Classroom Teacher

All vacancies of AustraliaEducation & TrainingClassroom Teacher

The classroom teacher classification comprises two salary ranges- range 1 and range 2. The primary focus of the classroom teacher is on the...

Summary about this job

Teaching - Primary

Company: Department of Education & Training Victoria

Location: West Gippsland & Latrobe Valley

Work type: Part Time

Salary: n\a

Phone: +61-7-7286-5495

Fax: +61-3-8662-5687

E-mail: n\a

Site:

Detail information about job Classroom Teacher. Terms and conditions vacancy

Location Profile


LATROBE SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTAL SCHOOL


Latrobe SDS is located in the central Latrobe City town of Traralgon. It is one of two special schools in the Latrobe Valley and is the only Special Developmental School in the Gippsland region. The school caters for students with moderate to severe disabilities. Students travel from all over the Latrobe Valley and surrounding outlying areas to attend. Transport for all students by bus is provided free. The school has a  Student Family Occupation ratio of 0.66.


The school provides a stimulating educational program for students with significant intellectual and associated difficulties and disorders between ages of 4.8 to 18 years of age. Parents, staff and carers are encouraged to work collaboratively in planning educational and developmental programs for students.  Student Support Groups are established for each student and emphasise the co-responsibility of home and school in educational programming. The partnership of home and school is exemplified by the high level of day to day contact via telephone, communication books, meetings and the positive way in which parents are encouraged to participate in their children’s education. The school has a small but active parent group who have regular meetings to support each other, raise funds for the school and increase knowledge in areas of interest with the support of the school chaplain. Historically enrolments have been steadily increasing and this continued to be the trend during the last strategic period.  The current enrolment allows the school to offer a broad range of programs for students. The increase in enrolments during the last ten years has assisted the school to employ an experienced Allied Health team including a Physiotherapist and Speech Pathologist. The school has adopted an integrated approach to therapy which focuses on the delivery of allied health programs through therapy staff working in conjunction with teaching staff to develop goals and appropriate therapy activity/programs. This approach ensures daily practice and transference of skills is promoted throughout the school.


Many of the students who attend the school have significant communication deficits and present with challenging behaviours. The provision of a safe and secure environment is paramount to support their wellbeing and engagement.  As a Positive Behaviour Support School (PBS) the relationship between wellbeing and engagement and student learning is well known, the school community work very hard to ensure that students are supported to achieve their best using a range of positive reinforcements and strategies that are the basis of PBS.


School activities and programs are focused toward improving student learning outcomes and promoting greater independence. The school community is very proud of its student focused, holistic approach to education. Curriculum development has always been based around Individual Learning Plans for each student.


The school is organised into three distinct units, Junior (ages 5-12), Middle years (ages 12-16) and Seniors (ages 16-18). The class sizes across the school are small with low staff to student ratios of 1:3. Each class has the support of a teacher and Educational Support worker. Programming at each unit of the school is quite different to enable the provision of an appropriate curriculum. The school currently has 16 teaching staff which includes the principal and assistant principal and a teaching and learning coach. The leadership configuration at the school allows for each unit of the school having a designated Unit leader to support and lead staff from within the unit. Teaching staff at the school are well trained and experienced and continually critically reflect on their professional practices. We are very proud of the fact that many teaching staff either have or are currently attaining relevant Special Education qualifications at a University level. The staffing profile also includes the Allied Health team, 16 Educational Support Officers who mostly work 0.79, two administration staff and a school Chaplain.


The school continues to promote itself as a centre of excellence for students with special needs, raising our profile in the educational and general communities is a strong priority. The success of the school is evident in the number of colleagues in mainstream schools requesting support with programming for their special needs students. Leadership at the school has ensured they are active members of the local networks, providing support in student planning and management and outsourcing staff to mainstream schools continue to be an instrumental promotional tool. Dual enrolments for students with mainstream schools are encouraged as viable and important focus for individual students. Building and maintaining relationships with members of the wider school community is an integral part of our school. Inclusion in wider society for our students is a focus for our programming particularly in the senior end of the school. A wide group of committed volunteers support the delivery of programs at the school. Work placement and experience programs are encouraged and as a result most weeks the school has some type of placement students visiting to observe practice. The Gippsland Specialist Schools network is a strong collegiate group having several joint activities throughout the course of the year.

Selection Criteria


SC1 Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of initiatives in student learning including the Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 and the Assessment and Reporting Advice and the ability to implement curriculum programs consistent with their intent.

SC2 Demonstrated understanding of how students learn and effective classroom teaching strategies and the capacity to work with colleagues to continually improve teaching and learning.

SC3 Demonstrated capacity to monitor and assess student learning data and to use this data to inform teaching for improved student learning.

SC4 Demonstrated high level written and verbal communication skills and high level interpersonal skills including a capacity to develop constructive relationships with students, parents and other staff.

SC5 Demonstrated commitment and capacity to actively contribute to a broad range of school activities and a capacity to reflect on, evaluate and improve professional knowledge and practice.

SC6 Demonstrated committment and experience relating to teaching in the field of special education

Role


The classroom teacher classification comprises two salary ranges- range 1 and range 2.  The primary focus of the classroom teacher is on the planning, preparation and teaching of programs to achieve specific student outcomes.  The classroom teacher engages in critical reflection and inquiry in order to improve knowledge and skills to effectively engage students and improve their learning. 

As the classroom teacher gains experience his or her contribution to the school program beyond the classroom increases. All classroom teachers may be required to undertake other duties in addition to their rostered teaching duties provided the responsibility is appropriate to the salary range, qualifications, training and experience of the teacher.

Classroom teacher Range 2
Range 2 classroom teachers play a significant role in assisting the school to improve student performance and educational outcomes determined by the school strategic plan and state-wide priorities and contributing to the development and implementation of school policies and priorities.

A critical component of this work will focus on increasing the knowledge base of staff within their school about student learning and high quality instruction to assist their school to define quality teacher practice.

Range 2 classroom teachers will be expected to:
- Have the content knowledge and pedagogical practice to meet the diverse needs of all students
- Model exemplary classroom practice and mentor/coach other teachers in the school to engage in critical reflection of their practice and to support staff to expand their capacity
- Provide expert advice about the content, processes and strategies that will shape individual and school professional learning
- Supervise and train one or more student teachers
- Assist staff to use student data to inform teaching approaches that enable targets related to improving student learning outcomes to be achieved.

Classroom teacher Range 1
The primary focus of the range 1 classroom teacher is on further developing skills and competencies to become an effective classroom practitioner with structured support and guidance from teachers at higher levels and the planning, preparation and teaching of programs to achieve specific student outcomes. These teachers teach a range of students/classes and are accountable for the effective delivery of their programs.  Range 1 classroom teachers are skilled teachers who operate under general direction within clear guidelines following established work practices and documented priorities and may have responsibility for the supervision and training of one or more student teachers.

At range 1, teachers participate in the development of school policies and programs and assist in the implementation of school priorities. 
The focus of a range 1 classroom teacher is on classroom management, subject content and teaching practice.  New entrants to the teaching profession in their initial teaching years receive structured support, mentoring and guidance from teachers at higher levels.

Under guidance, new entrants to the teaching profession will plan and teach student groups in one or more subjects and are expected to participate in induction programs and other professional learning activities that are designed to ensure the integration of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy across the school.

Teachers at range 1 are responsible for teaching their own classes and may also assist and participate in policy development, project teams and the organisation of co-curricula activities.

Responsibilities


The role of classroom teacher may include but is not limited to:

- Direct teaching of groups of students and individual students;

- Contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of a curriculum area or other curriculum program within the school;

- Undertaking other classroom teaching related and organisational duties as determined by the School Principal;

- Participating in activities such as parent/teacher meetings; staff meetings; camps and excursions;

- Undertaking other non-teaching supervisory duties.

Who May Apply


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.

EEO AND OHS Commitment


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.

Child Safe Standards


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

DET Values


The Department’s employees commit to upholding DET’s Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. DET’s Values complement each school’s own values and underpin the behaviours the community expects of Victorian public sector employees, including those who work in Victorian Government Schools. Information on the DET values is available at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/workm/Pages/Public-Sector-Values.aspx

Other Information


- 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

Other Information


- All applicants must ensure that they address all the specific key selection criteria for the teaching position.

- The name and contact details of three referees should be included with the application.

- The position is part time with a time fraction of 0.34.  The working days will be Tuesday and Thursday 8.30am - 3.00pm.

Conditions of Employment

Program Benefits

Responds for Classroom Teacher on FaceBook

Read all comments for Classroom Teacher. Leave a respond Classroom Teacher in social networks. Classroom Teacher on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+