School Counsellor

Job title: School Counsellor (Ark Blake Academy)

Location: East Croydon – Ten-minute walk from East Croydon station

Contract: Permanent; 23 hours per week/3 days per week equivalent over 39 weeks per year (term time) – Working pattern to be agreed    

Salary: Ark Outer London Grade 8 Scale points 25-29 - £18,670 to £20,750 (£35,398 - £39,342 FTE) depending on experience

Start date: September 2024

Closing date: 9.00am on Friday 6th September 2024. Interviews will be held w/c 9th September 2024

Things are changing at Ark Blake.

Do you want to be part of a new and developing team where you will help make a lasting impact on our students and unlock their life chances?

We currently have an opportunity for an exceptional School Counsellor.

About our school:

Ark Blake Academy is a growing and successful academy based in East Croydon that opened in September 2020.  We are consistently oversubscribed in every year group and currently have students in Years 7–10.  We will continue to grow and look forward to our first cohort of students completing their GCSE studies in the summer of 2025.  We have recently welcomed a new Principal and a number senior and middle leaders to the Academy and are now wishing to recruit for further key roles to drive forward our ambitious plans.

At Ark Blake Academy, our mission for the school is to embed a powerful knowledge-rich curriculum and provide fantastic opportunities for character development, all underpinned by an environment where exemplary behaviour is the norm.  In terms of our school culture, it is based around the simple but powerful belief of ‘working hard, being kind and taking responsibility’.  We aim to become a leading school in London as quickly as possible by living out this day to day belief.

What we offer our staff?

·        Collaborative planning, centralised or shared resources

• Clear and consistent behaviour systems
• Knowledge rich curriculum & traditional T&L approach
• Highly visible supportive leaders who have your back
• Centralised daily detentions
• Realistic and manageable feedback policy
• Excellent CPD opportunities – internal & within network
• Thoughtful and impactful meeting schedule with time for co-planning
• Friday afternoon co-planning following earlier student dismissal
• Free breakfast daily

Why Work at Ark Blake Academy?

Further information about working at Ark Blake can be found here.

The role

We are seeking to appoint a suitably qualified School Counsellor to work alongside the Safeguarding and Pastoral Team at Ark Blake Academy. This key role will involve counselling students (short term and long term) from Years 7–11 and may also involve providing similar services for staff members.  

The role will primarily provide one to one counselling to students, although the post holder will also be expected to be proactive in supporting the school’s Mental Health Lead through, for example, co-ordinating in school support from specialist mental health services; delivering group sessions or workshops and supporting with other related whole school initiatives.  The Counselling role will include making including initial assessments and communicating with parents/carers; maintaining appropriate records and liaising regularly with the Designated Safeguarding Lead, SLT, Heads of Year and with other professionals as necessary.

The ideal candidate will have gained a post-graduate Diploma or Masters level in Counselling or Psychotherapy, preferably this would specialise in working with children and adolescents. Accreditation with the BACP, UKCP, BPC or an equivalent recognised awarding body is essential.

The successful candidate will have excellent communication, organisational and time-management skills and be competent in using ICT. You will be a true team player and be able to work with the flexibility this post requires.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to grow with the Academy. We will provide one-to-one support, coaching and access to extensive network training to support career development and leadership opportunities. 

In addition to professional support all employees are eligible for Ark Rewards, a scheme that offers discounts at many retailers and other benefits such as Cycle to Work and the Employee Assistance Programme.

You will demonstrate:

·        A genuine passion and a belief in the potential of every student

·        An unwavering determination and commitment to Ark’s mission of providing excellence for students from all starting points and backgrounds

·        The ability to manage behaviour effectively to create a positive, calm and purposeful climate for learning

·        Excellent team working skills

·        Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken

·        Empathy, patience, reliability and consistency

·        Flexibility, proactivity and a willingness to change approaches when necessary

·        A high level of self-awareness and self-management in stressful situations

·        Resilience, motivation and commitment to achieving excellence

·        Ability to be reflective and proactive in seeking feedback to constantly improve practice

·        Commitment to regular and on-going professional development and training

·        A commitment to Ark’s ethos of high expectations for every student in both academic achievement and personal development

·        Have the drive, skills and resilient character required to help grow a new Academy

·        Be reflective about the Academy and committed to securing its continued development

·        Value and support practices driving continued progress across the network of Ark schools

For further information please refer to the full job description and person specification.