Classroom Teacher

Department of Education Victoria; City of Merri-bek; On-site; AUD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Oak Park Primary School in Moreland, VIC, part of the Department of Education Victoria, seeks a dedicated classroom teacher to deliver engaging literacy and numeracy instruction within a supportive learning community.

The successful applicant will plan and teach across year levels, monitor student progress with data, and collaborate with staff to strengthen PLC structures and school programs.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated knowledge of the curriculum and ability to integrate literacy and numeracy.
• Evidence of planning for high-impact teaching strategies and using data to inform instruction.

Responsibilities

• The role involves planning, preparation and teaching of programs to support student outcomes.
• Mentoring and coaching other teachers and supervising student teachers.

Skills

Curriculum knowledge

Literacy skills

Numeracy skills

Data-informed practice

Education

Bachelor of Education

Job description

Department of Education Victoria – Moreland VIC

Oak Park Primary School will work collaboratively to provide a stimulating, safe and challenging learning environment that promotes resilient, innovative thinkers.

SCHOOL VALUES

CONTEXT

Oak Park Primary School is located in the City of Moreland close to the border of the City of Moonee Valley. The school has a capped enrolment of 400 students. The original school buildings were established in 1954. Stage One of a total redevelopment of the school was completed in 2004. The remainder of the old school was demolished in 2006 and Stage two completed in September 2007. Stage two incorporated new General Purpose Classrooms, a Multi Purpose Centre, an Arts Centre and Library. The school also gained a full sized, non template gymnasium in 2011 as part of the BER initiative.

The 2024 School Family Occupation (SFO) index score of 0.3120 (SFOE 0.2289) suggests that student achievement means could be expected to be in the top half of State results. During the next School Strategic Pan period the school seeks to improve student outcomes in English and Mathematics, further empower students to take responsibility for their own learning and strengthen our PLC structures.

Teaching staff acknowledge the crucial role they play in the lives of our students with consensus that `teacher attributes¿, `professional learning¿ and `planning¿ are the most significant factors in improving student outcomes. A major focus during the past few years has been to assist teachers to develop their pedagogy, to gain agreement on what good teaching is, and deliver that in every classroom. All teachers have more planning time than stipulated in the past two Victorian Government Schools Agreements and all have access to significant blocks of planning time with their Professional Learning Team.

Classroom teachers spend an average of 10 hours per week on English and 5 hours per week on Mathematics. There are Specialist classes in Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Physical Education and Japanese. A Music Program is outsourced.

A significant feature of Oak Park Primary School is the positive school community and supportive parent group. Parents feel a very strong connection to the school with many having attended themselves as students. The parent group is very active and take on major responsibilities for the organisation of significant events in the school calendar.

Student motivation appears to be on the increase as well as engagement in Inquiry Learning investigations. The school has well developed structures in place to support student wellbeing and has introduced School Wide Positive Behaviours approaches. The school presents as an attractive and orderly environment and student behaviour is generally very good.

A significant development in recent years has been the introduction of the school¿s one to one BYO iPad program. Students now have `anywhere, anytime¿ access to technology.

A supportive performance and development culture exists and openness, dialogue, inquiry, risk taking and trust are fostered. Peer Observations are encouraged, and teachers are typically focused on sustained improvement. We were part of the PLC initiative in 2018 and the aim is to further strengthen collaboration within teams and across the school.

In 2019 ¿ 2020 we participated in the Primary Mathematics and Science Specialists initiative - with our focus being on Mathematics.

The challenge for the school over this next period is to maximise student achievement in literacy and numeracy, strengthen student agency, increase the number of students moving from the middle to the upper cohort and to ensure that every child achieves at least one year¿s growth each year, and more in some cases.

Selection Criteria

SC1Demonstrated knowledge of the relevant curriculum, including the ability to incorporate the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills. Demonstrated experience in responding to student learning needs.

SC2Demonstrated experience in planning for and implementing high impact teaching strategies, guided by how students learn, and evaluating the impact of learning and teaching programs on student learning growth.

SC3Demonstrated experience in monitoring and assessing student learning. Demonstrated experience in using data to inform teaching practice and providing feedback on student learning growth and achievement to students and parents.

SC4Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated experience in establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with students, parents, colleagues and the broader school community to support student learning, agency, wellbeing and engagement.

SC5Demonstrated behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values. Demonstrated experience in reflecting upon practice and engaging in professional learning to continually improve the quality of teaching.

SC6Demonstrated understanding and experience implementing a clear instructional model in a writing lesson.

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