Student support officers
Student Support Officers (SSOs) work in schools to enhance the wellbeing and learning outcomes of students. SSOs have youth and/or social work experience and qualifications and work with school counselling staff and the school’s wellbeing team.
The NSW government is investing $88.4 million in an initiative to provide every public high school in NSW with a full-time counselling support service on site, as well as a full-time SSO.
We are expanding our workforce in this area and launched the first phase of the initiative in July 2020. Additional positions will be progressively phased in over three years.
SSOs support the implementation of the school’s whole-of-school approach to wellbeing, helping students develop social and emotional skills through targeted strengths-based programs and strategies that build resilience, coping skills and positive relationships.
They also have a pivotal role in working collaboratively with external and other government agencies in their support of students and their families.