School Context updated for 2026: Rooty Hill High School is a highly successful 7-12 government comprehensive school in western Sydney. There are 1100 students, 5% of whom are from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. The school FOEI is 121, reflecting its culturally and linguistically diverse community. The school's principles and practices are underpinned by the school's PERSIST values and its commitment to "give every student the opportunity to do his or her best".
The school won the Public Education Foundation Award in 2023 for Professional Practice and in 2025 for its personalised learning, expansive learning, student agency and learning journeys programs. These programs enable students to develop their potential and achieve strong academic, sporting, creative and citizenship results. The school has sophisticated systems of evidence informed decision making, strategic planning and operational management led by a talented staff team focused on student, school and community progress and achievement.
The Head Teacher HSIE position is responsible, as a member of the school executive team, for the faculty implementation and monitoring of Strategic Direction 1 of the School Excellence Plan, the development, implementation and evaluation of the HSIE Faculty Plan, the HSIE Curriculum and Assessment Compliance Process (Years 7-1 and the professional supervision of the faculty.
Applicants must satisfy the teacher training and academic qualification requirements for this position. In addition to the general selection criteria,
1. Demonstrated ability to lead the development and implementation of high-quality, evidence informed, HSIE teaching and learning programs aligned with the new incoming NESA syllabi, including effective coordination of assessment processes to improve student achievement.
2. Capacity to work collaboratively with the executive team to identify, develop and lead initiatives aligned with school priorities and the Strategic Improvement Plan.
3. Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build strong partnerships with students, staff, families, and the community to support engagement, wellbeing, and whole-school priorities at Rooty Hill High School.
1. Successful teaching experience with capacity to initiate improvement in teaching, learning and classroom practice
2. Knowledge of curriculum, assessment and student welfare with the ability to lead and design quality, inclusive teaching and learning programs
3. Educational leadership skills to build the capacity and manage the performance of individuals and teams
4. Well developed communication and interpersonal skills with the capacity to build relationships and engage students, staff and parents
5. Ability to plan and manage resources effectively and equitably to support teaching and learning
6. Knowledge of and commitment to the Department's Aboriginal education policy
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.
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, neurodiverse people and people with disability. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better help you shine, please contact the hiring manager using the contact details provided above. For more information, visit NSW Department of Education Diversity and Inclusion
Merit selection application guidelines for classroom teachers, executives and principals provide clear advice for applicants and selection panels. The guidelines are available here.
To meet the page limits outlined in the guidelines, all application attachments must be submitted in PDF format. Please note that late applications will not be accepted.
