Casual Teachers in the Wollongong Diocese The Catholic Education Office Wollongong recognises the important role that casual teachers play in the delivery of quality teaching. We believe that access to a range of resources and information will enhance effectiveness to work as a casual teacher and an appreciated staff member in our Diocese. Download the Casual Pamphlet – Frequently Asked Questions (in .pdf form).

Feature Story

My Experience as A Casual Teacher in the Wollongong Diocese

By Michelle Vrh

It’s 6:45 in the morning. I’ve just finished putting on my favorite “teacher clothes”: my new white blouse, worn underneath a pink vest, teamed together with grey pants. I have my car boot loaded with teaching resources prepared for any class, I have just decided that my black shoes would look best with my outfit, the only thing left to do is blow-dry my hair and wait for a  phone call from a school in need of a casual teacher today. I walk into the bathroom, take out the hair dryer, plug it in and turn it on the highest speed.

While I’m drying my hair, I’m imagining the class I might teach today, and thinking about lesson ideas I could put into practice. I look at my watch, it’s 7:10. I walk into the kitchen and start packing my hand bag. I pick up my mobile phone off the bench and look at its little blue screen. Oh no! 1 MISSED CALL. I missed my opportunity to teach today, as I couldn’t hear my phone ring underneath the noise of the hair dryer. That’s the second time this week.

Read the full story....

Casual Induction Survey Analysis

You may recall in June 2004 a survey was issued to a number of then current casuals by Employee Services to obtain feedback about the nature of casual induction processes in Diocesan schools. The results of the survey were quite mixed but clearly demonstrated that casual induction processes were in place and generally effective. Suggestions for improvement have been considered and made available to schools via a best practice checklist. 

Read the full story...

Casual Teacher Update

The Catholic Education Office Wollongong recognises the important role that casual teachers play in the delivery of quality teaching.  We believe that access to a range of resources and information will enhance effectiveness to work as a casual teacher and an appreciated staff member in our Diocese. For that reason in 2003 a survey was distributed to casual teachers working in our schools. The survey returned over eighty detailed responses which highlighted initiatives to be prioritised and carried forward.  These initiatives include:

1. Casual Teacher Pamphlet. The pamphlet welcomes casual teachers to the Diocese and details the process for approved teachers to take up work in our schools. The pamphlet outlines a number of frequently asked questions from new casual employees and provides contact details of the payroll section and administration section. Distribution of the pamphlet is to all new casual teachers via their letter of approval.
2. Development and distribution of casual teacher ‘best practice’ induction tool. The induction tool has been developed in consultation with our Diocesan schools which collated a number of in school induction processes to develop a ‘best practice tool’. The tool consists of three parts: an induction hand book, casual ‘day’ induction sheets and an induction checklist detailing what the school needs to cover to effectively induct their casual teaching staff. The tool contains aspects specific to primary and secondary schools.
   School principals have been provided a hardcopy of the induction tool with an introductory letter explaining the roll out procedure. This letter nominated the school secretary as the person in charge to utilise the tool incorporating school based material.
   A template of the induction tool was then emailed to school secretaries, this being for ease of use and ability to modify. This email alerted school secretaries that the induction tool was on the next secretaries meeting agenda to be discussed if they had any concerns. The only concern to note was the initial workload outlay from the secretaries.
   
3. Caslink…connects casual teachers in the Diocese. Caslink is a web space designed specifically for casual teachers located on the Catholic Education Office Website. The website contains items such as frequently asked questions, Wollongong Diocese school contact details, induction processes, professional development and relevant links, feature articles, survey analysis and resources. It is envisaged that this web space will be continually updated.