Learning Specialist - EAL

Mount Ridley P-12 College was founded in 2009 and is located in the City of Hume, one of Melbourne's rapid growth corridors. Situated on a 13.66 hectare site along Hampton Street in Craigieburn and approximately 26 kilometres north of the CBD, the College includes provision for both primary and secondary students and currently has an enrolment figure of just under 2300 students across the whole College.  The current College's Student Family Occupation (SFO) level is 0.62. 

The College offers curriculum provision and facilities for students in Prep to Year 12 governed by a single School Council. It incorporates an innovative and flexible design to meet new and changing pedagogical approaches to State education. Located adjacent to the Maternal and Child Health service developed by the Hume City Council, the College works closely with the Craigieburn Child and Family Centre in integrating learning and teaching programs so as to achieve a seamless transition into primary school. Adjoining recreation facilities established by the Hume City Council, Stockland, the AFL and the Calder Cannons Football Club are also providing opportunities for shared ventures. The College has developed a Community Garden project which is focussed on providing students of all ages with the opportunity of working with outside community groups for the purpose of learning, applying and sharing practical sustainability and healthy living skills.

The College has recently been re-structured into four Mini Schools:

• Early Years (Prep – Year 4);
• Junior Years (Years 5 – 7);
• Middle Years (Years 8 and 9); and
• Senior Years (Years 10 – 12).

Each Mini School is overseen by an Assistant Principal assisted by a team of Leading Teachers.

Mount Ridley College is well serviced by a range of facilities.  Buildings in the Early Years Mini School are based around Learning Neighbourhoods with creative, interactive and reflective spaces in each neighbourhood. There are Prep, Years 1 and 2 and Years 3 and 4 Learning Neighbourhoods. The creative spaces are used for small group work and for problem solving or project based work.  A common space in the centre of each Learning Neighbourhood is used for larger group work and team teaching.  An art learning area is also incorporated into each Neighbourhood. In addition, there is a separate music space, a multipurpose room and gymnasium that can be used for the performing arts and indoor recreational activities. A canteen, library and designated administration area providing easy access to the Assistant Principal, senior and support staff service the Early Years Mini School.

The Junior Years Mini School consists of two Learning Neighbourhoods incorporating art facilities, large interactive learning and teaching spaces, lecture and creative studios, computer labs and specialist science rooms. Years 5 and 6 students are exclusively accommodated in one of the Learning Neighbourhoods, whilst Year 7 students are located in the other Learning Neighbourhood.  Each Learning Neighbourhood has flexible learning areas that promote creative, interactive and reflective practices. An administration area servicing the needs of the Mini School is based in one of the Learning Neighbourhoods, accommodating the Assistant Principal, support and senior staff. Teaching teams are also located across the two Learning Neighbourhoods.

Students and staff in the Middle Years Mini School are accommodated in two Learning Neighbourhoods, along with a number of re-locatable general purpose classrooms.  Specialist facilities in one of the Learning Neighbourhoods include a Science laboratory, computer suite and a combined Art and Technology room.  In order to support students, an administration hub is located in one of the Learning Neighbourhoods, accommodating the Assistant Principal and student management team.  Year 8 and 9 students are also located in distinct Learning Neighbourhoods.

The Willandra building incorporates counselling, administrative and teaching and learning spaces for our Years 10 – 12 students..  A Community Hub has also been incorporated into this facility to support and expand our numerous business and community alliances.  Adjacent to this building is our Languages and Professional Learning Centre, which services our Italian and Japanese Languages program, EAL Classes, Sister School partnerships and International Students Program along with professional development programs for staff.

A full sized gymnasium for Years 5 – 12 students; a synthetic grassed futsal playing field; undercover hard-court; two synthetic surfaced basketball courts; a grassed football/rugby oval; numerous hard-courts; and synthetic surfaced combined running track and soccer field allow our students to keep active.  The recent addition of a strength and conditioning gym provides both Middle and Senior Years students with a state of the art facility that supports the achievement of health and fitness goals.

For students interested in the arts, the Performing Arts centre includes a music studio, instrumental music learning pods, drama room, and exhibition gallery and stage area.  Our Art and Technology facility (DICE Centre) boasts a series of external courtyard areas which allow students to undertake projects involving the use of materials such as paint, clay, wood, metal and fabric. A senior student art studio, lecture theatrette, exhibition area, and high-tech computer lab are also available for student use.

The College’s Main Administration building houses a student cafeteria, conference facility and 150 seat tiered auditorium. State-of-the-art hospitality/food technology classroom kitchens are directly linked into the cafeteria's commercial kitchen facilities so that it can be utilised as an added resource for students. A Resource Centre featuring a computer lab, a quiet reading area, internet style café, exhibition and display areas, and reference and research spaces provide students with a variety of learning opportunities.

Our Student Services and counselling facility provides students and their families with easy access to a range of services provided by specialist staff such as a medical doctor, psychologists, speech pathologists, youth workers, etc.  Each Mini School is also assigned a full time qualified student counsellor who provides assistance to students experiencing wellbeing issues.

The Prep to Year 12 nature of the College offers great advantages. Comprehensive curriculum and transition programs allow the College to cater for the needs of all students through their various stages of development. Indeed, there is an emphasis on the social, emotional, cultural and academic needs of all students in order to develop their full potential. Through a caring and safe environment, individual students are encouraged to think, reflect and develop into life-long learners so that they can take their place in society as informed, responsible and active citizens of the global community.

Select entry programs such as ACED (Acceleration, Challenge, Enrichment, Discovery) cater for capable and committed students who are able to meet its academic rigours, whilst the Elite Sports Program (ESP) has students accessing exclusive sports training and intensive conditioning.  A Middle Years High Achievers Class and VCE High Achievers Club (MHAC) also provide opportunities for students to focus on achieving high levels of academic excellence.  Alongside this, a range of programs including the Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD), English as an Additional Language (EAL), Oral Language, Language Support, Little Learners Love Literacy, Corrective Reading and Numeracy Intervention provide specialised assistance aimed at meeting the specific individual learning needs of students.

The College has expended considerable time and resources on building social capital, creating structures, refining practices and establishing effective staff teams.  Flexibility, creativity and collaboration form the basis of our success and staff at the College are required to demonstrate a willingness to take on these approaches.

Mount Ridley College is defined by:

• A well balanced curriculum program that utilises purposeful and explicit teaching aimed at empowering students to be active learners, striving for personal excellence and ongoing growth and development;
• Challenging, innovative and creative approaches in learning and teaching practices that embrace the delivery of cross-curricula programs, including the extensive use of Applied Learning Tasks for Prep to Year 9 students and a full range of post compulsory pathways for Years 10 to 12 students ;
• Highly skilled, versatile, dedicated and caring staff committed to life-long learning and developing the full potential of each student through the implementation of an effective personalised learning program;
• The active participation of staff in TaLT (Professional Learning teams)
• Shared educational responsibility between parents, staff and students;
• Seamless transition for students as they progress through their various stages of development; and
• Effective channels of communication that promote trust, positive interactions and strong links with the wider community.

SC1      Demonstrated ability to successfully lead the implementation and evaluation of learning and teaching programs, inclusive of evidence based pedagogical approaches, curriculum implementation, and effective assessment and reporting, in accordance with the relevant (or equivalent) Victorian Curriculum F–10, Victorian Certificate of Education and Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning.  

SC2      Demonstrated outstanding classroom teaching skills and capacity to model high impact classroom teaching strategies and lead colleagues to improve their teaching and learning to enable all students to achieve their full potential.

SC3      Demonstrated outstanding ability to monitor and assess student learning data at the individual, cohort and whole school level and to use this data to inform teaching for improved student learning.

SC4      Demonstrated outstanding written and verbal communication skills and high level interpersonal skills including the ability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with parents, other employees and the broader school community focused on student learning, wellbeing and engagement.

SC5      Demonstrated capacity to reflect critically upon their own professional practice and apply the knowledge, skills and expertise derived from ongoing professional learning to enable the further development of others’ professional practice.  

Learning Specialists will be highly skilled classroom practitioners who continue to spend the majority of their time in the classroom delivering high-quality teaching and learning and have a range of responsibilities related to their expertise, including teaching demonstration lessons, observing and providing feedback to other teachers and facilitating school-based professional learning.  Learning Specialists are expected to have deep knowledge and expertise in high quality teaching and learning in delivering improved achievement, engagement and wellbeing for students. The role of the Learning Specialist will be to model excellence in teaching and learning through demonstration lessons and, mentoring and coaching teachers in improving the skill, knowledge and effectiveness of the teaching workforce.

The Learning Specialist role is aimed at building excellence in teaching and learning within the Teaching Service.

In recognition of the importance of exemplary practice for improved student learning outcomes, the key roles of the Learning Specialists may include but are not limited to:

• Demonstrating high-level expertise in teaching and learning practice
• Modelling exemplary classroom practice including through teaching demonstration lessons
• Working with the school leadership team to develop a shared view of highly effective teacher practice
• Leading and modelling the implementation of whole-school improvement strategies related to curriculum planning and delivery
• Playing a key role in the provision of professional learning, including through developing processes and protocols for observation and feedback of teacher practice and peer collaboration
• Modelling effective learning practice and supporting teachers to seek, analyse and act on feedback and on their practice
• Providing evidence-based feedback to teaching staff to inform their effectiveness and development
• Providing expert advice about the context, processes and strategies that will shape individual and school professional learning
• Supervising and training one or more student teachers and mentoring and/or coaching teachers
• Modelling exemplary use of student data to inform teaching approaches
• Developing and promoting school-wide professional learning structures, processes and protocols through Professional Learning Communities
• Modelling exemplary professional learning practice included through seeking feedback from other teachers and leaders on their own classroom practice as part of critical reflection and inquiry to improve practice

Teachers currently registered or eligible for registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching and qualified to teach and/or have demonstrated experience in the curriculum area(s) specified for the position.

The Department values diversity and is committed to workforce diversity and equal opportunity in schools and all education workplaces. The Department recognises that the provision of family friendly, supportive, safe and harassment free workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work, diversity and safety across all schools and Department workplaces.

Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards. All schools have a Child Safety Code of Conduct consistent with the Department’s exemplar available at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/health/protect/Pages/childsafestandards.aspx

- All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.

- Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.

-  A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.

- Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/Pages/default.aspx

Applicants should refer to the Staff Code of Practice located on our website. It should be noted that all College staff are required to work in teaching teams and deliver teaching and learning programs which are not restricted by traditional classroom and disciplinary boundaries.

Applications should include:

• A cover sheet providing your name, home address and telephone contact details;
• A specific response to the selection criteria with regard to the position advertised;
• A summary of experience and qualifications; and
• The names, contact details and email addresses of three referees who can provide information regarding your application in relation to the key selection criteria. 
• Please note that referees other than those nominated may also be contacted.

• All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.
• Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.
• A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.