RFSAC Academic Lead

Position: RFSAC Academic Lead

Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs

Reliance Foundation Schools Academic Council (RFSAC), comprising a team of academic and administrative leads based out of Reliance Corporate Park (RCP), Navi Mumbai, supports 13 Reliance Foundation Schools located in Jamnagar, Surat, Vadodara, Dahej, Koparkhairane, Lodhivali, Nagothane and Nagpur, with respect to academic, administrative, governance and developmental areas. These schools are affiliated to CBSE, Gujarat State Board and Maharashtra State Board,

Following is the Job Description of the RFSAC Academic Lead for Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs:

The main role of the Academic Lead for Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs is to facilitate the schools in improving, standardising and benchmarking their policies, systems and processes concerning Guidance and Counselling and Special Education Needs (SEN); supporting the professional development of school counsellors and SEN teachers by sharing resources and conducting training programmes; and working towards continuously improving students’ academic performance, socio-emotional health and holistic development. The Coordinator for Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs is expected to do all that is possible in achieving these key objectives, working in close coordination with the RFSAC leadership team in Mumbai and the leadership team of the schools.

Specific Responsibilities:

Policies, Systems and Processes

1. Support the Schools in developing an effective student care support system – Guidance and Counselling, and Special Needs Education departments with qualified and experienced staff, required resources, systems and processes.
2. Focus on strengthening and continuously upgrading the policies, systems and processes for Guidance and Counselling and Special Education Needs after understanding those existing in the schools, the expectations and requirements of the affiliation boards and the regulatory requirements, as well as appreciating and incorporating the high standards of excellence that Reliance Foundation Schools envision.
3. Support the Schools in implementing policies, systems and processes for Guidance and Counselling and Special Education Needs, and periodically monitoring their effectiveness in a structured, data-driven manner; and suggest course corrections wherever required, with the primary accountability of the same with the school. Institutionalising a system-centric culture in the schools, with required checks and balances and the school leadership team driving it, is central to its effectivness.
4. Work with the schools in developing and implementing key resources and tools in the areas of Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs like – a school-wide grade-wise Guidance Curriculum, Activity Bank for the implementation of the Guidance Curriculum, formats and templates to document the various processes in Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs services and for efficient record-keeping, directory of recognised professionals and agencies for the necessary assessment of students with special education needs as well as for psychological assessment for students with socio-emotional and behavioural concerns, directory of agencies for sourcing psychometric tests, equipment for the remedial sessions for students and other specialised resources.
5. Ensure that the schools have a pre-planned academic calendar listing all important events and activities related to Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs and that the same is adhered to.
6. Support the Schools in continuously benchmarking their Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs standards and performance with the best schools and school systems in India and abroad.
7. Develop a strong system of MIS/Dashboards to collate information on important aspects of the Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs services, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the status across all RF Schools, to monitor the improvements, and to provide real-time insights, thus aiding in better and timely decision-making and planning.
8. Review and improve the existing system of appraisal for Counsellors and Special Educators by benchmarking the same with leading school systems in India and around the world, and put in place a system and structure for their effective implementation.

Resources

1. Develop a system to map all digital and print resources for School Counsellors and Special Educators available across all RF Schools; guide the schools, as well as orient and encourage School Counsellors and Special Educators to make optimal use of the available resources; and enhance such resources continually.
2. Source and share resources and best practices on Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs with the schools – through circulars, web-links, e-books, templates, articles, names of books, etc.
3. Review the existing system of collating, curating and systematically organising the resources on Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs for each class and making them available on our iSlim library software, and their effective use by special educators, counsellors, teachers and students.

Professional Development

1. Support the Schools in fostering a strong professional development culture – help develop a professional development calendar for Counsellors and Special Educators, suggest relevant programmes and institutions that conduct those programmes, conduct workshops in the schools as well as in Mumbai as a resource person, encourage Counsellors and Special Educators to pursue relevant online professional development programmes including workshops, webinars, certification courses; ensure knowledge-sharing by Counsellors and Special Educators who have attended training programmes (sharing training programme resources in the library and their respective departments), and so on.
2. Build on the culture of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) through an organised system and calendared programmes with the participation of school leaders, master trainers from within the schools as well as from other RF Schools, and putting place a structured digital platform for sharing and reviewing Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs resources.
3. Create a robust system and structure for archiving all relevant Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs resources including training materials and a scheme to effectively access them as and when required, including with the support of digital archiving systems.

Related Responsibilities

1. Work with the schools to guide and enable them to continuously explore and implement innovative programmes, activities to address the socio-emotional, behavioural and special education needs of the students in creative and engaging ways, and optimally utilise the digital medium for individual and group interventions.
2. Review the current system of providingGuidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs services through digital platforms like Microsoft Teams, Adobe Spark, Exam.net and such other educational Apps, and recommend improvements.
3. Work with the schools in analysing the performance in various examinations of students with special education needs and students availing counselling services; develop ways and means to enhancing students’ performance including through remedial and enrichment sessions for students who need additional support.
4. Explore ways and means to extend all possible support to students in their preparation for the board examinations, including helping students with Special Education Needs to get accommodations from the Examination Boards, providing personalised remedial and enrichment support to them, sharing with them good resources and apps, techniques for effectively writing the examinations, time management, stress management, etc.
5. Evaluate and strengthen the current system of collaboration between school leaders, special educators and counsellors of all RF Schools as well as schools within the same cluster/location.
6. Review periodically their current Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs practices, and suggest improvements; this could be conducted through in-person visits as well as virtually.
7. Ensure a culture and structure of regular communications with the school leaders, Counsellors and Special Educators through emails, phone calls, Microsoft Teams; and maintain a robust practice of proactive and regular follow-up on all matters related to Guidance and Counselling & Special Education Needs.
8. Such other roles and responsibilities as assigned by the RFSAC leadership team from time to time.

Education Qualifications: Postgraduate or Graduate  – B.Ed (Special Education) with RCI Certification.

Experience: Around 20+ years of relevant experience.

Position Type: Fixed Term Employment

Location: Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai

Salary: Negotiable

How to Apply:

Interested candidate can send their resume at aksartalent@gmail.com with the subject line “Reliance- RFSAC Academic Lead “.