Teacher - Big Picture Program

Department of Education, Western Australia; Fitzroy Crossing; On-site; AUD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Country Teaching Program Allowance

Superannuation

Vacation leave

Other leave (sick, carers)

Subsidised accommodation

Free relocation

Job summary

Northam Senior High School in Western Australia is seeking a dedicated teacher to join our Big Picture Education learning design. The role supports Years 7–12, focusing on personalised learning and community engagement to help students achieve real-world outcomes.

The successful applicant will work in the Advisory program, develop student learning plans, and collaborate with families and mentors to ensure equity and high expectations for every student.

Qualifications

• Eligible teacher qualification and registration.
• Australian citizenship, permanent residency, or valid work visa for term of appointment.
• Commitment to inclusive, diverse and equity-focused education.

Responsibilities

• Teach within the Big Picture Education framework and Academy Learning Area.
• Develop personalised learning plans with each student and document progress.
• Lead advisory sessions with students, parents and mentors, and help plan extended projects.
• Convene meetings, monitor performance data and prepare exhibitions and learning plans.

Job description

This is a permanent full-time position commencing Term 4, 2026

Our beautiful 100-year-old school stands on the bank of the Avon River and has a proud and rich history of providing a comprehensive curriculum to students in Years 7 to 12 from the Northam and surrounding Wheatbelt towns. At Northam Senior High School (SHS), we build a positive, honest and connected relationships to ensure that our students can contribute to their current and future communities.

Our vision is 'A Community United' which we achieve through our four values: Courage, Collaboration, Connection and Communication. With over 650 students, we are the largest school in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Northam SHS is a school where everyone matters and where our students all want to leave the school with clear pathways and opportunities for success.

Located in the heart of the picturesque Avon Valley, Northam is home to a diverse range of tourist and heritage attractions, including hot air ballooning, cultural experiences, wildflowers, tours & trails, historic buildings, horse racing, and much, much more. The Avon River flows through the town and has an abundance of bird life, including the unique white swan. Spanning the river next to the Visitor Centre is the pedestrian suspension bridge, which is the longest of its kind in Australia.

Find out more about our school by visiting www.northamshs.wa.edu.au or Schools Online.

The Role

Northam SHS is a small, caring, and supportive learning community that encourages students and staff to achieve their potential through the approach of ‘one student at a time in a community of learners’. Our students become responsible and active members of the community through a strong focus on the principles of the Big Picture Education learning design, encompassing academic excellence, development of social skills, emotional wellbeing, respect and values. Our students complete Year 11 and 12 through the International Big Picture Learning Credential. This design falls within our Academies learning area.

We seek to engage young people in learning through implementing the Big Picture Education learning design which encourages all students to identify and pursue their interests and passions. We want to prepare our young people uncommonly well for life post-school and we start that by engaging students in the community through internships. We aim to be strongly connected with families. We do this each term through learning plan meetings and exhibitions. We have high expectations of each and every student to do the best they can and be the best they can be.

We are seeking teachers that are willing to share their interests, passions, and story with the students. The successful applicant should be enthused and excited by finding out what their students are interested in and developing learning plans with each one and documenting each student’s work and learning. Suitable applicants will ideally be able to help each student believe that they matter, see and value their culture, talents, and interests and, help them fit in by changing the school and the classroom to suit individual needs and those who can help students work around restrictions put on them. That is, someone who never gives up on any student.

The Advisory is a small community within the school. The successful applicant will work with these students each day as their Advisory teacher. Students are expected to become respectful, caring and productive members of the Advisory group. The Advisory teacher’s role is to teach, inspire, bond, organise and manage learning. They will negotiate student learning plans, convene meetings with students, parents and mentors, help students develop extended projects and prepare for exhibitions.

The successful applicant should discover how a philosophy of combining personalised learning and working together - one student at a time in a community of learners - is the key to creating schools where students are engaged in meaningful learning, and where academic progress is measured against real-world standards and how it transforms the young people in it. Doing this and you can make a difference to these young peoples’ lives and the community for years to come.

Further to this the ability to develop the numeracy and/or literacy skills of lower secondary students is highly desirable. The ability to critically analyse student performance data and the capacity to incorporate this knowledge into action plans to achieve meaningful student outcomes would also be highly desirable.

Within our Academies Learning Area, staff will work with students within the Big Picture Education learning design and with Students at Academic Risk.

More information on the Big Picture Education learning design can be found at www.bigpicture.org.au

Professional Benefits

• Attractive Country Teaching Program Allowance of $8 020 per year
• 12 percent employer contributions to superannuation
• 12 weeks’ vacation leave (school holidays)
• More than 20 days of other leave, including sick leave and carers’ leave
• Subsidised accommodation where applicable
• Free relocation

Find out more about the benefits by visiting professional and personal benefits.

For additional information to all allowances and housing please contact Housing and Transport at [e-mail] or on [phone].

Mobility appointments for permanent metropolitan and south west teachers

Eligible permanent teachers who hold a substantive teaching position in a North or South Education Region school, or a South West Education Region school* may elect to undertake this role as a 3-year mobility appointment, with a right of return to their substantive position. At the cessation of the 3-year mobility appointment, teachers can elect to return to their substantive role, or transfer permanently into this school.

Find out if you are eligible on IKON.

• Note that south west teachers are not eligible to move to another south west school under this trial.

Want to know more?

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Richard Kardol, Deputy Principal, on [phone] or emailing [e-mail]

During the school holidays, please contact Jodee Vause on 0409 282 799.

Equity and Diversity

We are committed to an inclusive and culturally responsive workforce reflecting the diversity in our schools and the Western Australian community. We welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, young people, people of diverse sexualities and genders, people with disability, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Explore our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2021-2025 for more details.

Eligibility

To work with us, you must:

• hold an eligible teacher qualification and registration.
• be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, permanent resident or have a valid visa with relevant work rights for the term of the appointment. More information about employment eligibility can be found on our website.
• apply for a WA Working with Children Check before you start; and
• consent to a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check and obtain a current Screening Clearance Number issued by the Department of Education’s Screening Unit before you start.

Advertised Vacancy Number: IPS/TCH1066696

The Department applies a four (4) day breach period to this selection process.

Applications close: 4.30pm (AWST) on Friday, 16 October 2026