The Department of Education has launched an updated School Counsellor in Training program, which supports teachers in their fourth and fifth years of their psychology studies to complete their qualification and join the School Counselling Service.
The union has a longstanding position that school counsellors hold dual qualifications in teaching and psychology. Teachers know that a dual qualification is a vital requirement for school counsellors to support student needs and improve both individual learning and life outcomes.
The 2021 Gallop Inquiry report into the value of teachers’ work recommended that, as a matter of priority, the Department must provide school counsellors at a ratio of at least one counsellor for every 500 students.
Before the 2023 state election, NSW Labor promised $75 million to recruit an additional 250 full-time equivalent (FTE) school counsellors in their first term of government — a commitment Labor described as “the first step towards reaching a ratio of one counsellor for every 500 students”.
Online information sessions
The Department will host two webinars. Register on the links below.
Applications close Friday 22 August at 11.59pm (AEST).