Job Title: Principal
Word Limit: 3-4 Pages
Committed to the learning and growth of young people, my leadership is guided by fairness, ethical practice, democratic values, lifelong learning, as well as collaboration. Within my previous roles I have demonstrated my understanding, expertise and school leadership skills in order to establish whole school visions of commitment to high standards and the success of all students, which has been reflected through the strategic direction, school culture and positive ethos I have sought to promote across schools. My experience as an Acting Principal for Kukerin Primary School saw me develop and implement both a personal and organisational vision which closely linked all learning and development activities to enhance student learning outcomes. This was demonstrated through an intensive focus on goal setting and professional development where I actively promoted the benefits of professional learning to all staff and ensured that their willingness and efforts to learn and improve were recognised. When setting goals and identifying areas of improvement, I utilised data reflecting student learning outcomes, which enabled me to provide professional learning opportunities that were both in line with the interests of staff, as well as the school’s vision and values. Additionally, I have a strong focus on my own professional development and consistently model the benefits of lifelong learning. This has been reflected through a professional learning session that I attended earlier this year, titled: Performance Management and Managing the Hard Feedback using a Coaching Approach. The knowledge and skills that I gained from this training facilitated my ability to create an effective performance management framework for Kukerin Primary School, and I was provided with positive feedback from the school’s Registrar stating that she was impressed with my professional and straightforward approach. Furthermore, I have recently attended the WAPPA Conference: Connected Schools, Connected Leaders. Attending the conference was an opportunity for me to consolidate my skills and knowledge regarding collaborative practice, which has strengthened my shared approach as a leader.
As a school leader, I understand the practice and theory of contemporary leadership and apply my knowledge to ensure that all activities are focused on improving student learning outcomes. I have clearly demonstrated this through the initiatives that I implemented whilst undertaking my tenure as Acting Principal for Kukerin Primary School. This has included authoring a survey aimed at staff, students and their parents with the aim of gathering data to inform best practice whole school planning that would assist Year 6 students with their transition into high school. The surveys focused at students ask questions such as what the students were most looking forward to about high school and what they were unsure of. I plan to utilise the data in order to develop and implement specific coaching sessions for students with a high-focus on stress and anxiety management. I am well versed in the latest research and developments in pedagogy, curriculum, assessment and reporting, as well as student wellbeing. Through continually reading the latest developments and participating in ongoing professional learning opportunities, I ensure that my practice remains contemporary, while at the same time facilitate my ability to share current developments with staff. My knowledge extents to insight into relevant national policies, practices and initiatives, as well as relevant state legislation, agreements and policies, and has been expanded whilst undertaking Acting Principal responsibilities. During this time I have gained exposure to a number of departmental strategic plans, including Focus 2015 which sets out the priorities for schools, including success for all students. My knowledge of this initiative has been evident at Kukerin Primary School through the implementation of opportunities for all students to experience positive engagement within the school. This has included establishing a positive behaviour committee, reviewing the school’s behaviour policy, and utilising my previous knowledge and experience to put in place new behaviour management approach based on my workwith the School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support Committee at Carramar Primary School. The new approach is focused on the explicit teaching and reinforcing of positive behaviours, and creating a common language across the school. The initiative has proven to be successful and reflects my understanding of Focus 2012 through the mindfulness of the health and wellbeing of all students, including their resilience, emotional regulation and behaviour.
My success in undertaking leadership positions has demonstrated my ability to build trust across the school community in order to create a positive learning atmosphere for students, staff and the wider community in which I work. Upon commencement of my Acting Principal role for Kukerin Primary School I immediately fostered a collaborative approach where I distributed leadership and encouraged staff to build consensus across the school community and to take individual responsibility for implementing change. This enabled me to productively lead staff in identifying and planning high-quality teaching and learning. I achieved this through engaging and inspiring staff to commit to evidence-based improvement, change and innovation that has a positive impact on student learning. This included positive behaviour management initiatives, a whole school spelling and mathematics scope and sequence, as well as focusing on students at educational risk in mathematics and planning for individual student needs using MTSOnline assessments. As a result, the school has developed a cohesive and strong team approach which has effected upon positive student learning outcomes. As well as building collaborative relationships with teaching staff, as a school leader I build partnerships with the local community and external stakeholders in order to include them in the vision and values of the school, and provide them with opportunities to contribute to its success. This has been evidenced through my active involvement with the Parents and Citizens committee at Kukerin Primary School. My role within the committee was to act as representative for the staff at the school, as well as to engage parents and the local community in decision-making discussions. Furthermore, I worked with parents who were members of the school council in order to ratify school policies and procedures, such as the positive behaviour management policy implementation. I view the education of students as a shared responsibility, benefiting all students, the society and economy as a whole. Therefore, my collaborative approach with parents and the wider community fosters a reciprocal engagement which strongly supports ongoing student achievement.
With a natural ability to create a positive culture of challenge and support, I am adept at facilitating effective teaching that promotes enthusiastic and independent learners who are committed to lifelong learning. As a Principal, I set high whole school expectations through careful collaborative planning, monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of learning. This was clearly demonstrated whilst undertaking the role of Acting Principal for Kukerin Primary School, where upon commencement of the role I identified that staff were not unified in their approach to teaching and learning. To overcome this and to strengthen the team I introduced structured collaboration, planning and feedback while promoting a whole school approach. Through regular meetings, discussion and reflection, as well as collaborative moderating and grading, staff at the school gained a new found confidence in their abilities as educators. This in turn has resulted in an increase in positive student learning outcomes. Furthermore, I have played a hands-on role at the school with the implementation of Phase 2 and 3 of the Australian Curriculum implementation. This has involved providing staff with resources that affect their areas of teaching once a week and subsequent to them reading the documentation, engaging them in a review and discussion of the content. We have discussed how to best tailor the content to suit Western Australian schools, including identifying core and additional content. This robust approach to reviewing the curriculum and pedagogy has ensured a consistently high-quality environment for learning, and I am confident that this process will enable staff to effectively implement the two new Phases with ease. Throughout this process, in addition to staff professional learning and development, I have developed a coaching culture that encourages honest feedback that is based on evidence. During my tenure at Kukerin Primary School, I secured two new staff members, including a graduate teacher, whom I have worked closely with through consistent guidance, reviews and providing assistance with planning. This has enabled me to ensure that reflective practices, structured feedback, peer review and the use of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers are utilised to foster continuous improvement of staff. Furthermore, staff have felt valued and supported, which has resulted in a strong collaborative approach in supporting the learning of each other, as well as the development of effective pedagogy.
I am committed to working with and through others in order to build a professional learning community that is focused on the continuous improvement of teaching and learning. This has been reflected in my work at Kukerin Primary School through my effective management of staff performance, promotion of continuing professional learning and regular feedback, which has resulted in staff feeling supported to achieve high standards and develop their leadership capacity. When undertaking handover from the previous Principal it was identified that there was no practice in place to support students at educational risk. To address this I have encouraged and supported a staff member to attend professional development focused on students with dyslexia and reading difficulties in order to support the implementation of a new framework I have introduced that manages the needs of at risk students. The information that this staff member has shared has assisted in the modification of The Students at Educational Risk Policy and Procedures documentation for the school. Furthermore, I have released the staff member from class two mornings a week so that she is able to provide one-on-one support for those students at risk, as well as to provide opportunities to extend high-achieving students. As a Principal, I support others, build capacity and treat people fairly and with respect. This was clearly demonstrated during my dealings with the school gardener at Kukerin Primary School when I recognised that she was not keeping to her contract. In order to overcome this, instead of reprimanding her, I provided support and guidance with setting goals and targets such as turning up to work at a certain time and setting tasks to complete each day. The staff member appreciated my approach and her attendance, as well as the quality and amount of work that she markedly improved. In addition to supporting others, I model effective leadership through my commitment to my own professional development in order to manage the complexity of the responsibilities of a Principal and the range of learning capabilities and actions required of the role. I have supported this through signing up with the Department of Education Principals’ Advisory Team in order to gain access to mentoring and support while building my capacity to lead in an autonomous environment and to bring about positive change in schools. I have recently met with a Principal Advisor where we looked in detail at the Australian Professional Standards for Principals against my own personal reflections and goals and how I can best reach those goals. This has resulted in my attendance at one line budget training in order to obtain knowledge on how to operate, monitor and report on the one line budget using the new School Resourcing System components. I have since utilised the skills gained to effectively manage resources in my role as Principal at Kukerin Primary School.
Upon commencement of my Acting Principal role at Kukerin Primary School, I identified the need for innovation and improvement in order to achieve consistency with the school’s vision and values. Utilising data that I analysed from student learning outcomes, I communicated the need for change to the whole school community in a way that was both inspirational and logical. This resulted in the implementation of clear frameworks for managing students at educational risk, positive behaviour management, the creation of a learning support role, as well as the introduction of a whole school collaborative approach. Additionally, I have worked with staff at the school to implement a framework for the effective creation of Individual Education Plans which are focused on a targeted and explicit approach to students at educational risk. The implementation of the new frameworks has not only been an effective guide to identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses and recognising how they can succeed in school, but has also provided staff with an effectual means of filing and tracking student data across the school. The staff and I have then been able to utilise this data to further identify educational gaps such as issues with spelling and mathematics in the older students. This has enabled us to utilise Diana Rigg diagnostic testing, as well as National Testing Service (NTS) online testing to further analyse students’ abilities and implement effective scope and sequence that meets their diverse abilities. Staff have successfully maximised student learning outcomes through explicit and differentiated teaching. I recognise that a crucial part of the role of Principal is to lead and manage innovation and change to ensure that the school vision and strategic plan is put into action across the school and that its goals and intentions are realised. The above examples demonstrate my success at bringing best practice to the forefront of providing quality education. At Kukerin Primary School I have been successful in developing new processes and a common language for change, which has supported the implementation of a collaborative vision and strategic plan. Through consistent research, innovation and creativity, I have embedded a culture of continuous improvement where all staff are committed to achieving a strong learning environment that focuses on the provision of a balanced program that assists in developing both the social and academic areas of learning.
Whilst undertaking the responsibility of Acting Principal at Kukerin Primary School I utilised and implemented a range of data management methods and technologies to ensure the efficient organisation and management of school resources and staff, as well as to provide an effective and safe learning environment that represents value for money. This has included the creation of individual teacher files where all staff members have access to the same information, policies and procedures, including Australian Curriculum and Australian Professional Standards for Teachers documentation. The files are ‘live’ and I encourage all staff to take them to meetings in order to update information and include copies of minutes for future reference. The files have been effective in assisting with the organisation of staff and have contributed to fostering an environment where staff take collective responsibility for the smooth and efficient running of the school. I have had the opportunity to undertake employment-related practices and decisions at Kukerin Primary School through the employment of two additional staff members. This involved analysing the database of graduate and fixed-term teachers, contacting applications and undertaking referee checks and interviews. Whilst ensuring that my decisions were consistent with legislative requirements, I additionally placed emphasis on ensuring that the new staff members would fit with the school culture and ethos. As a result, I have successfully maintained a strong team who are in agreement with extending student abilities within a positive learning environment in order to obtain consistent student learning outcomes. I observed the new staff members become involved in the school community immediately, including developing strong relationships with students and parents and demonstrating involvement in after school sports activities. As a result, I have received positive feedback from parents who have commended me on my ability to develop a strong and cohesive educational team. Furthermore within this role I have allocated resources effectively in order to maintain the day-to-day operations of the school. As certifying officer of the school financials, I have closely analysed the budget and worked it in such a way to create an additional position for an Education Support Officer. Additionally I have purchased resources for the whole school community, including mathematics problem solving boxes, 2 additional iPads, sporting and playground equipment, as well as new classroom storage. The school has greatly benefited from the additional resources and my thorough understanding of obligations in relation to the rules of procurement when spending school money has been reflected through my purchasing practices ensuring better value for money.
Collaboration has been the key to my success as Acting Principal at Kukerin Primary School, and this approach extends from working closely with the staff, parents and students of the school, to the wider community. I embrace inclusion and I have contributed to building a culture of high expectations within the school that takes into account the richness and diversity of the school’s wider community. This has been achieved through developing and maintaining positive partnerships by regularly attending community and sporting events and fundraisers. At all times I have represented and advocated for the school in a professional and friendly manner which has facilitated my ability to build collaborative relationships in order to develop a strong school governing body that is a true representative of the community. The local community and external stakeholders are well aware of the vision and values of the school and regularly contribute to its success. This is achieved through collaborative decision making processes, as well as the community providing valuable resources for students. For example, I was recently able to engage a local emu farmer who was willing to host an excursion so that students could gain first-hand experience on the farm. Students were able to view adult emus, nests and chicks in their natural setting which was a valuable and enjoyable learning experience. Moreover, I have harnessed the opportunity to utilise school chaplaincy funding through engaging a local community member who is involved with the church. She has been voluntarily shadowing the school’s Support Chaplin and I have provided her with the opportunity to meet with a Youth Care Manager to discuss undertaking the required formal training. As a result, she is eager to complete the training and undertake the role as the new school Chaplin and I will be able to utilise the government chaplaincy funding to cover her wages for 2 days per week. This fits in well with the long-term vision for the school and creating a whole school ethos of respect taking account of the intellectual, spiritual, cultural, moral, and social health and wellbeing of all students.
