Assistant Principal Special Education - Woodberry Learning Centre

Job Reference 0000ARPP
Closing date December 4, 2024 (AEST)
Location Lawson Ave, Woodberry, NSW 2322 NSW, Australia
Type Full-Time
Status Permanent
Contact Mathew Clarke
0402111791

About this job

Position Information

Woodberry Learning Centre (WLC) is a School for Specific Purposes (SSP) situated on Wonnaruah land in Woodberry, near Maitland in the NSW Lower Hunter Valley. WLC currently has three Behaviour Difficulty classes, supporting the diverse learning needs of 21 students in Years 5-8 who have struggled to access the curriculum in a mainstream educational setting due to challenging behaviours, mental health concerns and complex trauma. Currently, around 40% of our student are Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander, and we have vibrant Aboriginal Education program supported by external staff and members of the local community. Our academic program is based strongly on individualised literacy and numeracy support and Explicit Teaching. Our student wellbeing support framework is structured around the four pillars of the Berry St Education Model, Trauma Informed Practice, Choice Theory and the Neuro Sequential Model in Education. In 2025, 2 newly established Emotional Disturbance support classes for Stage 4 students will become part of the WLC program.

The role of Assistant Principal - Special Education will be largely based around working in concert with class teachers and the Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction to support teaching and learning programs, and providing classroom teachers and School Learning Support Officers with high impact professional learning to support best practice. 

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

Specific Selection Criteria

In addition to the general selection criteria, 

1. Approval to teach Special Education and/or demonstrated successful experience teaching students in an inclusive education setting with complex needs related to intellectual, physical, communication and mental health (including emotional disturbance, behaviour disorder, trauma) disabilities, autism and sensory processing.

2. Demonstrated ability to lead the implementation of curriculum, with a specific focus on Explicit Teaching, in a setting with diverse student needs.

     3. Demonstrated capacity for working in a coaching/mentoring role to develop the professional learning of staff, within a collegiate team environment.

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 hereTo ensure that your application complies with the guideline page limits, your attachments must be in PDF format.