Foundation Principal: St Bede’s Catholic College, Maitland-Newcastle

The Opportunity

Are you ready for the opportunity as Foundation Principal to open a new secondary school for term 1 2018 in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle?

View this short 2-minute video to get a sense of this new and exciting, contemporary school

Now consider the following:

• St Bede’s Catholic College will grow to be a Years 7-12 co-educational school which will commence in term one of 2018.
• The suburb of Chisholm is recently developed and expanding quickly, with St Aloysius Catholic Primary having opened in 2015 as a two-stream school. St Bede’s Catholic College will be co-located with St Aloysius to provide a continuum of Catholic education from Kindergarten to Year 12.
• Chisholm is not a separate Parish, however to cater for this growth area, Bishop Bill Wright has decided to build a Chapel on-site to support the community and the school. This will provide a wonderful opportunity to further develop strong parish-school relationships.
• Chisholm is located about 30 minutes north of the Newcastle CBD and just 15 minutes from Maitland.
• The Foundation Principal is anticipated to commence in January 2017

How often in a career do you find such an opportunity?

Background and Context

For more than 180 years, the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has provided Catholic schooling, with approximately 18,900 students now enrolled in 56 Catholic schools.

The Diocese and Catholic Schools Office (CSO) recently commissioned a strategic review to ensure their secondary schools remain vibrant, relevant and academically competitive in an increasingly demanding and rapidly changing educational climate. The review gathered vast amounts of data including: historical information; listening assemblies across the diocese; quantitative surveys of all key stakeholders; qualitative interviews with stakeholder groups; the work of an expert panel of educators; a steering group and a literature review. There were 12 key recommendations to come from this study, one of which relates to St Bede’s Catholic College.

There are currently ten secondary schools and one K-12 school in the diocese, however a new secondary school has not opened since the inception of St Paul’s High School, Booragul in 1984. There is considerable demand for secondary places with enrolment pressures particularly being felt in the All Saints Region of Maitland. To that end, a primary school in Chisholm, St Aloysius Catholic Primary School has been built and St Bede’s Catholic Colege will be built to co-locate with St Aloysius.

Planning is underway for additional secondary provision in Medowie as well as the feasibility for a secondary school presence in the Cessnock area. The review also recommended that two Years 7-10 high schools be extended to include Years 11 and 12 education.

The Director of Schools, Ray Collins, says “the future of Catholic secondary schooling in our diocese is indeed bright”. In commissioning this review into Secondary Education, the CSO has sought to secure this future in detailing some carefully considered recommendations in light of the available literature; the voice of the key stakeholders in the diocese (parents, staff, students and clergy) as well as consulting with an expert panel of esteemed educators in NSW.

It is within the context of this exciting and bright Diocesan-wide future that the Foundation Principal for St Bede’s Catholic College will be appointed.

Support and Status

This position is supported by the resources of the CSO and is accountable to the Director of Schools, Ray Collins, through Assistant Director, Craig Wattam.

An educational brief (to be provided later in this recruitment process) has been developed to:

• Inform and direct the development of the architectural design of the school
• To guide and direct the work of the incoming principal and executive team in developing the school’s overarching Vision Statement and associated policies; the school’s vision for learning, curriculum, pedagogical and wellbeing approaches and expectations; policies, structures and processes around the organisational life of the school and how it relates to the parish, diocese and broader community.

The current status of this project is as follows:

• Application with the Catholic Block Grant Authority for funding has been made
• Application to register the school has been made with BOSTES
• Architectural design features of the school are being finalised
• Early works package on the school grounds will commence late 2016
• Stage 1 building anticipated commencing beginning of 2017
• School name announced May 3, 2016
• Ongoing engagement with community members
• Expressions of interest being sought for enrolment for Year 7, 2018

Key aspects and actions to be addressed throughout 2016 are anticipated to be:

• Conceptual design of chapel to be finalised
• Engagement of administrative support to commence 2017
• Timeline and plan for engagement of key staff during 2017
• Milestones for stage 1 building program nominated
• Key policies and procedures nominated for completion in 2017
• Location of principal and executive assistant for 2017

The areas of priority for term one of 2017 for the newly appointed principal are expected to be:

• Engagement with the local school communities and parish communities
• Engagement with parents
• Key policy development
• Uniform, motto, crest developed in consultation with key stakeholders
• Refining of milestones and timelines for 2017

Conditions of Employment

• Current salary at 2016: $166 513
• Superannuation of 9.5% paid in addition to the above salary.
• Relocation allowance (if required) will be provided for the successful applicant.
• In accordance with Child Protection Legislation, the successful applicant will require a ‘Working With Children’ clearance prior to employment. Please visit kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au to obtain further information on this requirement.

Are You the Right Person for this Challenge? Interested?

If you are interested in this role, there are two options to progress:

1. If interested, but have questions requiring a response before deciding whether to progress, then either
   • telephone our Director John Chesher (0417 068 220) or
   • email our office at mail@traksearch.com or from this website with your questions.
2. If and when you have enough information to start this process, then simply email us from this page on our website or at mail@traksearch.com providing a contact phone number and stating your interest and nominating the role and ref number TS1327.

At this stage we do NOT ask for you to labour over selection criteria; provide a resume or cover letter; or an application document – just a one-line email to Trak Search to indicate your interest in ‘Foundation Principal St Bede’s TS1327’ and providing a contact number. The timeline and details for this project are outlined below.

The Selection Process

Key dates are as follows:

Trak Search has been instructed to provide a process that is welcoming for people interested in this role. Significant aspects include:

• Throughout the process, Trak Search is available for confidential discussions and to provide information to allow you to explore this opportunity and determine your interest in the role.
• A range of additional information will be provided to you as we progress through this process.
• At the outset you will not be required to: complete an application form; provide a lengthy, comprehensive document to address the selection criteria; or provide any referee details. However, you will be invited to supply us with additional information (verbally and in writing) as you progress through the process.
• A late application could be accepted, providing it does not adversely impact other applications or the schedule. Please be aware however that any application received after close of business on the date noted above is more likely to be returned to you.
• At the appropriate time (refer above) we will seek written consent to speak with referees – listing referees on your resume does not signify consent.
• We expect to contact one work related referee prior to short listing, with additional references (including with a Parish Priest) completed later in the process.  You should always expect that prior to reaching the final stage of the project, we will ask to speak with at least one person who has: directly managed you; recently; and for a significant time period.
• The timing for the ‘follow up meeting/discussion’ noted at the bottom of the above schedule will depend upon the availability of the preferred person; their referees; and the client.
• All information provided to Trak Search will be made available prior to short listing, in confidence, to the Director and Assistant Director unless you instruct Trak Search otherwise.

You are also encouraged to view our Collection Statement which provides details on the manner in which we collect and use information obtained from you during your engagement with Trak Search.