Need some Professional Development? Want to know who to go to for help? Need to know what your role in the department really involves? This is the place to come!

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

The Head of Department is responsible for the delivery of the New Zealand Curriculum in English for all students from year 7 to 13. They also have responsibilities for ensuring the department complies with Ministry and NZQA requirements in relation to Learning and assessment. They take a leadership role in curriculum development and guide the spending of the department’s annual operating income.

ASSISTANT HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

The Assistant Head of Department is responsible largely for supporting the Year 7 and 8 teachers in their delivery of the English Curriculum as part of their homeroom classes.

CURRICULUM LEAD TEACHERS

The Assessment Lead Teachers are responsible;

1. ★To maintain a portfolio of authorised exemplars for each curriculum level.
   

2. ★To maintain a set of generic rubrics appropriate for a range of tasks at each curriculum level
   

3. ★To stay abreast of trends and resources relating to assessment in their strand and relevant information to teachers
   

4. ★To ensure a valid form of moderation record keeping is maintained within the department.
   

Every teacher in the department of English at Mount Aspiring College is afforded a high level of autonomy in their work; their classroom is indeed their domain. Collaboration and mutual support is encouraged, as is the following of each individual passion in the subject.

Professional Support

On-going professional learning is vital in a dynamic learning environment. All teachers are encouraged to actively seek opportunities for development in their field. Professional learning should not simply be considered as limited to the attendance of professional development (PD) workshops and lectures; rather a whole manner of activities should form a teacher’s development. The following activities are encouraged for all teachers in the department:

1. ★Attendance to all in-school professional learning opportunities
   

2. ★Participation in all English Department Meetings
   

3. ★Regular review of online sources of professional information, particularly NZQA and English Online
   

4. ★Reading professional publications, particularly the NZATE journal, to which the department subscribes
   

5. ★Active involvement in dialogue with other teachers in the subject on professional matters
   

6. ★Subscription to and active participation in New Zealand English teaching email lists, such as [Teach-Eng] and [NCEA-English]

English

THE TEAM