Work Type: Ongoing - Full-time
Salary: Salary not specified
Grade: Leading Teacher - Range 3
Occupation: Leading teacher
Location: Melbourne - Northern suburbs
Reference: 1497325
SC1 Demonstrated high level understanding of current initiatives in student learning and the capacity to provide leadership in the alignment of teaching and learning in accordance with the Victorian curriculum.
SC2 Demonstrated outstanding classroom teaching and leadership skills and capacity to implement high impact classroom teaching strategies, to lead colleagues to continually improve teaching and learning and 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 students, parents, other employees and the broader school community focused on student learning, wellbeing and engagement.
SC5 Demonstrated commitment and capacity to actively contribute to and lead whole school improvement initiatives, manage major curriculum or student activities and a commitment to ongoing professional development and learning for self and others to enable further development of skills, expertise and teacher capacity.
SC6 Demonstrated high level ability in the leading of curriculum development and pedagogy in health, physical education and social emotional learning including a proven ability to operate in a virtual and blended learning environment to deliver differentiated curriculum programs for students.
Leading teachers will be highly skilled classroom practitioners and undertake leadership and management roles commensurate with their salary range. The role of leading teachers is to improve the skill, knowledge and performance of the teaching workforce in a school or group of schools and to improve the curriculum program of a school.
Typically, leading teachers are responsible for coordinating a number of staff to achieve improvements in teaching and learning which may involve the coordination and professional support of colleagues through modelling, collaborating and coaching and using processes that develop knowledge, practice and professional engagement in others.
Leading teachers are expected to lead and manage a significant area or function within the school with a high degree of independence to ensure the effective development, provision and evaluation of the school's education program.
Leading teachers will be expected to make a significant contribution to policy development relating to teaching and learning in the school. A leading teacher has a direct impact and influence on the achievement of the school goals.
Leading teachers are usually responsible for the implementation of one or more priorities contained in the school strategic plan.
At VSV leading teachers model and lead others in the demonstration and acquisition of the skills and attitudes that underpin continuous improvement in a flexible learning environment. They must be able to demonstrate the use of ICT tools for student learning, be willing to explore, learn and innovate with new ICT, be able to lead the continuous evaluation and adaption of learning programs based on student voice and student achievement data and be willing and able to develop strong learning relationships with teachers and students.
This position is tenured for 2 years with a tenure end date of 26.01.2028, after which point the standard tenure renewal policy will be applied.
Leading Teacher Instructional Leaders will lead the development of staff understanding of the VSV Pedagogical Model for Virtual Learning, through Collaborative Learning Teams, Teaching Teams and with course developers to develop the instructional capacity of all staff. In their role, they will take ownership for the student learning data relevant to their learning area(s) and support the Reporting and Assessment process.
Instructional Leaders will work collaboratively as a team and report to the Assistant Principal Curriculum, Assessment and Evaluation and the Assistant Principal Virtual Teaching, Learning and Collaboration.
There is a 0.5 FTE teaching load tied to this position and onsite attendance is required.
The Instructional Leaders will:
Build School capacity and culture:
1. Lead *Collaborative Learning Teams (CLT) and Teaching Teams in their area with a focus on the continued development of staff understanding of the CLT process, monitor the quality of the CLT and Teaching Team implementation and address performance as required
2. Lead professional learning/development sessions as part of the CLT process to build teacher capacity
3. Lead VSV Assessment and Reporting in health, physical education and social and emotional learning for students in Years 7 ¿ 12
Build staff capacity:
4. Coach teachers in the development of their understanding of the VSV Pedagogical Model for Virtual Learning and its application to their practice including provision of high quality feedback.
5. Use data (including student voice) to ensure that learning programs are developed in accordance with the learning needs of students.
6. Share and analyse student achievement data with staff to improve teacher practice.
7. Build the capacity of teachers to use the online learning environment to maximise student learning.
8. Lead and provide support for Course Development in their area(s).
9. Lead and support staff with communication with parents in relation to subject matter and pedagogical approaches within the subject.
Build student capacity:
10. Lead the development of programs which provide deep learning for all students through learning tasks which are meaningful, rich and encourage higher order thinking.
11. Lead the development of courses which allow for differentiation of the curriculum and can be personalised to suit the individual learning needs of students.
*Collaborative Learning Teams are core to VSV¿s implementation of the Victorian Professional Learning Communities initiative. They are known in some schools as Professional Learning Teams.
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 is committed to diversity and inclusion and developing a workforce that is representative of the community we service. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQA+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for roles within the Department. The Department recognises that the provision of safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work and diversity across all schools and Department workplaces. It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for staff with disability (see Workplace adjustment guidelines).
Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander candidates from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via [email protected]
Applicants seeking part-time employment are encouraged to apply for any teaching service position and, if they are the successful candidate, request a reduced time fraction. Such requests will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to the operational requirements of the school.
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:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/child-safe-standards/policy
The department's employees commit to upholding the department's Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. The department'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 department values is available at:
https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/values-department-vps-school-employees/overview
VSV currently employs a hybrid rostering system of remote and onsite work for all teaching staff. The successful applicant will be required to work onsite at Virtual School Victoria, 315 Clarendon Street, Thornbury on their rostered onsite day(s).
Virtual School Victoria uses a range of platforms and tools for the operation of the school. This includes a customised version of Moodle learning management system for the development and delivery of the teaching and learning program Foundation ¿ Year 12, Cisco WebEx for the delivery of online classes and Microsoft Teams for a variety of purposes. Experience in the use of a Moodle based platform, Cisco WebEx and Microsoft Teams would be advantageous.
Virtual School Victoria utilises its own Student Database alongside CASES21 Administration. Training will be provided.
Participation in and/or completion of an accredited online course and/or online training while not essential would be highly advantageous.
Prospective applicants are advised to visit the VSV website www.vsv.vic.edu.au
Applications should be prepared in a standard font, preferably Arial or Calibri, at size 11 or 12. Pages should be single sided and have well delineated sections using clear headings.
Applicants are advised to include:
1. A cover sheet providing the name of the applicant, record number (where applicable), VIT number, home and email address, telephone number and a telephone number where the applicant can be contacted during business hours.
2. A specific response to each of the six selection criteria of no more than one page per criterion.
3. A separate curriculum vitae that is a summary of experience and qualifications.
4. The names of three referees including contact details, work and mobile phone numbers, email address, current position and relationship to the applicant, and a short explanation as to which selection criteria each referee can best comment on.
Late applications will not be considered.
To be eligible for employment, transfer or promotion in the principal or teacher class:
Details of qualification requirements as updated from time to time can be found at Recruitment in Schools.
Virtual School Victoria (VSV) is the state's leading virtual school, offering 280 semester-based courses online, including VCE subjects. With an annual enrolment in excess of 7000 students from Foundation to Year 12, VSV is the largest state government school in Victoria. Around 2700 students are enrolled full time, while around 4300 students, most in Year 11 and 12, complete subjects with VSV while based in other schools.
The VSV student cohort is both diverse and unique. We provide education to:
¿ school-based students who do not have access to the courses they need in their own school
¿ children and young people with chronic physical and mental health circumstances that make it difficult for them to attend mainstream schooling
¿ young people involved in elite level sports and performing arts
¿ children and young people who are travelling within Victoria, around Australia or overseas
¿ young adults wanting to complete their education in a way that they find engaging
¿ remote, rural and regional children and young people who, due to distance, cannot attend a local school.
In addition to offering a host of teaching and learning courses approved by the VCAA, our specialist teachers provide students with individualised learning and support. VSV teachers are dedicated to building the confidence and resilience of each and every student. Like any school, our teachers regularly support and interact with students, but they do so in a different way to most schools: they do so virtually.
A Learning Advisor role is undertaken by all teachers as a core element of their teaching position at VSV. The overall aim of the role is to connect with and encourage students to belong to the VSV school community in order to optimise their student engagement, learning and wellbeing outcomes. Building positive relationships with students, their family support network and, where appropriate, their health practitioner, in an encouraging, friendly and supportive manner is crucial when teaching in a virtual school. The Learning Advisor role also involves team teaching the Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) program to students in Year 7 to Year 10.
VSV¿s four core school values of Growth, Empathy, Respect and Collaboration guide our vision and underpin our interactions with students, parents/carers and staff. VSV is committed to providing a supportive and inclusive learning environment using a trauma informed approach based on the Making SPACE for Learning model. SPACE is an acronym for the 5 basic principles of trauma informed practice at VSV. These elements help teachers respond to the needs of all students but especially for those who have experienced trauma.
Learning and Teaching at Virtual School Victoria is informed by the Pedagogical Model for Online Learning and Quality Assurance Frameworks for Course Development and Teaching Online. A recent School Review confirmed our pedagogical model and quality assurance frameworks strengthened the school¿s role as a system leader and built on our goal of consistently providing high-quality and targeted teacher practice. Authentic, real-time, interactive learning is a key to teaching at VSV. Teachers develop engaging learning materials and utilise VSVOnline, our Moodle based Learning Management System, to create synchronous and asynchronous collaborative teaching and learning opportunities for students.
VSV students learn by taking part in online collaborative and interactive activities, communicating and interacting with other students and by receiving personalised support and feedback from their teachers. Students participate in active learning targeted to their needs. Teachers use purposeful ongoing assessment strategies to ensure continuous student progress. Data forms an important component in this process and guides personalisation and changes to student learning programs.
Our vision is to see VSV as a system leader in online, virtual and blended learning: sharing our knowledge and expertise, and leading system conversations around digital learning. VSV aims to lead a community of practice that will evolve and strengthen digital learning in Victoria, and positively influence and support other schools to develop in this space.
Currently VSV is implementing the Government¿s Expanding the VCE into Rural and Regional Victoria Initiative. As a result, VSV now delivers all of the VCAA VCE Studies Units 1 - 4. VSV delivers the Victorian High Ability Program (VHAP) which is an intensive 10 week online course to high performing students in Years 5 ¿ 8 as part of the Department of Education¿s Student Excellence Program. VSV also operates Bellum Bellum, a regional hub offering blended learning opportunities to VCE students in the Gippsland Region. The Virtual Tutor Program is also delivered by VSV, this program offers small group targeted tutoring support to students based in other Victorian schools.
VSV has a large Education Support staff which includes teams in Administration, Enrolment, Online Team, Wellbeing and Inclusion.
The VSV staff work mostly in teams. As such it is important that all staff demonstrate effective teamwork. In particular, staff must be collaborative, cooperative and recognise the value of others¿ contributions with a view to delivering the best outcomes for students and VSV as a whole.