Work Type: Ongoing - Full-time
Salary: Salary not specified
Grade: Leading Teacher - Range 3
Occupation: Leading teacher
Location: Melbourne - CBD and Inner Metro suburbs
Reference: 1535909
South Melbourne Primary School
South Melbourne Primary School acknowledges the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are located and pay respect to their Elders past and present.
We are a high-performing government school with a clear sense of what we're about and how we work. Our school opened at the beginning of 2018 and we have recently been funded to expand to a second campus next door, with construction commencing in 2029.
Our results across NAPLAN, the Parent Opinion Survey, School Staff Survey and AtoSS are consistently above state benchmarks, above similar schools and among the highest in the state. We are deliberate about who joins us.
Our work is anchored in three values: Character, Community and Learning.
Character - Our People
Every person who walks through our doors is significant. Kindness and manners are baseline expectations. We maintain a warm, inclusive culture with high, clear expectations. We promote Relaxed Professionalism as our mantra as we strive to have fun but remain sharp as we conduct our work.
Staff work in Professional Learning Teams. Feedback is frequent, constructive and expected. Practice is routinely observed and discussed. We explicitly teach habits for success through our Big 10 Essential Habits. Our staff actively practise GEMS - Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Show More Love - in Staff Huddles, meetings and daily interactions.
This environment suits professionals who value teamwork, feedback and shared standards. It is unlikely to suit those seeking a highly autonomous or individual classroom model.
Community - Our Place
We live in the shelter of each other. Our community is diverse and multilingual, and we actively draw on that as a strength. We approach our community as an active partnership. We connect with families through Celebration of Learning Days, Whole School Assemblies and our Compass online portal. Student progress - both academic and social-emotional - is reported to families termly via Student Dashboards. EAL experience is an advantage as many of our students were born overseas and have English as a Second Language.
We have partnered with the City of Port Phillip to establish an on-site Kindergarten and OSHClub, providing wrap-around services for our families.
Learning - Our Program
Literacy and Numeracy are our core priorities.
Our teaching is grounded in Cognitive Science and Direct Instruction. We prioritise consistency and have a low-variance, high-fidelity curriculum. Staff use data to plan, teach and evaluate impact. Shared planning reduces duplication and ensures every student benefits from the same quality of teaching. We have a highly structured academic and social-emotional curriculum and work from defined lesson plans developed as a school.
Coaching, observation and feedback are embedded, not occasional. Responding positively to feedback with focussed actions is a baseline expectation.
Our Specialist Programs provide rich opportunities for students across Music and Performing Arts, Visual Art, Mandarin and Physical Education.
What to Expect
Kindness and manners are the cornerstone of success
Practice is visible and open to feedback
Teamwork is non-negotiable
A positive, professional disposition is expected at all times
Clear instructional frameworks and structured collaboration are the norm
You will be coached, and you will be expected to grow
We are a school that takes practice seriously. If that aligns with how you want to work, we'd like to hear from you.
KSC1 - Inclusion and Wellbeing Leadership
Expert knowledge of inclusive education, wellbeing frameworks and the Disability Inclusion model. Demonstrated ability to lead implementation of school priorities across Disability Inclusion, wellbeing systems and the School Wide Positive Behaviour Framework, including staff coaching and mentoring. Demonstrated capacity to manage case documentation, compliance and resource allocation, including DI Profiles, IEPs, BSPs and NCCD reporting.
KSC2 - Teaching Practice and Student Outcomes
Demonstrated ability to lead the planning and implementation of high-impact teaching and wellbeing strategies that promote positive relationships, student engagement and inclusive classroom environments. Demonstrated ability to support teachers to evaluate the impact of these initiatives on student learning and behaviour outcomes.
KSC3 - Data, Evidence and Impact
Demonstrated ability to collect, interpret and use wellbeing, engagement and inclusion data to inform school improvement. Demonstrated capacity to lead colleagues in using data to identify student needs, monitor progress and evaluate the impact of interventions for students with disability and additional needs.
KSC4 - Collaboration and Partnership
Demonstrated interpersonal and leadership skills across a broad stakeholder group, including teachers, Learning Support Officers, allied health professionals, parents and external agencies. Demonstrated capacity to directly lead, coach and provide performance feedback to Learning Support Officers through structured PLT coaching cycles. Demonstrated experience supporting student transitions into and between schools.
KSC5 - Professional Practice and Staff Development
Demonstrated ability to model professional behaviours consistent with Department values and the school's wellbeing culture. Demonstrated capacity to reflect on practice and contribute to professional learning that builds staff capability in inclusion and wellbeing.
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.
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
The core role of the Leading Teacher (Disability, Inclusion and Wellbeing) may include but is not limited to:
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
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.