POSITION:  School Counsellor

HOURS: 35 hours per week, term time only

PAYSCALE: LGPS Scale 4 (point 7-10) actual salary £26,053-£27,191

CLOSING DATE: 30^th January 2026. Early applications encouraged.

PURPOSE OF JOB:

We are looking to appoint an enthusiastic and passionate new member of staff to join our Inclusion and Wellbeing team. Under the direction of the Senior Counsellor, the successful applicant will provide our students with Counselling support across all phases of the school - Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form.

The culturally diverse context of the school requires the successful applicant to have strong cultural and community awareness, particularly with experience of working with families from Black and South Asian backgrounds, including Bengali, Pakistani, Nigerian, and wider African communities in order to support effective liaison with parents while providing appropriate support to the children.  

 The successful applicant will be highly organised, able to maintain clear and confidential records of student support, and confident in managing ongoing casework. Experience in delivering group counselling sessions would be a strong advantage, alongside impactful one-to-one support.

 The successful applicant will be proactive and confident in multi-agency and school-based working, including attending meetings as required with Heads of Year and parents, to help reduce barriers between the child, family, and school and support the best possible outcomes for each student.

 MAIN ACTIVITIES:

·         To manage a caseload of students per week providing counselling support for both secondary and primary aged students.

·         Supporting other members of staff with any wellbeing concerns regarding students that they are concerned about.

·         Supporting our Learning Support Centre with any day-to-day Wellbeing needs of our students e.g. talking with students in distress etc.

·         Assist members of staff with their wellbeing needs as required, signposting additional resources/services.

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS:

·         Must be a qualified counsellor or in their last year of training on a level 4 diploma or degree qualification.

·         Must be a member of the BACP /NCPS (including student membership).

·         If a student member must have a Fit to Practice letter in place.

 COMMUNICATION AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:

·         Able to establish positive relationships with young people.

·         Able to work effectively as part of a team.

·         A passion for helping young people.

·         Ability to work under pressure.

·         Excellent communication skills.

The school will provide fortnightly supervision to support.

All staff are responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of students by always ensuring compliance with the school’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. All staff must report any actual or potential risks to the safety or welfare of students to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. This document summarises the main responsibilities of the post.

REVIEW ARRANGEMENTS

The details contained in this job description reflect the content of the job at the date it was prepared.  It should be remembered, however, that over time the nature of individual jobs will change, existing duties may no longer be required and other duties may be gained without changing the general nature of the duties or the level of the responsibility entailed.  Consequently, the school will expect to revise the job description from time to time and will consult with the post holder at the appropriate time.

The school is committed to the ongoing professional development of our staff so will provide relevant training courses for the successful candidate.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The above responsibilities are subject to the general duties and responsibilities contained in the written statement of conditions of employment (The contract).  The post holder is required to support and encourage the school’s ethos and its objectives, policies and procedures as agreed by the governing body:

·         To uphold the school’s policy in respect of child protection matters

·         Will be subject to the National Agreement on Pay and Conditions of Service, supplemented by local conditions as appropriate and all relevant statutory and institutional requirements

·         The post holder may be required to perform any other reasonable tasks after consultation

·         This Job Description allocates duties and responsibilities but does not direct the particular amount of time to be spent on carrying them out and no part of it may be so constructed

·         This Job Description is not necessarily a comprehensive definition of the post.  It may be subject to modification at any time after consultation with the post holder

·         All staff will be expected to participate in the school’s performance management scheme.