This section includes the face-to-face teaching requirements and the arrangements for collaboration, peer observation including feedback and reflection, and coaching (see VGSA2022). 

To apply all relevant VGSA2022 sections including Section 22 and Section 24 and adopting Section 22(5)(b) to the exclusion of Section 22(7)(c). This includes the use of the 480-index (note that this index adjusts in 2023 to 451, and in 2024 to 444 – refer to Deed of agreement between AEU and DET, 2022). to assist in managing workload.

Note: There are no “extras” in this arrangement, only allocations to under-allotted staff – “under-allotted replacements”.

The VGSA2022 Section 24 (3) will be applied for teaching staff within the 38-hour week.

(a) Teachers will be in attendance for a minimum of seven hours daily, commencing at time agreed between the Principal and a teacher.

(b) In addition to the attendance requirements set out in sub clause (a) teachers may be required to undertake other duties for up to three hours, including attendance at meetings provided that not more than two hours of the three hours can be used for meetings.

(c) Meetings held beyond the attendance requirements set out in sub clause (a) will be adjacent to the seven hours of daily attendance.

Hours of attendance:

(d) Hours of attendance applicable to most weeks are:

Hours of Work

To meet OH&S requirements staff leaving the College grounds during the school day are required to sign in and out using Compass.

Variation to the above scheduled hours is possible but must be negotiated with the principal. DEpartment policy on flexible work arrangements is available here. 

Structure of Teacher work

“From the commencement of the VGSA22 agreement, a teacher with face-to-face teaching scheduled at the maximum (as set out in clause 22(4(b)) will be provided with 30 hours of time to undertake the work directly related to the teaching and learning program of their class(es) (such as face-to-face teaching, planning, preparation, assessment of student learning, collaboration, professional development, and peer observation including feedback and reflection) with the remaining 8 hours available for other activities (such as yard duty, meetings, other duties and lunch).” 

 VGSA 2022 22 8(a)

The 30+8 model

In the passage above, it outlines that the teacher week of 38 hours is divided into two parts - 30 hours to undertake the work directly related to teaching and learning, and 8 hours for other activities (yard duty, meetings, other duties and lunch). 

This is commonly referred to as the 30+8 model of teacher work. 

At Heathmont College, it is broken down into the following:

30 hours of work directly related to teaching and learning

• 18.5 hours of face-to-face teaching (on average across the two weeks)

• the rest (11.5 hours) for:

  • • planning time

    • assessment

    • collaboration (including cross marking

    • professional learning 

    • peer observations

    • parent phone calls 

    • student conferencing (restorative conversations)

    • Compass posting and other administrative duties

8 hours of 'other activities'

• 120 minutes - 2 hours of meetings at the end of the day (usually on Monday and Tuesday but sometimes on Thursday)

• 50 minutes - Yard duty (a full allotment of yard duty is considered to be 5 x 20 minute sessions across the fortnight which equates to 50 minutes per week)

• 20 minutes - Briefing on Monday mornings 

• 60 mins - Yarning circle (this could be included in the 11.5 hours above or here as it is more professional learning than meeting) 

• 150 minutes - Lunches (30 minutes per day for five days) 

Total of 400 minutes per week which equates to 6 hours and 40 minutes (so 1 hour and 20 minutes can be re-distributed to the teaching and learning activities) 

Face to face teaching

• A full-time teaching load will amount to 20 hours per week inclusive of under-allotted replacements and time allowances. The Deed of Agreement specifies, however, that for 2023 this will be reduced to 19 hours and in 2024 to 18.5 hours.

• Heathmont College currently operates on a 10 day ‘cycle’,  with each day consisting of 5, 60-minute instructional periods across the day. This is a total of 50 periods per cycle at 60 minutes which totals 3,000 minutes or 50 hours. 

• For 2024, Heathmont College will consider a full teaching allotment to be equal to 37 periods across the cycle (37 hours). 

• Teachers who are under–allotted may be allocated ‘under-allotted’ classes as part of the daily organisation process or they may be directed to undertake additional administration or organisational duties as required by the school and in line with the time available.

• In general, under-allotted and in-lieu classes will be allocated with careful consideration to the impact they have on the teacher receiving them.. Replacement or reorganised classes, which will not count as an extra, may be assigned to a teacher who loses normal classes for any reason (except when a period has been cancelled for the entire school).  Such classes may only be assigned within the day that the normal classes are lost. 

Note: There are no “extras” in this arrangement, only allocations to under-allotted staff – “under-allotted replacements”.

Part-time staff

The following will apply

• The requirements of the VGSA2022 guide decisions in this area.

• To support employees, employees are able to work flexibly around their time fractions across the two-week timetable cycle to enable increased choice in allotments and flexibility around family or other commitments.

• The needs of the organization must be met as the priority in considering flexible arrangements.

• Part time staff work up to the maximum number of minutes, pro-rata of the three hours adjacent to the 7 hours. If the staff member’s pro-rata time available is not exceeded, part-time staff should attend for the full duration of the meeting or professional practice time

• If any part time staff member believes their work is inequitable, they are invited to discuss it with the Principal so that an analysis of their work in relation to the pro-rata requirements of the 30+8 hours can be undertaken.  If their work is found to be inequitable, it will be adjusted on a case by case basis.

Organisation of teacher work in first 12 months of teaching

For teachers in their first year (12 months) of teaching, the VGSA2022 Section 22(6.b.) will be followed:

VGSA 22.6

(b) To this end, the work allocated to classroom teachers in their first 12 months of teaching should recognise the need for those teachers to perform all of their required duties within a reasonable timeframe and to participate in the necessary induction and development activities designed to assist these teachers in their first 12 months. Accordingly, within the resources available to the school, the scheduled duties of a classroom teacher in their first 12 months should be reduced by at least 5% over the school week consistent with the allocation of duties at the school determined in accordance with sub clauses (5) and (8). If a teacher is requested to act as mentor for a classroom teacher in their first 12 months the principal, as the Employer’s representative, should ensure that this role can be undertaken having regard to the total work required of that teacher over the 38 hour week.

Teachers in their first 12 months of teaching will have a reduced face-to-face teaching allotment to provide them with additional time to transition to the school environment. Graduate teachers will be allocated a mentor teacher to support and guide the graduate teacher in matters of school policies and procedures, teacher work and related activities as well as to begin the VIT process for full registration.  Graduate teachers will be encouraged to attend VIT meetings at which the Principal team will provide advice and guidance in relation to the completion of VIT registration requirements. 

Graduate teachers will not be given student teachers within their first 12 months of teaching.

Career Start Program (introduced 2024)

In 2024, the Department of Education introduced the Career Start program. All graduate teachers are provdied with additional time release under this program and allocated to a mentor teacher who is also provided with release time. This program is funded through the SRP however, to make allotments work, som negotiation may be required and this will be discussed with each individual with the intent to provide the intended release for new teachers to be able to attend professional learning, observe experienced teachers and seek support to improve their teaching. 

Yard duty

The Principal will determine the areas requiring supervision and the number of staff required to provide adequate supervision. As a guide, full time teachers should be allocated no more than 1.5 hours of yard duty per week. 

Teachers are entitled to a paid lunch break of not less than thirty minutes free from assigned duties between the hours of 11:30 am to 2:30 pm VGSA 24(4).

Five lunches in a week adds to 2 hours and 30 minutes each week.

The elected AEU and staff representatives on the Consultative Committee will have one less Yard Duty to compensate for the time in attendance of fortnightly Consultative meetings.

Organisational Duties

The following will apply

• Positions of responsibility (PORs) attracting a time-allowance or special payment will be advertised to staff following DET guidelines. 

• Where more than one person applies for a position, a merit-based process will determine the preferred applicant; where there is only one applicant, they may be appointed at the discretion of the Principal 

• Organisational duties other than yard duty may occur across the timetable cycle or at particular points in the year. 

• Yard Duty will generally be up to 1 Hour per week. 5 x 20 minutes per cycle (1 hour and 40 minutes in total across the cycle) 

• Yard duty is allocated in 20 minute blocks

Meetings

VGSA 24.3

(a) Teachers will be in attendance for a minimum of seven hours daily commencing no less than ten minutes before the morning pupil instructional session unless otherwise agreed between the principal, as the Employer’s representative, and a teacher. 

(b) In addition to the attendance requirements set out in sub clause (a) teachers may be required to undertake other duties for up to three hours, including attendance at meetings provided that not more than two hours of the three hours can be used for meetings. 

(c) Meetings held beyond the attendance requirements set out in sub clause (a) will be adjacent to the seven hours of daily attendance and not exceed one hour unless otherwise agreed using the consultative provisions of this agreement.

At Heathmont College, meetings will be organised to fulfill key organisational requirements and to ensure a consistent and ongoing approach to professional learning. A meeting schedule will be prepared for each term and published to staff prior to the beginning of the term for which it pertains. Consideration will be given to days of attendance of staff about the type of meetings held on each day. In general, whole staff meetings will be kept to a minimum across the term and mostly include the Monday Briefings. Teaching staff will be required to attend meetings on two days per week. Staff in positions of responsibility will be provided with time allocations that consider any additional meeting time needed to undertake the duties inherent in the role. Where possible this will be scheduled for within the school day although larger committees will need to be held after the instruction period.

Other meetings (e.g. steering committees, School Improvement Team) may be offered as optional for staff and sit outside this schedule provided staff are not required to be in attendance.

Exam Supervision

A teacher’s replacement classes for classes cancelled during exam periods (VGSA2022 – 22(7.a.i).

• A teacher’s 80% replacement for senior classes at the end of the year. (VGSA2022 – 22(7.a.ii) “In November and December of each year as classes are dismissed, teachers may be allocated replacement classes up to 80% of their timetabled allotment. Such classes may only be assigned within the week normal classes are lost.”)

• In some cases, School Leaders may be excluded from these exam supervision duties to coordinate the exam program where required.

• Unit 3&4 classes are dismissed prior to the exam period. Unit 1&2 classes are dismissed on the day before year 11 exams commence. A final day of classes will be published for each year level.

• 5 working days prior to their subject’s exam, Unit 4 teachers will not be allocated replacements for dismissed classes for the periods during which the class would normally run.

• As classes are dismissed teachers may be allocated replacement classes as per the VGSA22.

• For replacement of normally scheduled classes in November & December (eg. Camps, excursions) the replacement may be up to 100% with the understanding that where possible, teachers whose classes have been dismissed will be allocated replacement classes before teachers who remain on a full teaching allotment

• Teachers of Unit 4 classes are expected to arrange revision workshops and sessions for students in the lead up to their subject exam. These arrangements must be provided to the Daily Organiser and senior school coordinator (VCE) at least 48 hours in advance.

Work experience

The following will apply:

•         Contact between the school and the employer/student occurs via phone.

•         Year 10 tutors and teachers who miss Year 10 classes during work experience week will be provided their work experience call list for year 10 students (where possible, the students they teach), in the week before work experience commences.

•         5 students to contact per period

•         Allocations of student contact will be per student (not per workplace)

•         An equitable distribution of replacement classes and Work Experience phone calls will be allocated to all staff affected.

•         Staff complete and submit required information collected through employer and student contact, to the appointed location.

Note: work experience is not covered by the VGSA2022.

Parent/student / teacher conferences

Two Parent/Student/Teacher conferences will be scheduled per year. These will be dated prior to the commencement of the term in which they occur and communicated via the college Professional Learning calendar and Compass calendar. For Parent/Teacher Interviews held at the end of Term One 1 /beginning of Term 2 and Term Three 3, the hours of attendance will be calculated to ensure that the 30 + 8 hours is maintained for the week and that both a 15 minute break in the afternoon and a 30 minute meal break will be included. 

Part-time staff will attend PST conferences on their days of work, and attend on non-work days by negotiation, and will be eligible for Time in Lieu as per the VGSA2022.

Class sizes

The following will apply:

• Planning for classes commences each year in term 3. The College will plan on class sizes of up to 25. Teachers will be consulted before they are given any classes in excess of 25

• Curriculum, teaching, assessment and activities planned in all faculty areas as part of the teaching and learning program for students will be appropriate for the facilities, students, student numbers and teachers.

• An assessment using the framework available, should be made to ensure student safety for practical activities. If the work is deemed unsafe, staff members should request a room swap, and or make modifications to the program 

• Combined classes incorporating Unit 3&4 programs will be used only as a last resort.  To allow subjects with lower numbers to run, they will cycle through year 11 and 12 programs in successive years, This requires multi-age classrooms and the use of acceleration strategies through the lower years. 

Staff with Junior allotment only

Staff who are teaching only students in Years 7-9 will be allocated some time to assist in the completion of end of year assessment and reporting. Time will be based on 1 period per class, up to a maximum of 1 full day.

• The staff will be asked to nominate the time from the list provided by the AP and Principal

Performance and Development:

All teaching staff will be allocated a reviewer at the beginning of each year to support them to work through the PDP process as outlined by the Department of Education. Time will be provided through the meeting and professional learning calendar to support all staff with initial goal setting and expectations. All staff will be required to engage with the PDP process as outlined each year including mid-cycle and end-of-cycle review periods. The PDP process will align with the school’s AIP, PLC process and other key school initiatives and be designed to ensure teacher workload is not unduly affected through its implementation.