Classroom Teacher

Albert Park Primary School is an inner-city bayside school in the City of Port Phillip.   It is a unique village community, that promotes and develops life-long learners with high expectations of The Albert Park community values.  Albert Park Primary School recognises the importance of a caring and supportive community. At the heart of this is the partnership between school and home. Our aim is to build a community where children thrive, with their wellbeing central to this and where they are happily engaged with their learning. Our community shares a commitment to and a responsibility for a happy, inclusive, safe and aspirational learning environment for all our children.

APPS has an engaged and active school community, strong support from and ties with the local area and surrounding schools and school council.   We are right on the doorstep of a number of high-quality sporting venues and have easy access to a wide variety of cultural opportunities.

The current enrolment of 454 students is drawn from a range of cultures and backgrounds.   The school has a complement of 27.3 effective full time (EFT) teaching staff and 8 EFT support in 2024.  Teachers have a strong culture of collaboration and highly focussed professional development which is evident in PLC work and collective team planning with the use of data to enhance teaching and learning.

The school is committed to continual development of the school, students and teachers. There is a focus on providing a safe and secure learning environment for all students and an understanding that students reach their full potential only when they are happy, healthy, safe and valued in an environment where there is a positive school culture to engage students and support them in their learning. Albert Park Primary acknowledges that student wellbeing and student learning outcomes are closely linked.

Every student should have the opportunity to meet their personal and educational potential in an environment that fosters the `Albert Park Way¿- Be kind and fair, Act safely, Respect everyone¿s rights, One voice at a time, Keep trying. There is a focus on developing our students¿ future skills and knowledge through our sustainable school¿s program and development of 21st Century learning skills and capabilities to develop critical thinking.

The school¿s curriculum is documented and addresses the learning standards of the Victorian Curriculum. The 20 classes are well resourced and are currently structured by grade levels. The school has made significant academic progress during the last School Strategic Plan and generally performs as well as its `similar schools. Learning is visible in every classroom with clear learning intentions and success criteria for all sessions. Students and teachers report student learning in real-time to parents using Compass. Students use Google Apps for Education in grades 2-6, with almost 1:1 school provided technology.

The school community brings with it high expectations in terms of academic outcomes, resourcing, facilities and the provision of extra curricula opportunities for students. These include specialist programs for Visual Arts, Physical Education, Music and French. Student wellbeing is a priority and supported through the Visible Wellbeing, Respectful Relationships whole school initiative and a focus on mindfulness. It also self-funds a counsellor, library assistant, nurses and an intervention program for literacy.

SC1    Demonstrated knowledge of the relevant curriculum, including the ability to incorporate the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills. Demonstrated experience in responding to student learning needs.

SC2    Demonstrated experience in planning for and implementing high impact teaching strategies, guided by how students learn, and evaluating the impact of learning and teaching programs on student learning growth. 

SC3    Demonstrated experience in monitoring and assessing student learning. Demonstrated experience in using data to inform teaching practice and providing feedback on student learning growth and achievement to students and parents.

SC4    Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated experience in establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with students, parents, colleagues and the broader school community to support student learning, agency, wellbeing and engagement.

SC5    Demonstrated behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values. Demonstrated experience in reflecting upon practice and engaging in professional learning to continually improve the quality of teaching.

The Classroom Teacher classification comprises two salary ranges- range 1 and range 2.  The primary focus of the Classroom Teacher is on the planning, preparation and teaching of programs to achieve specific student outcomes.  The Classroom Teacher engages in critical reflection and inquiry in order to improve knowledge and skills to effectively engage students and improve their learning. 

As the Classroom Teacher gains experience his or her contribution to the school program beyond the classroom increases. All Classroom Teachers may be required to undertake other duties in addition to their rostered teaching duties provided the responsibility is appropriate to the salary range, qualifications, training and experience of the teacher.

Classroom teacher Range 2
Range 2 Classroom Teachers play a significant role in assisting the school to improve student performance and educational outcomes determined by the school strategic plan and state-wide priorities and contributing to the development and implementation of school policies and priorities.

A critical component of this work will focus on increasing the knowledge base of staff within their school about student learning and high quality instruction to assist their school to define quality teacher practice.

Range 2 Classroom Teachers will be expected to:
- Have the content knowledge and pedagogical practice to meet the diverse needs of all students
- Model exemplary classroom practice and mentor/coach other teachers in the school to engage in critical reflection of their practice and to support staff to expand their capacity
- Provide expert advice about the content, processes and strategies that will shape individual and school professional learning
- Supervise and train one or more student teachers
- Assist staff to use student data to inform teaching approaches that enable targets related to improving student learning outcomes to be achieved.

Classroom teacher Range 1
The primary focus of the range 1 Classroom Teacher is on further developing skills and competencies to become an effective classroom practitioner with structured support and guidance from teachers at higher levels and the planning, preparation and teaching of programs to achieve specific student outcomes. These teachers teach a range of students/classes and are accountable for the effective delivery of their programs.  Range 1 Classroom Teachers are skilled teachers who operate under general direction within clear guidelines following established work practices and documented priorities and may have responsibility for the supervision and training of one or more student teachers.

At range 1, teachers participate in the development of school policies and programs and assist in the implementation of school priorities. 
The focus of a range 1 Classroom Teacher is on classroom management, subject content and teaching practice.  New entrants to the teaching profession in their initial teaching years receive structured support, mentoring and guidance from teachers at higher levels.

Under guidance, new entrants to the teaching profession will plan and teach student groups in one or more subjects and are expected to participate in induction programs and other professional learning activities that are designed to ensure the integration of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy across the school.

Teachers at range 1 are responsible for teaching their own classes and may also assist and participate in policy development, project teams and the organisation of co-curricula activities.

The role of Classroom Teacher may include but is not limited to:

• Direct teaching of groups of students and individual students;
• Contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of a curriculum area or other curriculum program within the school;
• Undertaking other classroom teaching related and organisational duties as determined by the School Principal;
• Participating in activities such as parent/teacher meetings; staff meetings; camps and excursions;
• Undertaking other non-teaching supervisory duties.

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.

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.

The Department of Education is committed to the principles of equal opportunity, and diversity and inclusion for all. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQ+, 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 family friendly, supportive, safe and harassment free workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work, diversity and safety across all schools and Department workplaces. It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for persons with a disability (see Workplace adjustment guidelines).

Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via *******@education.vic.gov.au

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 a person must have provisional or full registration from the Victorian Institute of Teaching. In addition, from 3 August 2020, to be eligible for employment in the principal class or teacher class, a person who graduated from a Victorian Initial Teacher Education program after 1 July 2016, must demonstrate that they have passed the literacy and numeracy test for initial teacher education (LANTITE) requirements. This condition is satisfied where the LANTITE requirement is part of the Victorian Initial Teacher Education program completed by the person.