Employment
At The Hutchins School we seek to engage the very best of teaching and support staff to achieve our vision of providing an inspirational education where each boy develops his personal best.
Over the next few years, we seek to attract, develop and retain the best employees by offering a unique package of employee benefits, providing a comprehensive professional and personal development program and by building thriving learning communities for our staff.
Please note: Applicants for teaching appointments at The Hutchins School must be registered (or be eligible to be registered) to teach in Tasmanian non-government schools. For more information, please contact the Teachers' Registration Board.
What are the Expectations?
Everything which happens at Hutchins is potentially an educational experience. We need teachers who know how to make it so! It is this, more than anything, which makes working in a school like Hutchins so rewarding.
The Headmaster expects all members of staff to encourage boys to explore the religious dimension of their lives and to participate in the worship program.
All teaching staff participate in the School's total educational program. It is fundamental to the quality of the professional environment of the School that teachers view their contacts with students outside the classroom as being as important as any other contact. Contact with boys on the games field, in music, drama, debating and all the other varied activities which bring boy and teacher together directly contribute to the quality of teaching and learning. Involvement in the total life of the School is an important way of lending professional support to colleagues.
Pastoral contact between teacher and boy is central to the School's ethos. For this reason most teachers are in charge of a group of boys. The teacher meets with boys from that group throughout the week and monitors closely all aspects of their welfare.
The School does not consider discipline as having the potential to compromise a teacher's pastoral relationship with the boys. At Hutchins, discipline and pastoral care mean the same thing, and all teachers are expected to show appropriate guidance and stewardship of all boys in all circumstances. Heads of School specifically support teachers in this area.
Hutchins is a K to 12 school and its teachers often teach throughout the School. It is not uncommon, for example, for the Head of a Faculty to be taking a class in his subject well down at the junior levels of the School. To be a successful teacher at Hutchins is to be challenged by the possibility of teaching to all ages and to all abilities.
The classes within Year Groups are clustered into four separate sub-schools: Early Learning Centre (Kindergarten - Year 2), Junior School (Year 3 - Year 6), Middle School (Year 7 - Year 8) and Senior School (Year 9 - Year 12), each with its own Head of School. The Heads of Schools are responsible for the pastoral care of the Year Groups under their jurisdiction, administrative matters as well as the requirements of curriculum assessment and reporting as determined in consultation with the Director of Teaching and Learning.
The curriculum at Hutchins is managed within Faculties. Each Faculty has akin-subjects clustered within it and the Faculty is responsible for the teaching of those subjects from Kindergarten to Year 12. Each Faculty has considerable autonomy, operates its own budget and meets regularly. Heads of Faculties meet as the Faculty Committee.
The Faculties are Design, Production and Digital Technologies, English and Modern Languages, Health and Human Movement, Humanities, Mathematics, Music, Science, Student Support Services, and Visual and Performing Arts. Other learning areas include: e-Learning; Information Services and ICT, Marine School and Outdoor Education.
A special feature of the School is the John Bednall Centre For Learning Support with its own Director and support staff. The Centre co-ordinates all extension activities, including gifted and talented and remedial programs.
What are the Facilities?
The general teaching areas at Hutchins are well-maintained. Specialist teaching areas such as laboratories and technical study areas are well-equipped and a regular program of refurbishment is observed. Since 1998, the School has been substantially rebuilt with new buildings for the Early Learning Centre, Middle School, Music School, Bednall Centre For Learning Support and the Library Learning Centre.
Teaching Conditions - A Brief Overview
This brief summary is indicative, not an official binding statement.
Teachers at Hutchins are subject to the Tasmanian Independent School Teachers' Award and The Hutchins School Enterprise Agreement(s).
From 1 July 2013, superannuation is currently 9.25%.
The academic year of approximately 40 weeks is divided into four terms.
Long Service Leave is provided after eight years.
After a qualifying period, staff may be eligible for leave of absence.
Staff are encouraged and funded to participate in in-service courses and professional associations and to attend interstate conferences in their areas of interest.
If you decide to apply for a position
Be sure to tell the Headmaster as much about yourself as you can. Clearly he needs to know your professional qualifications and experience in teaching. Remember, however, that he will also be considering whether you will fit into the total life of the School and be able to match the very special professional and ethical expectations it will have of you.
Your hobbies and interests, your career ambitions, your family background (including where you went to school) will all help.
You may send open testimonials if you wish, but the Headmaster will certainly also want to speak with some confidential referees about you. You should nominate two in your application.
If you are invited to attend an interview, by all means ask searching questions. To be a successful and fulfilled teacher at Hutchins, you must like it as well. It must be your sort of school.
