Employer of Choice 2021

Michael Smith, deputy principal of Marsden State High School in Queensland – which has an employee turnover rate of just 3% – says retaining staff is down to the clear support a school provides. 

“The early years of teaching are tough as you try and get your head around every-thing. It is easy to feel alone and isolated and sink under the pressure of the job,” he says. 

“Setting structures in place that encourage and support a teacher to connect and seek help are very important.” 

At the heart of all the Employer of Choice schools lies a philosophy well summed up by St Stephen’s independent school in WA: “The staff are the core of who we are, and the school believes in developing and rewarding its people beyond just providing an office and a pay cheque.” 

Of course, where pay cheques are dictated by state governments, these schools have been creative in finding ways to acknowledge the immense contribution of their staff. As well as the usual entitlements, added benefits have been many and varied. They have reflected a belief in taking care of physical and mental wellbeing but also in the importance of work-life balance and giving back to the community. Benefits included paid leave for employees wishing to participate in a volunteer program, twice weekly yoga classes, end-of-term retreats to allow early-career teachers to reflect and unwind; three days off a year to deal with urgent private business; on-site gyms and more. 

For one of this year’s winners, giving staff space to mentally unload is essential. Cook School in NSW explains that students are referred to the school due to significant externalising or internalising mental health concerns, meaning teachers need extra support. “We debrief as a whole staff every single day, as upsetting and distressing things can occur when working with a student cohort with significant mental health issues,” says principal Dave Hobson. “We need to ensure people can be heard, be supported, have a laugh or a cry, let it go and not take it home with them.” 

In addition, says Hobson, if there has been an incident, or it has been a particularly tough day, teachers know they can ‘tap out’ and have an executive staff member cover their class during the time it takes for them to regroup. “It doesn’t happen often, but just knowing support is there is a huge protective factor for staff.” 

Communication was high on the agenda for all schools, especially during the COVID-19 lockdowns, with plenty of online meetings and wellbeing events to keep staff informed, connected, and to maintain a sense of collegiality. At Brighton Grammar in Victoria, “the headmaster personally called academic and professional support staff to encourage them to practise self-care, which displayed his commitment to provide a healthy and collaborative working environment”. 

Victoria’s Carey Baptist Grammar even established its own TV channel during lock-down to “assist with connecting the school community in a new, fun forum and provide a different way for the broader community to be connected”.

The learning never stops 

There was a strong focus on professional development, and schools offered a range of learning opportunities for teachers, including professional/academic conferences; online learning/blogs; peer coaching or mentoring; master’s degree study and qualifications; secondments, acting posts and placements. 

Marsden State High provided an online professional learning library for staff to access teaching and non-teaching practices. “All the research says that a quality teacher will have an incredible impact on student outcomes. Without a strong culture and emphasis on staff development and performance, a teacher will not grow and improve their practice, and as a result the outcomes of the students in front of them will suffer,” says Smith. 

Schools were judged in several categories, many of which overlapped, like leadership and career progression. At Ormiston College in Queensland, for example, teachers can hone their leadership skills by taking on more responsibility as team leaders, heads of department, house coordinators, year-level coordinators and senior teachers. The senior teacher roles in particular offer the opportunity for leadership development to classroom teachers. The college’s 25 senior teachers account for 25% of staff. The knock-on effect is a “highly engaged and collaborative work environment of shared expertise”. 

Many schools took pride in the number of senior leadership positions that were filled internally and actively encouraged staff to apply for these roles. Collaboration was seen as key to leadership, as was providing leader-ship opportunities at every level. At Toorak College in Victoria, “The importance of leadership cascades to our Toorak Leader-ship Team (TLT) consisting of staff who hold positions of responsibility across both the Education and Operations teams. Our TLT is the conduit between our staff, students, community, executive and board, and is pivotal in leading the success and direction of our school.” 

In the classroom

There was strong dedication to technology and innovation, with many schools providing staff with one or more devices, including laptops, phones, PCs and tablets. A common theme was regular training to expose staff to innovative teaching methods and increase their confidence in the use of technology. Some schools have dedicated IT support staff/technicians to help teachers navigate their online tools. 

As Beenleigh State High School put it, “To participate in a knowledge-based economy and to be empowered within a technologically sophisticated society now and into the future, staff and students need the knowledge, skills and confidence to make ICT work for them at school, at home, at work and in their communities. 

“As the school is located within a low socio-economic environment, many students do not have access to technology. To facilitate teachers’ online curriculum and pedagogy, the school operates an equity pool where students are able to borrow a computer for the day.” 

Allowing teachers to fully focus on students by removing time-consuming administrative tasks and giving these to non-teaching staff where possible, was also key for some schools. 

“As a leadership team we have invested considerable time into streamlining administrative processes and constantly looking to see what has been superseded or doubled up on so people aren’t doing additional chores,” says Hobson. 

This has proved extremely fruitful, even in an environment as challenging as the one at Cook School, he says. “When your entire class is comprised of students who were not successful or were deemed too complex to support within a number of mainstream settings, and they are all in a room together and on task and achieving outcomes, it’s the most wonderful sense of accomplishment for a teacher, almost superhuman!” 

Employer of Choice 2021

• 
  Beenleigh State High School
   
  
• 
  Brighton Grammar School
   
  
• 
  Brigidine College Indooroopilly
   
  
• 
  Carey Baptist Grammar School
   
  
• 
  Caroline Chisholm Catholic College
   
  
• 
  John Paul College
   
  
• 
  Korowa Anglican Girls' School
   
  
• 
  Lidcombe Public School
   
  
• 
  Norwest Christian College
   
  
• 
  Ormiston College
   
  
• 
  St Margaret's Berwick Grammar
   
  
• 
  St Margaret's Anglican Girls School
   
  
• 
  St Paul's Lutheran Primary School
   
  
• 
  St Stephen's School
   
  
• 
  The Knox School
   
  
• 
  Toorak College
   
  

• All Saints' College
• Cook School
• Haileybury
• Lauriston Girls' School
• Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School
• Marsden State High School
• Mater Dei College
• St. John's College, Nambour
• Scotch College Adelaide