Description:
Position InformationOrara High School is a vibrant place of learning for over 890 students located in Coffs Harbour, Mid-North Coast, NSW. The school acknowledges that each day we learn and work together on the land of the Gumbaynggirr people. The school is proud of the rich cultural diversity among its student body, our staff, and the school community. More than thirty languages can be heard spoken among our students and their families, with over 20% of students having a language background other than English and over 20% of students are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. The school community has high expectations of the school to deliver culturally relevant and respectful learning experiences and to be a place of learning that will lead all students – regardless of their background – to future careers full of challenge and opportunity.
Students with additional learning and behaviour needs are catered for within our Inclusive Education Unit. Specialist teaching and non-teaching staff work across seven learning spaces, assisting students to develop to the best of their abilities and to transition to rewarding lives beyond their school years.
High academic expectations are supported in the school's focus on literacy and numeracy. The school recognises that attendance plays an important role in the wellbeing and learning of all students. A dedicated attendance team of teaching and non-teaching staff track attendance and liaise with families in order to lift expectations and engagement. Furthermore, to support students in developing life literacies we aim to develop a series of transition programs for students in all stages to learn and use valuable knowledge, skills and understandings in their private, civic, and working lives.
The Deputy Principal Inclusion and Support is a strategic, non-teaching, leadership role dedicated to inclusion, with a focus on leading improvement in the learning, wellbeing, and independence of students with disabilities. The Deputy Principal Inclusion and Support shares the broader educational imperatives of the Deputy Principal position but with the explicit focus of driving a school wide culture of inclusion, including high expectations and improved outcomes for students with disability.
The roles are located in mainstream schools with seven or more support classes and are aligned to the Department's Deputy Principal role statement, emphasising: Leading Teaching & Learning, Developing Self & Others, Leading Improvement, Innovation & Change, Leading the Management of the School, Engaging & Working with the Community.
Selection Criteria
In addition to the general selection criteria,
- Demonstrated expertise and proven successful experience in supporting students with a disability, which may include relevant tertiary qualifications in inclusion or special education.
- Demonstrated ability to lead a school-wide culture that values and promotes inclusion, equity and willingness to lead the implementation of the new Inclusive and Restrictive Practices Policy.
- Demonstrated capacity to develop all staff to promote learning and wellbeing growth for students with disability through evidence-informed practices and fostering a culture of support for all students.
- Demonstrated ability to foster positive relationships with students, their families, staff and allied health professionals to collaborate on reasonable adjustments to maximise learning and wellbeing outcomes for students with disability, including experience in relation to transition.
- Demonstrated ability to use data to improve outcomes for students with disability and inform the Strategic Excellence Plan to develop, monitor and evaluate measures for students with disability.
General Selection Criteria 1. Successful teaching experience with capacity to initiate improvement in teaching, learning and classroom practice 2. Knowledge of curriculum, assessment and student welfare with the ability to lead and design quality, inclusive teaching and learning programs 3. Educational leadership skills to build the capacity and manage the performance of individuals and teams 4. Well developed communication and interpersonal skills with the capacity to build relationships and engage students, staff and parents 5. Ability to plan and manage resources effectively and equitably to support teaching and learning 6. Knowledge of and commitment to the Department's Aboriginal education policy
Conditions
An unconditional full approval to teach is a requirement. If you do not hold a full approval to teach with the NSW Department of Education, you are required to commence the application process at the same time as you apply for this teaching opportunity.
Special Notes
Applicants are to include details of their WWCC clearance number as part of this application.
About the NSW Department of Education
The Department of Education is the largest provider of public education in Australia with responsibility for delivering high-quality public education to two-thirds of the NSW student population. We welcome applications from all ages and genders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees and people with disability. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better enable you to shine, please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Team (dandi@det.nsw.edu.au) or visit NSW Department of Education Diversity and Inclusion
New merit selection application guidelines for classroom teachers, executives and principals have been introduced to provide greater clarity to applicants and selection panels. The guidelines are located here. To ensure that your application complies with the guideline page limits, your attachments must be in PDF format .