Child and Family Practitioner

BSL/Goodstart Early Learning Partnership

The Brotherhood of St Laurence and Goodstart Early Learning have formed a partnership to develop new Children and Family Centres across outer Melbourne; the first of these, the Jindi Family and Community Centre, opened in January 2015. The partnership aims to develop new, innovative models to assist children, parents and communities to grow and thrive as they establish their lives in the growth corridors.
Bringing together the Brotherhood’s experience in family support and economic participation and Goodstart’s vast experience in providing high quality early learning and social inclusion programs, the partnership delivers integrated, multi-disciplinary support to children and families at a crucial point in their development.

Role summary

The  Child and Family Practitioner will have an integral role in developing an integrated and holistic approach to working with and supporting the care and education of children within the Jindi Child and Family Centre.  In particular the position will work to engage and support the most vulnerable children and families that access Jindi, and focus on intervention strategies to engage and sustain participation of the children and their families.  The Child and Family Practitioner will have 2 key areas of focus; coordinating the Early Years Program (0-3 year olds) and working alongside early years educators within the early education setting (3-5 year olds).

The Early Years Program incorporates community and supported playgroups, home visiting and community and stakeholder engagement to enhance parent support networks and access to children and family services. The model encompasses quality early learning for children 0-3 years while building family capacity as their child’s first teacher. There is an equal focus on outcomes for both the parent and children including supporting the development of positive parent/ child and peer relationships.

The Child and Family Practitioner will also work alongside early years educators within the early years care and education setting. The Practitioner will work in collaboration with educators to identify developmental areas of concern for the children, support the care and education planning for the individual child’s needs, assist ECEC staff to make referrals to local services as required and support the early year’s educators to communicate and engage with parents around the needs of their child.  The position has strong external linkages to community supports and services that will best meet the needs of children and families.

The Child and Family Practitioner will draw on theory from a range of disciplines to inform their work.   Of particular relevance to this role, but not limited to, the Child and Family Practitioner will use contemporary theory on attachment, brain development, child development, strengths based, play based learning, child centred- family focused practice, trauma informed, cultural diversity and ecological systems principles.

Ideally the role is full time, however we will consider two part time roles for the right candidates! Please indicate your preference on your application.

To be successful in this role the following experience and qualifications are essential:

• Tertiary qualifications in social work, psychology, infant mental health or equivalent
• Strong understanding of child development in 0-5 years
• Knowledge of and experience in play based learning models
• Strong understanding and ability to apply attachment theory and trauma informed practice
• Understanding of relevant early childhood frameworks and standards
• Experience working with and developing individual care plans for young children and families, particularly vulnerable children and families
• Demonstrated ability to work independently
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within a team
• Demonstrated high level of interpersonal, communication, negotiation and coaching skills including the ability to consult with relevant staff, teams and professionals to achieve improved outcomes for children and families
• Ability to document, analyse and report on relevant key performance indicators
• Maintain a high level of ethical and professional behaviour, including preserving the confidentiality of children, families and organisations.
• High level of self-awareness; understanding own strengths and areas for development

This is an exciting opportunity, the successful candidate will be employed by Goodstart Early Learning.

Salary package will be commensurate with experience.