Leading Teacher

Job Title: Leading Teacher

Key Selection Criteria 1

Demonstrated high level understanding of initiatives in student learning including the Standards the Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 and assessment and reporting Advice and the capacity to provide leadership in the alignment of these areas.

Early in my teaching career I was heavily involved in the planning, development and implementation of the unit plans used by the PHASE Physical, Health & Sports Education department. Since this time, I have used my high level of knowledge in this field and enthusiasm to implement fresh ideas and emerging initiatives in the area of Health and Physical Education within the School. This has been achieved with my involvement in Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) where we have incorporated the new Ausvels curriculum to the Health unit Programs.

As the Senior School Coordinator and Later Years Manager at Epping Secondary College my focus was on VCE excellence and best practice. This has involved data research from 2013 and 2014 as well as visiting like schools to look at best practise, technologies, and structures that Epping Secondary may look at implementing over the next three years as part of the school’s AIP and strategic plan.

One of the major processes that I was required to oversee was the collation and analysis of the entire school VASS data for 2012, 2013 and 2014. This process involved an analysis of the schools overall results as well as each individual subject taught at the VCE level and Key learning Area implications. As part of the process I redesigned and implemented a School Analysis Sheet that aligned with the VCAA performer templates allowing for greater in depth analysis that could be applied to the key skills and knowledge that may need to be highlighted in the 7 to 10 curriculum. As part of the process each VCE teacher made recommendations and suggestions that were submitted to their Key Learning Area Manager in regards to the implications the analysis revealed for the year seven to ten teaching and learning program.

In 2014 one of the key initiatives for me as the Senior School Coordinator was to focus on raising the expectation of students at Epping Secondary College whilst elevating the overall levels of performance. The key elements of this initiative was to create a clear and explicit narrative and explicit language of high expectation is used by all staff within school, unit and classroom about our senior school moto of Striving for Excellence. This behavioural change also extended to staff and parent meetings as well as assemblies with students from year ten to twelve. There was a strategic future planning focus on extending the high achievers at each year level and raising the bar with the mid and lower band students. This would be achieved by setting up an elective structure that would allow for year 10 students to select subjects that align with the VCE study fields and supporting student skill sets and possible career interests. Over the past few years there has been a concentrated effort in developing improved practises and structures at years 10 and 12. At year 11 in 2014 it was the intention of the senior school team to initiate similar practises that have been formed through review sessions and information gained from school visits. This needed to be done without losing the initiatives already in place at year 10 & 12. It was through these initiatives that I felt that the school could continue to challenge all students to improvement their individual standards and develop genuine high end outcomes for all students.

When teaching in the VCAL applied learning program at Epping Secondary College it is essential to foster students to become autonomous learners that have the opportunity to develop a sense of themselves as learners. Whilst developing the knowledge and skills to manage their own learning within their schooling life and throughout their lifelong journey. Students need to develop an understanding of their personal characteristics and capabilities. Using this knowledge gained to support their preferred learning styles and assist in personal reflections about their learning and accomplishments. These skills are an essential part of the Personal Development strand of VCAL, where students complete a number of self- directed tasks focusing on the development of self, social responsibility, building community, civic and civil responsibility, this may be through volunteering and working for the benefit of others, improved self-confidence and self-esteem as well as valuing civic participation in a democratic society.

Students need to develop skills in resilience, motivation, goal setting, time and resource management as well as focus on individual task achievement. As a leader within a school setting I have been actively involved in the planning and delivery of the year 11 Personal Learning curriculum at Epping Secondary College, having put together small units of work that will be applied within the MIPS, iSelf and CAPS curriculum currently being taught from years 7-10.These units have focused specifically on individual strengths and weakens as well as possible careers and action plans. By encouraging the introduction of these programs, it has enabled feedback for each individual and the school by increasing and improving student teacher relationships, thus increasing school attendance and engagement this was demonstrated in both the students and staff school opinion surveys and well as the current attendance data from years ten to twelve. These changes have also had an impact on overall student outcomes and expectations at both the middle years and post compulsory end of the school. To further embed these skills and attributes of students we need to unpack the Elevate sessions currently run at years 10, 11 and 12 as we now have teachers trained and skilled up in a variety of areas and practising these skills to provide on-going follow up from each individual seminar. I believe this approach is assisting in further embedding these practises as part of their core teaching and learning and raising the levels of achievement for staff and students alike.

Another key target and challenge for myself as the Senior School Coordinator at Epping Secondary College was to help both staff and students create a learning environment that is supportive and productive; that promotes independence, interdependence and self-motivation. This has been addressed through the redevelopment of the student study area within senior school and the narrative and language used with staff and students alike. I have made sure there is a clear emphasis on expectation and raising the bar with both staff and students; ensuring that the classroom is not the only place that high expectation and emphasis is examined. Thus ensuring that we as a school were working together as a community to build a productive and supportive culture that is inclusive of all individual backgrounds, perspectives, interests and is reflected in staff teaching and learning practises. Enabling students to be fully aware of this practises and philosophies. This allowed students to be challenged and supported aiding deep levels of thinking and application to occur in the classroom and beyond.

One aspect that I have focused on strongly as the Senior School Coordinator, has been to go back to basics and reviewing the practise and policies of the senior school, I started by reviewing the schools school assessment policy and then aligned it correctly with the VCAA current policy on assessment. This was a very complicated process as it involved three separate areas of the school. The senior years staff ,the curriculum committee and administration of the school, all had a vested interest, so that all were on board and very explicit about the changes to the policy about formative assessment tasks; that need to take place throughout each unit of VCE. This was to ensure that assessment was an ongoing process of gathering analysing and reflecting on evidence to make informed and consistent judgements to improve future student learning. Teachers really need to be aware that assessment for learning occurs when teachers use inferences about student’s progress to inform their teaching. While assessment as learning occurs when students reflect on and monitor their progress to inform their future learning goals and lastly that assessment of learning occurs when teachers use evidence of student learning to make judgements on student achievement against goals and standards. By incorporating all three aspects of assessment and following correct procedures in all classes students were be able to demonstrate what they knew and could do, while ensuring consistent teacher judgements.

In my teaching practise one of the key elements is assessment as of and for learning. Assessment in itself needs to be timely, clear and precise and provide solid feedback to both staff and students. At the end of any core task or school based assessment I have students complete an individual analysis. Focusing of key knowledge, key skills, strengths, weakness, techniques and an action plan for improvement. After several students whom I did not teach asked me for surplus sheets that I had developed for students I then decided as the Senior School Coordinator I would have developed School Based Assessment Analysis sheet for assessment in all subject areas that could be used by students and staff alike. Allowing students to be far more self-reflective and autonomous learners throughout the process. Students and staff are able to review and evaluate results from all school based assessment from core assessment task to exam analysis. This approach and mode of options was adopted as a whole school approach by all staff, these sheets are provided to both VCE and VCAL staff as part of their start up packs to Epping Secondary College Staff in relation to policy and procedure in the first two days of the school year.

In 2013 my review sessions with senior students highlighted a variety of aspects in relation to examination. The feedback clearly showed that students wanted a greater emphasis on reviewing and analysing examination performance before they transitioned into year twelve. In 2014 the Senior School team had a strong commitment to the evaluation of examination which is why we developed an exam review and feedback day, that all year 11 students gain detailed feedback from individual classroom teachers in regards to their individual performance and application in an exam situation, allowing for greater analysis of strengths and weakness’ and future direction with each subject.

Having worked at Epping Secondary College for 15 years and having assumed various positions of responsibility from Senior School Coordinator, Later Years Manager in 2013 to 2010 and acting leading teacher positions in 2009, 2008 and 2007; I believe that I offer Cranbourne East Secondary College and the leadership team a strong practical knowledge and experience that will enhance the overall qualities within the schools leadership team and a strong knowledge and application of the modes of operation within the Secondary system. I will lead a cohesive team as the House Leader with a practised knowledge of the secondary system, its students, staff and curriculum. I will ensure that the focus of improving the school continues especially in relation to striving for excellence.

Key Selection Criteria 2

Demonstrated outstanding classroom teaching skills and the capacity to support colleagues to continually improve teaching and learning.

My teaching experiences have included educating students from many different backgrounds, learning abilities and skills, ages and curriculum course types. Some of the ranges that I have taught included:

Junior school Health, Physical Education (Core and Electives)
Middle school Health, Physical Education (Core and Electives)
Senior school, Psychology, Health and Human Development, Industry and Enterprise, VCAL Personal Development, Work Related Skills and Skills for Further Studies.

With the range of ethnicities, abilities and religions at Epping Secondary College I found a need to be open minded in the way I approach each lesson, attempting to make the class more rewarding and successful for the students involved. I teach the course content keeping in mind that there will be a need to extend and modify work to address the specific needs of each student. After each class I take the opportunity to evaluate what has worked well, what needs some extra consideration and how I can best meet the students’ needs to following classes’.

Throughout my teaching I have used computers for the development of Teaching Aids, such as Overhead Projections, Worksheets and Teacher and Students Presentations. As computers become a greater part of the school’s everyday program I have incorporated their use in the classroom in order to give students an alternative focus in class. A way that I have attempted to incorporate computer usage in the classroom is through use of teacher tube and youtube clip for students to view the practical applications of psychological experimentation and data analysis when referring to Empirical Research Assessment tasks.

Some other strategies I have incorporated in my teaching have been: Separating the activities into male and female groups (for practical classes), allowing the males to be competitive and the girls happy to participate, Stations and Platoons, Task Cards, Peer Teaching, Overhead Projections, Worksheets, Tests, Teacher and student Presentations, PowerPoint presentations and Role plays. I have shown flexibility and versatility in the other classes I have team taught, such as Physical Education and through sharing classes with other staff members to aid timetabling. As a result, I have developed a wide range of effective teaching strategies aimed at encouraging a positive attitude in students towards their learning and achieving success to the best of their abilities.

I have been involved with RMIT University and the Education department in regards to the teaching of Psychology by graduate teachers. I have run professional development sessions with the fourth year Education students which a major in psychology about teaching and learning as well as supplying them with a resource kit to survive their first year. I have helped staff members who have recently returned to teaching or just commenced with strategies, curriculum development and lessons plans to enable and foster resource development. This has enabled them to engage all students in their classes and allow students to have greater input in the curriculum being taught.

I have developed a high level of curriculum knowledge, in both the VCAL, Psychology and Health and Human Development areas of the school and have taught both Physical Education and Health from years seven to eleven. I have a great understanding of the importance of curriculum that allows for resilience and motivation and independent learning. I have developed a curriculum for subjects that are specific to the student needs at Epping Secondary College, taking into consideration the students levels of ability and knowledge of learning standards & outcomes. Since teaching at Epping Secondary College I have continued to develop my use of learning technologies in the classroom. This has occurred in the way I use laptops, iPads and cameras in the classroom and the way I set up testing, assignments and learning activities in the classroom.

In 2014 the PHASE (Physical Health and Sport Education) department at Epping Secondary undertook a curriculum review. Focusing on aligning the year 10 curriculum with a more senior school subject focus which was titled “Selectives”. As a classroom teacher and member of the department I needed to work with other members to develop curriculum around the new Ausvels but at the same time have an alignment and an introduction to possible VCE subjects in future years at Epping Secondary College these included the Health and Human development, Physical Education and Sport and Recreational options. This course involved Timeline, curriculum development and assessment documents that would be used by all members of the department. Once complete the department then looked to design curriculum in the seven to nine area around the Ausvels whilst allowed for the individuality of students in competitive, non-competitive recreational activities as well as extending students motor skills, game skills and techniques as well as game sense to be enhanced.

In recent years the number of students selecting VCE Psychology has increased which has required an increase in staffing to teach it. The increase in staff has resulted in one of these staff being new to the school and the other is new to the Year 12 VCE Psychology area. Therefore, indirectly I was working as a mentor for them within the subject. In doing so this involves sitting down each of them and developing curriculum outlines and templates to support both teachers and students, developing school assessed course work that is aligned in both classes. In the development of both formative and summative assessment that allows for students to clearly demonstrate key skills and knowledge of each outcome. We have worked as a team to moderate all the assessment tasks which has helped in determining a clear ranking of the students within the subject. In 2013 the year twelve psychology course was revised to accommodate for no midyear examinations. Hence big chunks of the course have been removed and assessments have increased to cater for this. There was no updated text or resources for Psychology units 3 and 4 at the start of the year due to such a late changes being made; we as a team sourced information and resources to allow for the best possible outcomes for students throughout this period, This was extremely productive and insightful, allowing all parties to strengthen their skill set, in assessment, teaching practise and understanding of the new course content.

As part of my leading teacher role I have also been mentoring two new staff member to the alternative unit of the school, one I was working with as the Co- VCAL coordinator as part of this position I worked heavily with her on student management and communication with staff, students and parents alike. None of these aspects was separated so as to allow a team approach to all aspects of the role. We ran parent forums to open and engage parents from the outset of the year all students and parents has previously been interviewed the previous year to discuss a tri-partisan agreement with the student parent and coordinator all working for the common goal of a successful experience both in the student’s VCAL program and VETis course alike. Individual student case management was also a key part of the role as all students in the program are in individual programs the required continual monitoring, from all three aspects of school work and attendance to VETis programs and structured workplace learning to ensure that we were proactive rather than reactive when deals with issues or concerns. The other was within the Personal Development strand of VCAL department were I had regular contact with the staff member in regards to curriculum outlines, assessment and reporting as well as moderation of assessment between the two classes. I have had regular fortnightly meeting with both staff members to discuss their individual progress, student management, curriculum development and action plans for each term. I have also been a sounding board for both staff members, as well as a resource in school practises and curriculum development. I believe this process is crucial in helping encourage staff into the alternate area of the school, whilst fostering a strong team approach in the area which already exists.

In my role as the Senior School Coordinator at Epping Secondary I gained a great insight into the direction and foci of the secondary school system. Having visited like schools as well as high achieving school to look at school processes and structures and best practise. I have also undertaken the Bastow “Create” Middle Leaders program throughout 2014 and 2015 where I have been exposed to best practise in areas of pedagogical practise, curriculum and assessment, the learning environment and observing to learn that enable me to better understand others when leading and apply the skills learnt within this program through my teaching practise and application within the classroom, when dealing with others and leading others learning.

In my roles as the VCAL coordinator for the seven years I have very lucky to be been involved with a very dynamic and adaptive team of staff. This can be attributed to our close proximity to one another sharing an office, where we are able to bounce ideas off one another, act as a sounding board and develop common practises and approaches that are consistent and embedded within the alternative unit. This team approach has led to the development of energetic and vibrant real world cross curriculum that not only engages students in real world issues such as, business planning, budgeting, expenditure and but allows for the advancement of individual students.

In my varied positions of responsibilities at Epping Secondary College from leading teacher Senior School Coordinator Later Years Manager, Transition and Pathway Acting Leading teacher, Education leadership and VCAL and PHASE Co-ordinators have given me ample opportunity to work in conjunction with numerous staff on the development of their particular talents and abilities. Many of these staff have gone to become coordinators themselves Key learning Area Mangers and Leading Teachers. I strongly believe that all staff need to have genuine input and ownership over aspects of program structure and the curriculum development related to their classes and classroom, as this creates unity and a sense of belonging. I also see this as an important ingredient in developing a teamwork approach to teaching and learning, one that allows for ongoing sustainability of these programs and a non-threatening, self-evaluative process within the areas.

In order to show and develop leadership I have supported staff and kept them informed. To do this, I have attempted to:

Visit classroom teachers/classes and had discussions about developing strategies for delivering education through alternative methods
Sharing of resources (curriculum and personal) to staff members
Be a Professional Learning Team Leader in classroom discipline which leads to many discussions about Education Methods in the classroom to allow for greater engagement and productivity in the classroom.
Provide an unofficial mentor for young staff; providing them with the chance to attend field trips & camps to engage in activities with experienced staff so the experienced staff can role model a professional teacher.
Liaise closely with the Sub school coordinator/sub school team in areas of student management.
Conduct information gathering sessions with teachers to ensure close and effective monitoring of student progress.
Liaise with staff on issues such as student behaviour, workloads, absences and lateness.
Visit/organise parent teacher interviews when necessary, have them attend school or contact them by phone use different strategies for particular situations such as: time out, removal from class, contracts, modified programs, suspensions.

Consult with student, Student Welfare Coordinator (SWC), parents/careers and staff either privately or in groups.
Provided feedback for student teachers

I have also shown leadership to new teachers and student teachers, where I have worked with many young staff in both an official and unofficial supporting capacity. Over the last two years I have provided feedback and support to young staff members in the capacity of mentor as they worked through their VIT registration. This has been a worthwhile experience for me to be able to watch and support young teacher develop their own styles of teaching the classroom, which has in turn allowed me to reflect on my teaching and approaches.

I am also always willing to support and assist student teachers from Universities in the Areas of Health, Psychology and VCAL. Again this experience allows me to reflect on my learning while providing feedback in both verbal and written form. In this process I ask the student teacher to reflect on their efforts and teaching, then providing feedback that focuses on giving the positives of the student teachers performance, while providing honest and constructive feedback about the lesson. Overall I believe that being an open minded, flexible, and approachable, team oriented person has enabled me to build positive working relationships with staff, students and parents. I trust this is reflected in the fact that the school has a highly regarded VCE and VCAL program that thrives on exceptional communication skills, both internally and with the broader community members

Key Selection Criteria 3

Demonstrate high level ability to monitor and assess student learning day to day, the individual cohort and whole school level and to use this data to inform teaching for improved student learning.

Data is an important tool in schools to assist in reflecting on performance of individuals and groups, providing critical feedback to staff, students and parents and in assisting in setting goals and future directions in schools.

In my classroom I use data to provide feedback to my students in terms of progress and achievements and assist in planning and developing of teaching content. Test results are used to gauge students understanding and development of concepts, while allowing a clearer focus of the areas and content that needs to be focused on to generate better understanding & learning prior to the completion of the unit. Throughout the course of the term I give students a chance to provide me with data & feedback about their achievements and expectations in the classroom; this allows students to voice their opinion in class, to have a greater feeling of connectiveness to the procedures that are followed in the classroom, while allowing me as the teacher to understand the thoughts and opinions in my classroom so I can improve student learning and performance in future classes or units.

Data is regularly used to assist in these conversations with parents/students about progress. This data has been collected from Students Academic reports which give the foundation for the support required for the future for improved student learning. These reports range from midterm interim reports, end of semester reports, VCE unit results and unofficial student reports as required, usually “at risk” students. Another effective form of data that has regularly been used to help guide the needs of individual students has been attendance data. At the end of each month the Senior School has attempted to provide feedback to all students to assist providing feedback to students and parents in regards to the senior VCE attendance policy procedure and the school Assessment procedure Policy. This process has seen a culture begin to occur where students are eager to find out their attendance rates to ensure their successful completion of final years of school. The data has also been an important tool to provide parents with feedback on the performance, attitude and effort being made by their child. It is then used as a way of monitoring their child’s effort and attitude in the classroom, by developing a set of support ideas that gives the student focus on what they need to be doing in class and what they should not be doing in the classroom.

As the Senior School Coordinator at Epping Secondary College, I collected data from our student management package to identify the needs of our students and areas we need to improve on such as attendance, teachers who need extra support, and patterns of students’ lack of focus. This data and information has been used to support and justify where the school needs to focus and take a stronger stance in terms of student management and support. The data has been useful in identifying ways to best support students, as well as providing future direction for the whole school and improved student learning. It was the basis for developing our Positive Case Management Plans and was able to flag staff that needed additional support in dealing with classroom management. Actions that have come from the use of the Senior School Data include;

Ideas for the reasons that students are causing concerns for staff
Whether strategies being used were effective
Redefine the strategies to make them more effective and supportive to the teaching staff in the Middle School – within the school procedures and policies
Identify staff who may need assistance with their classroom management strategies
Identify trends (positive and negative) to bring about meaningful change within our welfare and management strategies

The data has been an important tool to provide parents with feedback on the performance, attitude and effort being made by their child. It is then used as a way of monitoring their child’s effort and attitude in the classroom, by developing a set of support ideas that gives the student focus on what they need to be doing in class and what they should not be doing in the classroom.

In my previous role as the Senior School Coordinator at Epping Secondary College I oversaw the assessment and reporting of the school VASS data; this entails collation, analysis and recommendations made by individual subject’s teachers and Key learning coordinators. The process entailed sourcing the data direct from VASS and printing out numerous reports for each classroom teacher and Key Learning Area leaders. Then to the creation of the data analysis forms and distribution to Key learning area leaders for the initial analysis of subjects within the Key learning area. To the detailed individual subject analysis for each classroom teacher to analyse key strengths and knowledge of current curriculum practise as well as the implications of key skills and knowledge that may need to be applied in year 7 to 10 to allow student to perform at the highest standard within the senior years.

In 2009, I implemented the use of the First Class SMS where parents of students who were absent from morning class or late to school received a SMS text message in the morning. This assisted the school in monitoring the absence and whereabouts of students on a daily basis. Parents who received the SMS message, call, SMS reply or email the relevant Office staff to inform them of the reason for absence. This has assisted in reducing the work for Year Level Coordinators at the end of each day while also reducing the number of students who missed classes/days without their parents’ consent. This has also assisted the School in receiving explanations from parents which directly relates to the “Effective School is Engaging School – Student Engagement Policy Guidelines”.

In 2014, in response to the English departments concerns of students levels of ability during their senior years, I made the decision to personally carry out On-demand testing of all year 10 students in Literacy during term four to allow for VCE English staff in 2015 to have clearer understanding of their students. This information was collated and put onto the school’s Students Management Tool system for all staff to have access to. The system allows individual teachers to collate their own classes in 2015 from the 2014 data, then to adapt their teaching delivery, assessment and curriculum to their students individual needs, whether this be to accelerate, foster or support. This initiative was very successful enabling ongoing student data collection and profiling. Due to the success of the process in 2015 all students in years ten, eleven and twelve have also been tested to gauge a better understanding of student standards and level of ability. Allowing for curriculum streaming, structures of support and acceleration.

As the Senior School Coordinator I have ran a reverse audit looking at the key knowledge and skills staff believed was essential in each subject taught within the VCE and VCAL programs at Epping Secondary College. This was then broken down into Key learning areas and collated in terms of what was currently being taught alongside the curriculum. Enabling a clearly defined skill set that each student should have developed before entering either VCE or VCAL options as well as maximising the outcomes of each students potential in transitioning in further training and employment options.

As a member and leader of the Alternative unit at Epping Secondary College, I was involved with VQA with the VPP project in developing curriculum and assessment for VCAL subjects that involved cross curricular activities to be published for the use of other teacher’s state wide. The project involved working closely with other unit members in organising the VCAL course in the same structure to allow flow and transparent skill transfer between subjects. I personally worked on the VCAL Personal Development Course curriculum and its links to other subjects. I have also supported and developed teaching practise in relation to the Quality Assurance assessment processes as outline by the VQA and VCAA.

The process of collating and creating all student Career Action Plans from year 10 to 12 has been reviewed and monitored for the past two years, initially it was the careers coordinator who collected all year 11 & 12 student information during individual course counselling sessions. The year 10s developed CAPS folders in their Industry and Enterprise classes and collected and stored by these teaches. Unfortunately this was the most reliable process making it difficult to locate folders which in turn stopped them from being effectively utilised. This had lead me to find a computer based data collection program that allows the careers coordinator, Year Level Coordinators, Transition Broker and the Senior School Coordinator to view all students CAPs plans in the one place. This program allows managing staff to see when a student has last logged on, which students are looking for traineeships or apprenticeships, those who are looking for on-going work, who has requested additional counselling, as well as allow staff to write comments following interviews. The program allows all parties involved to access information straight away and in the one central place making sure that every student has an in depth and update view of themselves is provided with all correct and update counselling enabling informed Career Action Plans for all.

In my role as VCAL and Senior School Coordinator I used the On Track data as both a guide to finding out about student outcomes and tracking their achievements and future directions. Over the past years Epping Secondary Colleges University enrolments have remained high and steadily grown, while along with university enrolments, fulltime employment has risen as well as traineeships and apprenticeships. TAFE and VET courses have remained the highest outcomes for the past four years, however this does not mean that we are still not working on improving this and applying realistic options for students whist reducing 4% of the students population seeking work and unemployed by the year 2016. As the current labour marking indicating that only 3.6% of university students are seeking employment after completion of degrees in comparison to 19.5% of people who are seeking employment after only completing a year 10 level of education. Proving that with the incorporation of our VETis and VCAL programs at Epping Secondary students are having many more opportunities and options than ever before. I believe that the use of this data is important in tracking our students and gives teachers, administration and the wider community a clear indication of what is working across our school and supports the time and effort put into working with our student cohort and their parents in guiding students into achievable and realistic outcomes that suit the individual student and their ability level and aspirations.

As a VCE year 12 teacher at Epping Secondary College each year I have been given feedback via the VCAA about how my students performed in their exams, which I find vital in my curriculum planning for the following year. I use the data to focus on areas of weakness not only from the question and answer sections but from the outcome based knowledge. If there is any areas of concern or misinterpretation of questions I make sure that specific topics and questions are applied in greater detail in future teachings and make sure that any ambiguous topics or questioning is a are made more specific and apparent to future students in preparation for their examinations. I also use this data to benchmark both myself and my students as to how the entire state performed, this is a great way of making sure that way I am teaching the most update curriculum and that all school assessed coursework has enable students to demonstrate their full skills and knowledge and apply these in an exam situation. I am able to gauge school assessed coursework marks against the exams results of each student I believe to be the most important information I can receive. Most people can teach the syllabus but making sure that students get knowledge and skills and be able to apply them in an exam situation is the greatest result and reward.

As the Senior School Coordinator I oversaw the positive case management of students from year ten to twelve, this involves regular interim reports that I initiate from staff on a monthly basis, regular meetings with year level coordinators and parents alike. As well as individual counselling sessions with the careers coordinator and myself to monitor and assess student performance as well as overall transitioning of students from year level to year level as well as alternative options for them on a case by case need. This has been highly successful this year in terms of positive student outcomes whether they be academically or simply finding alternative educational setting for staff and students.

Key Selection Criteria 4

Demonstrated high level written and verbal communication skills and high level interpersonal skills including a capacity to develop constructive relationship with students, parents and other staff and contribute to the leadership and management of the school.

Throughout my teaching career I have worked hard to demonstrate and utilize effective communication and interpersonal skills to build solid and respectful relationships with students, parents and staff. I feel that these abilities have greatly assisted me in building positive relationships with students, who have always seemed comfortable in approaching me and discussing personal and complex issues. As a co-coordinator I deal with parents on a daily basis and have always found that honest, open and respectful communication is most effective in building a common understanding, gaining respect and assistance.

I have been very successful in developing a positive rapport with students, staff, parents and the community, and believe that this is due to my high level of communication and interpersonal skills. Central to my success as a leader has been my ability to communicate effectively with others, to listen to engage and include all members of the school community in which I am a part of. This is built on my belief that students learn best when they feel safe in their learning environment, have a voice in shaping their learning, feel accepted as a valued member of the school and enjoy a high level of self-esteem and connectedness.

As a Leading Teacher at Epping Secondary College I have been a member of the Student Welfare and Engagement Team with a particular focus in Years ten to twelve. As a member of this team I was a key member in the development, refinement and reestablishment of many processes within Student Management. As a part of the structural changes I was required to prepare and deliver presentations to Year Level Coordinators and members of the Welfare Team, as well as to the whole staff. This was to provide information about changes, additions and clarifications to structure and processes. During the presentations there were many times where data was used, data such as the exit from class.

In my previous role as Senior School Coordinator at Epping Secondary College, I have demonstrated the capability of focusing on important tasks at hand, setting up effective systems to deal with issues and procedures and then monitoring or reviewing the situation as needed. By utilising quality strategies I am skilled in the collection of meaningful data which assists in the making of difficult decisions and being able to establish effective systems.

During my time at Leading Teacher and Year Level Coordinator, I have spent considerable amounts of time discussing with students and staff topics of direction, goal setting, study timetables and best practices through my varying roles. This has allowed students to re-evaluate their efforts and direction, while exploring ways to maximize performance and at the same time giving staff an insight into what particular students might be experiencing and the methods that have been discussed to improve their studies.

As the Senior School Coordinator at Epping Secondary College I am always in close communication on a daily basis with the year 10, 11 and 12 coordinators as well as the careers coordinator and Assistant principal who oversees the area. As part of this role I am at the forefront of the senior school in regards to communication with parents. I am regularly on the phone with parents in regards to student process and success. As part of this role I also work heavily with Year level coordinators in terms of setting up clear and manageable daily weekly and monthly routines, focusing on student management (welfare and discipline), attendance and individual positive case management of students.

As part of my role I oversaw the positive case management of students in years 10 to 12 both in the Applied Learning Unit and mainstream areas of the school, which involved monthly reports on student progress within their subjects and selected courses, with the addition of parent meetings to discuss and develop goals and achievements for all stakeholders. This information also involves high levels of communication with teaching staff and each year level coordinator in the monitoring process. I use a number of different media to collate this data and develop individual positive case management plans, the school’s student management tool (SMT) is a great medium to track student attendance and incidents, copies of student reports and interim reports are also used. I work heavily with the school careers coordinator and transition broker with particular students as well as the school wellbeing department members.

Each year as a leading teacher I am involved in the school grade 6, next years year 7 enrolment process. Parents attend the school throughout the afternoon and evening together with their child where they are greeted by members of the school student SRC and directed to a staff member. We each sit down with the student and parent to get background on each student in the form of a meet and greet. We then run through enrolment paperwork to check that it has all been completed and understood, that students subject electives selection are correct, outline any school subject levies that may apply as well as further query any possible welfare or education support requirements the student may require. I find this a great way to be across all students at Epping Secondary allowing me to build a rapport with parents and students alike even though I may not be working with them directly. It allows me the opportunity to be aware of students moving through the school and the developing needs of the student body.

I approach conflict situations with a calm, fair, rational and consistent approach. I am an active, empathic listener. I treat people with respect and always follow through on decisions made, ensuring solution based processes are in place. I view my role with the parents as a partnership where we work together to achieve goals. This has been demonstrated by my ability to gain positive and productive outcomes when dealing with difficult and demanding parents. I have proven ability to help conflicting parties reach consensus. This is achieved through creating an environment of mutual support and respect. Through having a strong sense of self –awareness, seeking feedback from a variety of sources, continuing to demonstrate strong self-management I am able to achieve significant results and take on challenges successfully.

A team approach to student management is imperative within the Senior School Team. To develop an identity and ethos for the Sub School goals, objectives and strategies would be shared, refined and developed as part of a team. I have shown an ability to work as part of a team by working with the Senior Sub School team to develop the School policies and procedures. I have also shown an ability to facilitate a team of teachers as Health and Physical Education KLA Coordinator, VCAL coordinator and as the Senior School Coordinator.

Over the Course of 2010 – 2014 at Epping Secondary College I was a constant part of a team who were developing, working in and maintaining a team approach to Senior school programs. These teams have been developed to focus on producing and improving the culture and ethos for the Sub School’s objectives, strategies and programs. I have shown an ability to work as part of a team by working with the Year twelve and VCAL Coordinators to develop the Senior School Procedures, activities and programs. The team developed and addressed the Senior School needs of staff, students and parents, in an effort to develop the best educational community possible for students, such as:

A safe happy environment which is best for: Learning and Development of self-esteem and confidence.
A situation where students, teachers and parents can be viewed as partners in education.
Relationships between students, teachers and parents which are based on Consultative process, Trust and Recognition for each other’s rights and responsibilities.
The development of skills needed for students to be responsible for their own learning.

In 2014 I was involved with the school staff review process having seven staff that I had to complete mid-cycle reviews with. These reviews where all link to individual staff interest and their Professional Learning teams. I found this process to be a very supportive and informative process allowing me to build a rapport and mentor staff that I would not necessarily come into contact with on a daily basis and discuss professional practise in very constructive way. Having staff from a variety of Key learning areas and of different teaching levels really allowed me to have a deeper understand of staff strengths interests and capabilities. This was a really rewarding experience allowing for an open dialogue in in terms of professional practise and techniques employed both within the classroom and the school setting. As part of my role as the Senior School Coordinator I work in close collaboration with the school operations, communication and data leader in regards to senior schools exam timetables and programs being held at the year ten, eleven and twelve. This is essential in the day to day running of the senior end of the school. I have worked heavily on adding essential paperwork for staff and parents alike to support better line of communication such as letters of concerns to parents regarding students poor learning behaviours and progress within particular subjects as well as unsatisfactory unit letter to make sure parents are contacted regularly and fully informed about their child progress. I also focused on staff using the school Student Management tool now known as Xuno, to log notes, discussions, concern and all over progress and behaviours to enable greater communication between staff year level coordinators, middle management and principal class to enable swift and appropriate action. The platform is very similar to Compass enabling greater data, tracking and monitoring of students and staff for greater analysing and preparation for future years and individual student data.

In 2014 the senior school team felt the need to emphasise the importance of the senior years and the learning behaviours required at this level of schooling to parents and students alike. Thus we invited all parents of each year level to a parent forum evening outline the schools policies and procedures, first points of contact and support personal for both parents as staff enabling and open lines of communication. This involved year level coordinators, Careers coordinators, transition brokers, welfare personnel, leading teachers and the Assistant Principal all outline their roles within the school, the support structures and culture of senior school followed by an open forum for parents to ask questions individually and directly the staff concerned during the evening. Evaluations where also collected on the night to gauge parents feedback of the evening and parents where all sent letters of thank you for their time and commitment to their son/daughter educational journey and that we as a school would me making the same commitment to their child.

As part of my role as the Senior School Coordinator I oversee the school year 12 examination process, I have regular contact with the VCAA examination team in regards to timetabling and student numbers, subjects numbers, special provision, examination transfers as well as the school chief supervisor in regards to students numbers examinations, regulations, timetabling and room allocation. This in turn must be communicated to the school principal class, year level coordinators and staff and students alike, through emails, letters and documentation.

As the VCAL and Senior School Coordinator at Epping Secondary College I am in regular contact with the school parent population regarding individual student progress and behaviour. This is either through written mediums in the school newsletter, telephone calls and letters that are sent home regarding specific programs and monitoring means as well as general student wellbeing and engagement issues. I am readily available to students and staff in regards to individual students programs and progress. I also have regular meetings with year level coordinators and the careers coordinator regarding additional programs and student’s welfare and monitoring systems. As the VCAL coordinator on a daily basis I deal with daily house duties such as attendance, uniform management, handing out passes to students and checking on correct uniform as well as following up lateness to school and to classes. Issuing detentions for behaviour issues and academic detentions for uncompleted class work. This information is all logged on the school Student Management Tool for transparency and ongoing data of individual student behaviour and also allows for clear lines of communication for all parties whether that be additional coordinators, Assistant Principals, teachers and parents alike.

I believe to maintain strong leadership that a person must be proactive, approachable, enthusiastic, and have a dynamic personality. Someone who is able to plan, organise, lead, control and work in a team situation to ensure the school’s vision, values and charter are achieved. I have demonstrated this by my willingness to take on new challenges whether it is taking on new subjects or positions of responsibility.

I liaise with other KLA leaders on cross curriculum activities and have regular contact via curriculum meetings. I have introduced a clear line of communication between VCAL (alternate unit) and the senior unit of Epping Secondary which covers student information and programs being developed and run via each unit. With the regular feedback and discussion within later year’s meetings I believe I have developed a strong and clear understanding of the post compulsory area and its concerns as well as its future directions as outlined in our strategic plan.

I continually report back to the curriculum committee members about information from Senior school meetings as to current strategies, suggestions, results and programs beginning developed and implemented by and for the college and vice versa from the curriculum committee to the Senior school committee. I constantly collaborate with the careers teacher in regards to subject course advice for many of our students requiring further careers advice and direction. I willingly make myself available to students seeking advice in any of the VCAL and psychology subjects. Throughout the year I have worked closely with the Careers and Senior Unit coordinators in relation to both VCE and VCAL students as well as their involvement in selected TAFE and VETis courses. I have always been supportive of student teachers both as a staff member and as a supervisory teacher, and mentor new teachers at the school.

In all I believe that being an open minded, flexible, approachable and team oriented person has enabled me to build positive working relationships with fellow staff, students and parents. This I believe is reflected in the fact that our school has a highly regarded physical education and VCAL program that thrives on exceptional communication skills, both internally and with the broader community members. In particular I feel I have been responsible for a more transparent communication link between our VCAL successes and student outcomes and that was seen as necessary in informing staff of the on-going development of VCAL programs and issues but more importantly of the success and positive outcomes of our VCAL students, developments and importantly student successes.

Overall if I was a successful applicant I would continue to maintain the strong communication links with all concerned parties from students, parents and staff to the vast and varied community partners as I see that this aspect is a key are in maintaining the continued success of all Epping Secondary College programs.

Key Selection Criteria 5

Demonstrated commitment and capacity to contribute to and lead whole school improvement initiatives, manage major curriculum or students activities and a commitment to on-going professional learning for self and others to enable further development of skills, expertise and leadership capacity.

From 2009-2014 I was the Transition and Pathways, Later Years Manager, then retitled Senior School Coordinator in 2014. This required me to work with and manage a team of staff of varied experience as Year Level Coordinators Careers Coordinators and transition Brokers. This team was made up of staff that had been in the position of Year Level Coordination for many years, teachers new to the role and a staff member who was returning to the role of Year Level Coordination in a new environment. In working with this team I was required to bring about a common language and set of expectations for Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students. I am particularly proud of keeping the team member’s together working towards a consistent and common approach for the three years as the Later Years Manager. Although at many stages there were difference in the issues that we being managed at different year levels, the approach and consequences for not following the expectations across Years ten to twelve was consistent which has helped in students moving smoothly through the school from Years ten to twelve.

In my role for the past five years as the Senior School Coordinator and Later Years Manager I have overseen the transition and pathways section of the schools strategic plan and Annual Implementation Plan. The role included looking at whole school practise that aligned the middle and senior ends of the schools welfare and discipline policy; whilst implementing the current school levels of behaviour policy and continuing to improve student outcomes in further education and training. For the past three years I have focused heavily on the school policy and practises in regards to student’s management as well as policy and procedure development.

For the past two years as both the Senior School Coordinator and Later Years Manager the focus has been on VCE excellence where I conducted research and investigation into year 10 curriculum structure and elective optional programs offered by like school, focusing on more rigorous and coherent structures to align with year 11 and 12 options at Epping Secondary College. Which has resulted in the entire school restructuring the year 10 elective program now called “selectives” program for 2016. This planning was taken to the school leadership team and then to the school’s Curriculum team who gave themselves twelve months to review the new Ausvel curriculum structure and to development units of work that where VCE focused, this development was not only curriculum based but focusing on behavioural practises required by students in the senior years and assessment procedures that need to be adhere to from both the VCAA and VQA process from VCAL applied learning unit. As previously mention I have worked with the school PHASE Department in the Health and Physical Education offering for 2016. As part of these investigations I visited schools, had lengthy meetings with year level coordinators, curriculum managers and assistant principal in what other schools are offering why they are offering these types of programs and how they believe they are beneficial within their school. They have also provided me with curriculum outlines and course selection manuals that I have feed back to the Senior School Team and VCE Excellence personnel, with the view to look at possible changes and subject allocation in 2014 and 2015 alike

As the Later Years Manager I introduced a reflection and analysis feedback day for all year 11 to 12 students to review examinations they had just completed after staff had completed marking them. Students and staff were focusing on strengths and weakness within the examination as well as individual approaches and applications of students and teachers alike. Staff were PD on the process to allow for consistent and meaningful feedback to be provided to students and how this information could be feedback to other staff within the curriculum area. The day in itself came about through feedback session I had run with year level coordinators at years ten, eleven and twelve where students who felt that individual feedback and analysis of examination did not support future examination preparation. Therefore allowing for greater feedback and reflection of skills, knowledge and behavioural practises throughout following years.

As the Senior School Coordinator I collated the year eleven and twelve curriculum outlines and school assessed course work dates. This information was very informative to the Senior School committee as a review of practise and procedure and lead to the development curriculum planning templates for all year 11 and 12 staff for 2014 and beyond. This has allowed for the development of Professional learning teams in 2014 to focus on VCE and VCAL. Therefore curriculum outlines can become centralised in future on an electrical level for all staff and students and parents, creating a culture of transparent curriculum for all.

In 2014 as part of the VCE excellence focus as the Senior School Coordinator I was working with the operations, communications and data coordinator as well as the careers coordinator reviewing the senior school blocking process of Epping Secondary college. The VCE Excellence teams aim was to align the year 10 electives programs with VCE subject blockings thereby catering for the growing number of year 10 students wanting to complete VCE subjects as part of their year 10 load. In 2015 Epping Secondary College has been able to have approximately 25% of the Year 11 cohort studying a Unit 3 & 4 subject. In the coming years this will increase as the “selectives” program is introduced in 2016 for Year 10 students and greater flexibility is achieved for students programs.

In leading the Senior School team, I work comprehensively with the school’s curriculum manger in producing the school Later Years Handbook which outlines the school policies, procedures, assessment and reporting process of senior school as well as individual subject options for students at the end of year 10 and 11. This communication and team approach to such a vital resource is essential in the distribution of this handbook to parents and students as part of the year 10 course counselling process, as the handbook is retained by each student for the duration of their VCE and VCAL experience as a reference point. The Senior School team has also researched and evaluated this handbook over the past two years and promoted changes in 2015 to ensure the publication meet the pathway needs of students and parents; whist assisting them with a cohesive subject selection process. We are also looking at applying an online subject selection process to refine and enhance the course counselling process for all year 10 and 11 students in future years.

For a number of years at Epping Secondary College I have utilised the resources of the Elevate Education along with the guest speakers for years ten, eleven and twelve. Elevate education has developed a different approach to study skills. Elevates workshops with students have actually made the teaching of study skills an enjoyable process. Elevates’ study skills programmes aim to get the best out of our students. Elevate uses techniques to ensure that students are not only engaged, but actually use the study skills to make a tangible difference to their marks in their senior years of study. I believe that by utilising young presenter’s students are able to relate to the presenters throughout the short and sharp sessions and by running a number of different sessions throughout the year I and able keep up student’s momentum and interest in developing their skills. The practical skills students gain through these sessions can used immediately within all their subjects and students can see the results for themselves. I also ensure that sessions are linked to whole staff Professional development from Elevate Education in how to utilise these techniques with their students in their own subject areas. I have also run parent workshops to ensure the skills are reviewed and reinforced in the classroom and at home. The Elevate Education sessions are linked to the students Personal Learning and POD classes, a program that is being run at year 11 for the past seven years and now at year 12. In this process I have developed curriculum resource folders for all staff involved, which I update yearly. Each teacher is given weekly outlines and materials to be used, and I then liaise and organise guest speakers from Elevate Education and additional support agencies via year level coordinators to complement the theme based curriculum content being covered. I have also extended the program to now incorporate “Edrolo” Elevates sister company which is an Online based program incorporating videos, marked exam practice, curriculum-focussed diagnostics, and study planning tools, that both staff and student access at school and at home to ensure peak potential for all year 10,11 and 12 students.

As the Senior School Coordinator, Later Years Manager and VCAL coordinator at Epping Secondary College I have been involved with the VCE subject school assessment audit and the VCAL quality assurance process (QA). The VCE audit involved me liaising with subject teachers and the VCAA via Monkey Surveys completed by subject teachers in relation to their individual subject assessment. Some subjects through this process were not successful I then organised meetings with the VCAA and chief auditor of these subjects to review current practise and assessment, whilst encouraging staff to look at the process as a professional development for all involved. The VCAL QA process is a rotational one where subjects are audited from highest level taught to lowest level taught yearly. I used the VCAA bulletin to keep up-to-date of changes and review dates that I emailed to all VCAL and VCE staff. I then liaise with the staff teaching of each subject as well as the QA panel in submitted documentation. I also support staff by attending the presentation process via the regional meeting to gain as much knowledge and feedback as possible into the area. I again encouraged staff to see the process as a supportive measure to better individual teaching practise.

In 2014 and 2015 as part of my ongoing professional learning I have undertaken the Bastow Create: Middle leaders program with the Bastow Institute of Educational leadership. The Create program is focused around the needs of the participants pursuing a change endeavour. My change endeavour being based on the school strategic plan of developing all students who are self-directed learners, who believe in themselves and are empathetic global citizens who strive for excellence. I believe that the course enabled me to contextualise my learning as a Middle Leader and collaborate with my colleagues to improve student learning priorities. I also believe the program has given me an opportunity to be a far more reflective in the way that I approach my leadership and allowed me to then transfer that into my leadership back at school to be able to support and drive the Senior School team at Epping Secondary College.

As part of my role as the Senior School Coordinator I was heavily involved with the schools wellbeing and engagement team, this teams focus was whole school policies. We as a team reviewed and analysed current practises and policies of the school as well as researched like schools then developed and applied the Ramon Lewis approach to all areas. The team itself developed the schools levels of behaviour structure coupled with the use of a critical conversation as part of the classroom exit procedure which has been critical in staff and students developing a rapport and understanding of the acceptable levels of behaviour within the school. The teams aim was to make policies and procedures as transparent as possible to students and staff alike. This took place through placing flow charts and diagrams located in student school planners, to wall flow charts in classrooms and running of many professional development sessions with staff.

As part of my ongoing Professional development I have undertaken the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership “Create” middle leaders which offers transformative leadership professional development and learning, The Create program is designed for Middle Leaders who have a responsibility to lead or support colleagues’ learning to improve student learning, I believe this course has giving me an opportunity to be more reflective in the way that I approach my leadership and has really allowed me to then apply that into my leadership back at school enabling me to support and drive change within Epping Secondary College.

I have excellent planning and organisation skills that have allowed me to provide leadership in many forms of educational and personal development excursions, activities and events for students beyond the classroom setting. Examples of these activities include:

Valedictory Dinner
Debutante Balls
Parent Forums
Staff and Parent Meet and greets
Year 12 Study Camps
VCAL Applied Learning Camps
Mentoring Breakfast and Morning Teas
Luncheons
Sausages sizzles and BBQ’s
School Carnival/ Enterprise days
Annual Surf Camps
Annual VCAL Senior Queensland camps
Year Level Recognition Assemblies
Sports Carnivals
Organisation of Structured Workplace Learning placements
Work Experience for students
Guest Speakers
Grade 6 orientation visits
Grade 6 Orientation days
Immunisation days

Regular reflection on my own teaching and leadership and participation in a variety of professional development sessions and extensive professional reading has enabled me to understand the importance of modelling and valuing how to learn. In my classroom and as a member of our leadership team, I see myself as a knowledge manager or leader of learning. This means that my students and my teaching team are encouraged to take calculated risks, learn through mistakes and set high expectations. Most importantly, I encourage others to reflect on their learning and make decisions about future learning needs and direction as needed.

I have been a strong contributor to the school as a whole, in all my positions of responsibility; as the Senior School Coordinator, Later Years Manager, Transition and pathways coordinator and as a classroom teacher. I am always striving to bring out the best in my students and team members as well as be a role model to staff and students alike. I believe that having been a teacher at Epping Secondary College for the past 15 years and a senior school leader for the past five that I have a strong understanding of where Epping Secondary Secondary College is looking to take the school in its future endeavours. In concluding my ability, motivation and belief to carry out the role of Senior School Coordinator at Epping Secondary College can be demonstrated in my commitment and dedication to the level and variety of positions of responsibility I have held which have allowed my leadership and general teaching practise to flourish to a level that I believe now a new adventure in my career is the next step coupled with Epping Secondary College values system of Respect Empathy and Compassion Curiosity and Inclusiveness a Perseverance and Excellence which has been my teaching mantra for the past fifteen years.

: Job Title: Leading Teacher