Learning Specialist: Instructional Leader - Teaching, Assessment, Learning and Curriculum (TALC)

Outstanding opportunity to work at Tarneit P-9 College. Tarneit P-9 College is a large, co-educational school located in one of Victoria's fastest-growing and most culturally diverse communities, approximately 25km from Melbourne's CBD. Opened in 2013, the college has experienced significant growth and currently serves around 1,820 students from Foundation to Year 9.

Our college reflects the rich diversity of the Tarneit community and is committed to providing an inclusive, high-quality education where every student is supported to achieve their best. We are seeking enthusiastic, reflective, inclusive educators who are passionate about teaching and learning, value collaboration, and are committed to high expectations and student wellbeing.

Teaching and learning at Tarneit P-9 College is underpinned by a clear instructional model and an evidence-based approach, with a strong focus on High Impact Teaching Strategies, effective use of data, and consistent feedback and instructional coaching. Professional Learning Communities are central to our practice, supporting collective responsibility, professional growth, and continuous improvement.

Our contemporary learning environments include a range of general and specialist facilities designed to support collaboration, explicit instruction, and flexible learning. Student wellbeing and inclusion are embedded through whole-college approaches such as School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support, Behaviour Matrix, Respectful Relationships, and our House Model, which strengthens belonging, student voice, and engagement.

Why work at Tarneit P-9 College? Tarneit P-9 College offers a supportive and collaborative professional culture where staff are valued, supported, and encouraged to grow. Staff benefit from:

• Strong collegial relationships and a shared commitment to improvement
• High-quality professional learning and instructional coaching
• Clear, consistent teaching and behaviour frameworks
• A focus on staff wellbeing and work-life balance
• The opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a diverse and dynamic community

Staff work together to ensure every student is known, valued, and challenged, while also fostering a workplace built on trust, respect, and shared purpose.

Vision: Our vision is for every student from Prep to Year 9, to have high aspirations, excel and reach their best. With supportive surroundings and challenging academics, we foster confident, resilient and compassionate individuals prepared to make a positive difference in the future.

Values: We are an inclusive school community. We are proud of ourselves, each other and the school. We act and are responsible.

Selection Criteria:

• SC1: Demonstrated expert knowledge of the relevant curriculum. Demonstrated ability to model exemplary teaching practice, including the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum, and implement school priorities.
• SC2: Demonstrated expertise in the implementation and modelling of high impact teaching strategies that respond to student learning needs. Demonstrated ability to support teachers to evaluate the impact of learning and teaching programs on student learning growth.
• SC3: Demonstrated exemplary ability to model the monitoring and assessment of student learning. Demonstrated ability to support others in using data to inform teaching practice and to provide feedback on student learning growth and achievement to students and parents.
• SC4: Demonstrated exemplary interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated ability to engage in collaborative relationships with students, colleagues, parents and the broader school community to support student learning, agency, wellbeing and engagement.
• SC5: Demonstrated ability to model behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values. Demonstrated ability to support others to reflect on their practice and facilitate school-based professional learning.
• SC6: Demonstrate capacity to lead teams to work collaboratively to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for students, including the capacity to instructionally coach individual staff members to improve teaching practice.

Primary Focus: To lead the modelling of exemplary classroom practice and wellbeing strategies for a sub-school at Tarneit P-9 College, acting as a driver for instructional excellence leading to improvement in student achievement and growth.

1. Instructional Leadership & Exemplary Practice:

• Focus: Demonstrating high-quality teaching and cultivating an 'open classroom' culture where practice is transparent, observable, and exemplary.
• Model Exemplary Practice: Demonstrate high-level expertise in teaching and learning by grade-sharing a classroom teacher role with an Instructional Leader where possible.
• Instructional Excellence: Model effective instructional practices (including established routines) and demonstrate strict adherence to the TP9C Instructional Model and evidence-based instructional practices.
• Open Classroom Culture: Maintain a classroom environment that welcomes observation at any time, allowing coaches and colleagues to witness best practices in action.
• Data-Informed Teaching: Model the exemplary use of student data to inform teaching practices, differentiation, and targeted student groupings.
• Exemplary Classrooms: Facilitate TP9C exemplary classrooms to demonstrate and disseminate best-practice strategies to the wider staff.
• Whole-School Strategy: Lead and model the implementation of whole-school improvement strategies related to curriculum planning and delivery.

Focus: Managing team dynamics, driving accountability, and facilitating the FISO Improvement Cycle.

• Mentor PLT Leaders: Support the PLT Leader to lead weekly Professional Learning Team (PLT) meetings and Improvement Cycle meetings.
• Planning Oversight: Contribute to, monitor, review, and provide feedback on unit planners to ensure their alignment to college scope and sequences.
• Culture & Accountability: Develop a collaborative culture by ensuring staff understand, adhere to, and are held accountable for the TP9C PLT Process and published team norms.
• Operational Planning: Meet weekly with the TALC Sub-School Assistant Principal (AP) to forward-plan meeting agendas, analyse cohort data, and create strategic termly overviews.

Focus: Ensuring rigour, consistency, and compliance in documentation and assessment.

• Curriculum Development: Co-plan and implement work programs aligned with current units of study, ensuring explicit differentiation and appropriate student groupings are documented.
• Program Oversight: Support team members in the creation and implementation of effective work programs, providing feedback to ensure accountability for both the collective team and individual teachers.
• Compliance: Support team members to maintain strict adherence to assessment schedules and planning documentation requirements.
• Data Leadership: Lead the implementation and evaluation of cohort assessment data to drive student outcome improvements.
• Curriculum Resourcing: Oversee the selection, organisation, and distribution of high-quality, research-aligned teaching and learning materials and resources for the sub-school team.

4. Mentoring, Coaching & Capacity Building in the Sub school:

• Focus: Building the pedagogical capacity and skills of teachers within the sub-school.
• Mentoring: Foster the long-term professional growth of teaching staff new to the profession.
• Instructional Coaching: Conduct regular classroom observations and provide actionable, evidence-based coaching to enhance daily instructional practices.
• Feedback Cycle: Support teachers to seek, analyse, and act on feedback regarding their practice.
• Instructional Fidelity: Monitor and evaluate the team's fidelity to the TP9C Instructional Model and evidence-based instructional practices.
• Professional Learning: Lead and facilitate targeted professional learning opportunities for staff based on identified needs.
• Cross-Sub-School Collaboration: Work collaboratively with other Instructional coaches and the Disability Inclusion team.
• External Expertise Management: Act as the sub-school liaison for external professional learning consultants.

5. Wellbeing, Engagement & Communication and Year Level Events:

• Focus: Leading student support and contributing to the wider school leadership.
• Behaviour Support: Support the team in managing complex discipline and behaviour issues.
• Specialist Support & Documentation: Develop, document, and monitor the implementation of specialist learning recommendations.
• Communication: Monitor and evaluate the quality and timeliness of weekly communication to the team and year level newsletters.
• Leadership Participation: Maintain attendance and active participation at Leaders' meetings.
• Event Support: Provide active support and leadership input for key year level student engagement and curriculum-related events.

Who May Apply: 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.

Diversity and Inclusion: The department is committed to diversity and inclusion and developing a workforce that is representative of the community we service. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQA+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for roles within the Department.

Child Safe Standards: 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.

Qualification Requirements: To be eligible for employment, transfer or promotion in the principal or teacher class, the person must have provisional or full registration approved by the Victorian Institute of Teaching.

Applications close Thursday 20 August.