A school based Community Education Counsellor provides culturally appropriate support for students and their families to engage with their chosen educational setting. The Community Education Counsellor additionally supports schools in building cultural capability among staff through providing Cross Cultural Awareness Training. Community Education Counsellors provide educational counselling and support services to ensure the best possible services are available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and communities.
The role of the Community Educational Counsellor at Marsden State School includes:
- Providing advice on cultural and social support on/to students.
- Acting as an advocate for students and their families.
- Providing educational counselling.
- Providing wellbeing support to students or linking in with the wellbeing team.
- Providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into school committees/programs.
- Facilitating the development of activities to enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students' involvement.
- Accessing and providing opportunities for students to experience and get involved in cultural activities
- Providing parents and the community with opportunities to engage in the school.
- Participating in community events to develop respectful relationships.
- Providing advice on cultural and social perspectives.
- Facilitating links with Elders and key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community persons.
- Facilitating family information sharing sessions.
Meet our Community Education Counsellor- Dennis Arthur
Dennis is a proud Wiradjuri man who has been supporting students to achieve academic success for the past 6 years. Dennis' role incorporates supporting our First Nations students in the classroom as well as their families, the wider First Nations community of Marsden State School. The role of the Community Education Counsellor is to ensure that First Nations students receive fair and equitable access to education and that First Nations culture underpins Marsden State School's ways of knowing, being and doing.