6342 1766
About this job
Position Information
Cowra High School has a current enrolment of 440 students, including 33% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. It is a comprehensive school located on the ancestral lands of the Wiradjuri people in the Central West of NSW. As a school, we recognise the unique ongoing spiritual connection of the Wiradjuri people to this land and their rich contribution to this region. The school embodies high expectations of respect and responsibility through encouraging each individual to reach their potential. Students pursue excellence through engagement in academic, sporting, cultural and creative and performing arts. Broad subject choice ensures students are able to reach their potential and achieve individual success. Staff encourage students to be confident and resilient by developing skills to become contributing members of society as life-long learners and critical and creative thinkers.
We are looking for the right person to join our Senior Executive Team. What makes us unique and proud is our school rural location and community composition. We embrace a variety of cultures and celebrate this in all we do. We foster this inclusivity through our ties to our national history, Camden exchange program and participation in community events. In addition, the sharing of culture of our First Australians is embedded in everyday life at Cowra High School. This ensures every student will receive the opportunity and experience they need to achieve ambitious outcomes and reach their potential. The school has a Support Unit of 7 classes, supporting students with mild and moderate intellectual difficulties, autism and challenging behaviours. The school prides itself on the scope of curriculum delivered to students ensuring they are known, valued and cared for. High level areas for improvement and further development have been established in an authentic situational analysis in consultation with Cowra High School students, Student Leadership Council, Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, Aboriginal families, Parents and Citizens, Parent / Student Focus Groups, teaching and non-teaching staff.
Through the completion of the situational analysis, the school identified the following areas for development:
• Analysis of internal and external data highlights a need for improvements in teacher classroom practice including explicit and targeted teaching to extend and challenge all learners to meet their academic potential.
• To improve teacher reflective practice and increase focus on high quality teaching, assessment and feedback to improve student performance
• To increase personalised and differentiated learning to ensure students are engaged, motivated and connected to learning .
We are looking for passionate educators who share our vision of igniting the spark of lifelong success in every student.
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. High level educational leadership skills and experience to support the implementation of evidence-based explicit teaching whole school initiatives that will ensure continuous improvement in student learning and engagement.
2. Strongly demonstrated high expectations and positive instructional leadership skills, with a demonstrated ability to mentor and build the capacity of middle leaders and teachers through effective, evidence-informed practice.
3. Demonstrated visible leadership with high level, proven ability to proactively manage complex issues, competing priorities, student wellbeing needs and daily school operations.
4. Demonstrated understanding of, and capacity to engage with students and families with specific needs, to facilitate growth in student learning and achievement.
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 people of all backgrounds, including but not limited to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, people of any age or gender, people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups and/or from the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees, people with disability, people with sensory differences, and neurodiverse people. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better help you shine, please reach out to the contact person for this recruitment, details listed above. For more information, visit the NSW Department of Education’s Diversity, equity and inclusion webpage.
Merit selection application guidelines for classroom teachers, executives and principals provide clear advice for applicants and selection panels. The guidelines are available here.
To meet the page limits outlined in the guidelines, all application attachments must be submitted in PDF format. Please note that late applications will not be accepted.