Head Teacher - Welfare - Five Islands Secondary College

Permanent full-time job at Five Islands Secondary College (Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia) recruited via NSW Department of Education (Sydney NSW, Australia)

Job Reference 0000B1PN

Closing date November 5, 2025 (AEST)

Location Military Rd, Port Kembla 2505 NSW, Australia

Type Full-Time

Status Permanent

Contact Jenny Flowers 42740621

About this job

Position Information

Five Islands Secondary College (FISC) is a unique school in the Illawarra providing diverse educational pathways for secondary students. Our mainstream ROSA/HSC curriculum (Years 10-12) provides a personalised, supportive approach within a traditional framework for full-time and pathways students. Complementing the mainstream pathway is the innovative, inquiry-based, Big Picture Program, that celebrates independence, curiosity, creativity, and agency in learning in Years 9-12.

Known in the Illawarra for excellent wellbeing programs, FISC aims for students to thrive, becoming confident, independent, and resilient as they prepare for life’s opportunities.

The distinctive FISC approach includes a 4-day contact week, a college-style campus, teachers addressed by first names, trauma-informed student management, and a flexible College Dress Code instead of uniforms.

General Selection Criteria

• Successful teaching experience with capacity to initiate improvement in teaching, learning and classroom practice
• Knowledge of curriculum, assessment and student welfare with the ability to lead and design quality, inclusive teaching and learning programs
• Educational leadership skills to build the capacity and manage the performance of individuals and teams
• Well developed communication and interpersonal skills with the capacity to build relationships and engage students, staff and parents
• Ability to plan and manage resources effectively and equitably to support teaching and learning
• Knowledge of and commitment to the Department's Aboriginal education policy

Specific Selection Criteria

Applicants must satisfy the teacher training and academic qualification requirements for this position. In addition to the general selection criteria;

• Proven leadership skills in developing and implementing wellbeing programs that promote positive mental health, resilience, and social-emotional learning across diverse student groups.
• Demonstrated capacity to work collaboratively as a dynamic and proactive member of the school executive team to support the school’s strategic vision and whole school priorities, with highly developed interpersonal and communication skills to build authentic connections with parents, community, and external agencies.
• Excellent understanding of educational frameworks and policies related to student wellbeing and diversity, with a track record of data-informed decision-making to improve student engagement, wellbeing, attendance and academic achievement.
• Ability to personalise learning through authentic, student-centred learning and/or project based learning that fosters critical thinking, collaboration and real world problem solving, thereby promoting engagement, wellbeing and success across a diverse student population.

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

The Eligibility Requirements for Head Teacher Positions in NSW Government Schools are located here.

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.