New eligibility requirements for head teachers

By Wendy Currie

Academic requirements for head teachers have been updated but Federation has negotiated terms so current teachers are not disadvantaged.

Federation and the Department of Education and Training have been in discussions about new academic requirements for head teachers for the past 18 months. The new requirements came into force on day 1, term 4.

The old requirements were seriously outdated. They were couched in outmoded terminology about academic requirements; but of even greater consequence was the fact that they were silent on new head teacher categories created since the document was written decades ago.

The new document is underpinned by the assumption of degree level qualifications and specific qualifications in specific subject areas for each position.

However, a priority for the Federation during the discussions was to ensure that current teachers were not disadvantaged. The result is that all teachers will be able to use the old requirements until 2009, for those positions the old document covers.

Those for whom the new requirements become immediately applicable are those applying for advertised head teacher positions in faculties that did not exist when the old requirements were written, or for positions which did not exist then (for example head teacher teaching and learning).

Federation also succeeded in having transition arrangements included for teachers of some subjects who would be seriously affected by the new requirements, for example history teachers and Human Society and Its Environment faculties, industrial arts teachers without degrees and so on. For these teachers specific arrangements will be in place until 2012.

The new requirements do not affect the eligibility of current head teachers to transfer.

There is provision for teachers who do not meet the requirements to apply for "equivalence". A Head Teacher Qualifications Committee, comprising a representative of Federation, the Secondary Principals Council and DET, will assess any application for eligibility on the basis of equivalence. The assessment will be made having regard to:

• tertiary academic studies
• teaching methodology studies
• teaching experiences
• TAFE courses/certificates/diplomas
• department courses
• membership of Board of Studies examination committees
• participation in School Certificate or HSC marking
• other professional development
• formal advice from a tertiary institution in terms of any advanced standing it would grant.

The committee will also review the impact of the requirements arising from changing executive structures in schools. This should mean that we won't find ourselves in the position we've been in for a number of years, where there are head teacher positions for which there are no, or inappropriate, eligibility requirements.

DET will send a memo to principals about the new requirements. Both the old and the new documents, which will operate together until 2009, will be placed on the "Policies" section of the DET website.

The new requirements will maintain the academic standing of curriculum based head teacher positions, enhance the standing of other positions, protect until 2012 current teachers and trainee teachers who gained their qualifications in good faith under the old requirements and put procedures in place to ensure the requirements keep pace with changes as they occur.

Wendy Currie is a Research Officer.

For further information

October 2004 contents