clinical nursing assessment and ability to work as a sole health professional within schools.
• Proven competency and experience in paediatric clinical nursing assessment.
• Demonstrated experience in effective client record management, activity recording, assessment and care planning.

KSC2: Cross Cultural Awareness:
Communicate well with, relate to and see issues from the perspective of people from a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds.

KSC3: Communication:
Confidently conveys information in a clear and interesting way; considerate of others; able to express own views in a constructive and diplomatic way; develops reports and correspondence for clients and others using clear and readily understood language; writes in a clear, fluent and concise manner; produce written communications that are appropriate and readily understood by the intended audience; organise information in a logical sequence.

KSC4: Analytical, conceptual and information seeking skills:
Deal with concepts and complexity comfortably, be intelligent and perceptive, use analytical and conceptual skills to reason through problems, have creative ideas and project how these can link to innovations; translate creative ideas into workplace improvements

KSC5: Service excellence:
Constantly looks for continuous improvement opportunities and ways to innovate, and encourages others to do the same; makes specific changes in work methods to improve outcomes, quality and timeliness of service.

Working as part of the School Nursing Team, the primary responsibility of this role is to offer a universal health screening service to children in their first year of primary school in Government, Catholic, Independent schools and English Language Centres. This includes responding to parent’s concerns and observations collected through the School Entrant Health Questionnaire (SEHQ), conducting follow-up health and wellbeing assessments, providing advice to teachers and families and appropriate referral of issues to internal and external agencies. The Primary School Nurse also provides assessment and support for children in years one to six where a concern is identified.  The Nurse will also have a role in health promotion and building the capacity of schools to respond to health, wellbeing and learning concerns in children.  This may include the development, implementation and evaluation of appropriate health education in response to identified health priorities in schools.

The incumbent is required to practice in accordance with Department of Education and Training policy and procedure as well as the various Professional Codes, Guidelines and Registration Standards set by Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Authority

• Implement nursing interventions including referral as appropriate via the child’s parent or guardian to health professionals/agencies
• Provide a follow-up service, which ensures children with health-related problems receive appropriate assistance
• Carry out health promotion/education within program guidelines and act as a health resource to the school community
• Act as an advocate for children and promote child health as a member of an inter-disciplinary team, liaising effectively with parents teachers, health, welfare and education personnel
• Maintain accurate electronic records for assessment, referral, planning and implementation.
• Liaise with the Secondary School Nurse where appropriate, to support the transition of students from primary to secondary school, particularly for those students identified as having special needs, or at risk.

Observe safe working practices and protect own and others’ health and safety

Essential:

• Current registration as a Division 1 Registered Nurse with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority.
• Current Victorian Working with Children Check.
• Current Victorian Drivers Licence.

Desirable:

Post graduate qualification and/or demonstrated expertise in paediatric health, school health, community health, public health and/or primary health care.

The Department of Education and Training 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.

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 http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/protect/Pages/childsafestandards.aspx

The Department’s employees commit to upholding DET’s Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. DET’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 DET values is available at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/workm/Pages/Public-Sector-Values.aspx

• 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

For positions in special settings, a person is not eligible for employment unless they meet the vaccination requirements on commencement in the position.

Organisational Environment

The role of the Department of Education and Training is to support Victorians to build prosperous, socially engaged, happy and healthy lives. It does this by supporting lifelong learning and healthy development, strengthening families and helping to equip people with the skills and knowledge for a 21st century economy and society.

The Department's responsibilities cover three overlapping stages of life:

Early childhood development (birth to eight) - covering health, learning and development services

School education (five to eighteen) - covering primary, secondary and special school services for children and young people from Prep to Year 12

Higher education and skills (fifteen and over) - covering higher education, vocational education and training, apprenticeships and traineeships, and adult, community and further education.

The goal over the next decade is to place Victoria’s education and development outcomes into the global top tier. Four areas of focus that will contribute to measurable improvements are:

Achievement – raise standards of learning and development achieved by Victorians using education, development and child health services

Engagement – Increase the number of Victorians actively participating in education, development and child health services

Wellbeing – Increase the contribution education, development and child health services make to good health and quality of life for all Victorians, particularly children and young people

Productivity – Increase the economic and social return on expenditure on the Department’s services.

The Department currently comprises of the following structure:

Seven central business areas – Early Childhood and Education ; School Programs and Support, Higher Education and Skills  Policy, Strategy and Performance; Schools and Regional Services ; Finance, Policy and Information Services; Victorian School Building Authority  and People and Executive Services 

Four Departmental regions – North-Eastern Region;  North-Western Region; South-Eastern Region; and South-Western Region

Three independent statutory authorities: the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) and the Merit Protection Board (MPB)

Staff work in a diverse range of roles across the Department. The Department recognises that its people are its greatest asset, and having the right people and culture are integral to fulfilling our goals. The Department strives to be an organisation that respects the skills and contribution of its people, and values innovation and collaboration.

The Department also works in conjunction with the following statutory bodies: Adult, Community and Further Education Board; Children's Services Coordination Board; Disciplinary Appeals Boards; Victorian Children's Council; and Victorian Institute of Teaching.

Further information about DET is available at www.education.vic.gov.au.

Role Context

Schools and Regional Services comprises 17 Areas within four regions across the state, as well as four central Divisions. The responsibilities of Regional Services include:

• Service delivery including performance, contract management, funding delivery and acquittal
• Program implementation including detailed implementation planning and delivery
• Local area engagement, advice, support and partnerships
• Workforce capability development, professional practice leadership and delivery
• Emergency management including critical incident response.

The Area-based regional operating model is designed to:

• Provide greater responsiveness, innovation and joined-up responses to local needs
• Enable a focus on place as an organising structure for schools and other services
• Enable regional staff to engage more effectively with our service providers, schools, students and learners, families and local communities, and to understand what they need
• Facilitate better relationships and collaborative networks that more effectively support learners to move more seamlessly through our education system and beyond
• Enable complex issues to be addressed through more targeted, integrated and coordinated responses.