Teacher Grad Recruit Program

Officer Specialist School is a purpose-built facility servicing the needs of students aged between 5-18, with mild to severe intellectual and associated disabilities in the shires of Cardinia and Casey; two of the fastest growing municipalities in Melbourne. The school opened in 2014 and the student population has increased rapidly each year, requiring the recruitment of new staff and additions to our buildings and facilities. There are two departments at the school, Primary and Secondary, and these include classrooms, visual and performance arts spaces, food technology kitchens for both departments (including the student run Shivering Chicken Café), multipurpose spaces and extensive therapy spaces. Areas for social gathering are also featured. With continued growth we now have a number of modular buildings including a Performing Arts Hub, Sensory Motor Room, Sustainability Hub and an Out of School Hours Pilot Program. The school has just opened two newly established sensory playgrounds.

School staff work in transdisciplinary teams that include teaching staff, allied health practitioners and education support staff to cater for the diverse range of student abilities and needs. Our teaming approach also provides opportunities for staff to learn from one another and share expertise.

Officer Specialist School aims to create reflective and independent learners for life through a learning community that provides a challenging and secure environment responsive to individual learning needs. We believe that effective learning occurs when outstanding and innovative teaching staff provide a variety of tasks that actively engage students who are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. The expectation is that students will be successful and enthusiastic learners capable of building positive relationships.

Officer Specialist School believes that every child can and will learn in an environment of dignity and respect. It is the role of the school and its community to build on a child's strengths and talents to ensure that each child reaches their full potential.

The school community has a commitment to ensuring that our students are offered a high quality education enhanced by a caring and supportive environment. Parents and members of the community at large are welcomed to the school and encouraged to participate in a range of activities and programs, including a very active Parents and Friends Association. Much emphasis is placed on educational opportunities, inviting the community to be involved to a greater extent in the school, and establishing the school as a focal point of the community. We value our family friendly culture.

School values: Safe, Respectful, Friendly, Responsible

SC1    Demonstrated knowledge of the relevant curriculum, including the capacity to incorporate the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills. Demonstrated capacity to respond to student learning needs.

SC2    Demonstrated capacity to implement high impact teaching strategies, guided by how students learn, and evaluate the impact of learning and teaching programs on student learning growth. 

SC3    Demonstrated capacity to monitor and assess student learning. Demonstrated capacity to use data to inform teaching practice and to provide feedback on student learning growth and achievement to students and parents.

SC4    Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated capacity to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with students, parents, colleagues and the broader school community to support student learning, wellbeing and engagement.    

SC5    Demonstrated behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values. Demonstrated capacity to reflect upon practice and engage in professional learning to continually improve the quality of teaching. 

SC6   Demonstrated understanding of the development and implementation of effective behaviour management programs for students with challenging behaviours.

This position may attract an incentive payment of $5,650 (pre-tax) for the successful candidate who meets the eligibility criteria set out under conditions of employment.

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.

Core responsibilities include:

• Planning and implementing a range of teaching programs or courses of study
• Teaching an area of the curriculum or a general curriculum to a year level
• Monitoring, evaluating and reporting student progress in key learning areas
• Implementing strategies to achieve targets related to student learning outcomes
• Maintaining records of class attendance and recording student progress
• Implementing effective student management consistent with the school charter.
• Working with a mentor to participate in professional development planning, implementation and reflection developing a professional portfolio

Additional responsibilities may include but are not limited to:

• Supervising a range of student activities including support and welfare programs
• Contributing to a range of co-curricular programs

To be eligible to apply for a position advertised through the Teacher Graduate Recruitment program, a teacher must: 

• have completed their course requirements and graduated in the last 4 years, and
• not be employed as a teacher by the department at the time the advertised position is to commence

Applicants must also be currently registered or eligible for registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.

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).

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants can contact Brett West, Yamatji man, in the Koorie Outcomes Division to talk about the recruitment process, the Department and supports for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the Department. Mobile: 0477 726 *** or email on: **********@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:

 Child Safe Standards: Policy | education.vic.gov.au

The Department’s employees commit to upholding DE’s Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. DE’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 DE values is available at:

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/workm/Pages/Public-Sector-Values.aspx

A virtual tour of our school is available by visiting our website:  https://www.officerss.vic.edu.au/

Please ensure that your application includes:

• a resume including relevant experience as well as personal details (name, address and contact numbers, business and home)
• a section addressing the selection criteria and the requirements for application under the Who May Apply section
• names and contact numbers (telephone and email if possible) of three referees who are able to attest to the claims made in your application

Please note that the selection panel may seek additional referees beyond those you name. Consistent with policy, we shall advise you if we will take this action.

Where an ongoing teaching position in a special school is advertised:

• an ongoing teacher who does not hold an approved special education qualification may be offered permanent transfer to the school if the teacher has completed 3 or more years continuous employment in the teaching service in a special setting and is assessed by the principal as suitable for ongoing employment in a special setting
• an external applicant, including an existing fixed term employee, who does not hold an approved special education qualification, but who holds provisional or full registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching, may be offered ongoing employment if the teacher has completed 3 or more years of continuous employment as a teacher in the teaching service in a special setting and is assessed by the principal as suitable for ongoing employment in a special setting

Other than set out above, a teacher who does not have an approved special education qualification can only be offered:

• temporary transfer for a period not exceeding 3 years where the successful applicant is an ongoing employee, or
• fixed term employment for a period not exceeding 5 years where the successful applicant is not an ongoing employee

Please phone the school on 5943 2800 if you would like to discuss the position further.

All staff employed by the Department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.

Appointment of successful applicants will be made subject to a satisfactory pre-employment conditions check.

A probationary period may apply during the first year of employment and induction and support programs provided.

Eligibility for incentive payments:

• The successful candidate must be a new employee to this school
• The successful candidate is committing to a minimum of 1 year employment at this school
• The successful candidate will not be a Graduate Teacher Incentive recipient from a previous vacancy
• The successful candidate must not be employed as a teacher by the Department at the time the advertised position is to commence

Detailed information on all terms and conditions of employment is available on the Department's Human Resources website at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/hrweb/Pages/default.aspx

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.