As a principal, you play a vital role in shaping the way we deliver education services to ensure students have the skill, knowledge and creativity to succeed in the global economy.
Performance management
You are responsible for ensuring all school employees are performing their duties to the best of their abilities and contributing effectively to the objectives in the school plan.
All managers are expected to embed performance management into their practice. This involves regular and consistent monitoring of employee performance, and dealing quickly and effectively with poor performance or unacceptable behaviours.
Developing trusting and respectful relationships with and between employees is essential to enable performance issues to be managed before they become discipline issues.
Guidance is available in the managing unsatisfactory performance suite of
procedures.
Instructional leadership
Instructional leadership focuses on core learning priorities:
- quality curriculum
- student achievement and improvement
- pedagogical practice
- teacher feedback
- quality assessment.
This commitment to instructional leadership by all principals is supported through the
Principals' Capability and Leadership Resource (DoE employees only).
Principals' Capability and Leadership Resource
The
Principals' Capability and Leadership Resource (DoE employees only) is a multi-layered resource designed to enrich principal capability development and focus principal performance development planning.
MyHR Performance Capability and Talent - Performance and development plans
A Principal's Performance and Development Plan is a record of the ongoing performance and development conversations between a principal and their supervisor. These conversations are central to the intent of the Developing Performance Framework.
The focus of performance and development planning for principals is informed by:
- the department's
Strategic Plan
- the school performance policy, and school performance procedure
- the school strategic plan
- the annual implementation plan
- the school data plan
- other short and long term plans.
As a principal, you have a clear responsibility to deliver school performance through these processes and for delivering against strategies, targets and outcomes detailed in your school plans.
Principal performance and development plans focus on aspects of performance including the key actions and capabilities needed to drive the delivery of:
- the school's improvement agenda
- capability development
- career planning.
As a principal, you will develop your plan through discussion with your supervisor. Once agreement has been reached, your supervisor will approve the plan and together you will define a review timeframe.
Your responsibilities as principal will also include working with deputy principals, and in some cases, Heads of Program at your school, to develop and implement their own performance and development plans in
MyHR Performance Capability and Talent (access required).
School reviews
The department regularly reviews Queensland state schools to make sure they deliver a quality education to students. Every Queensland state school is reviewed at least once every four years, providing valuable opportunities for self-reflection and improvement.
The reviews are conducted by the Education Improvement Branch (EIB) and are tailored to the needs and context of each school. Reviews are undertaken by experienced educators trained in the use of the
National School Improvement Tool, a nationally recognised framework for reviewing teaching and learning practices.
For more information visit the
School reviews website.
Financial management
Principals are the accountable officer with respect to the financial management of their school.
Principals are therefore required to complete the Financial Management for Principals online course (available via QLearn) within 3 months of appointment.
Induction
The
induction process ensures that new employees are equipped with the knowledge to do their job effectively, and have an understanding of how their role contributes to the school's educational objectives.
It is appropriate for a comprehensive local induction to take several months, but priority must be given to the mandatory induction relevant to the role.
All employees are required to complete
Mandatory All-Staff Training induction within a week of starting work with the department. Additional mandatory training requirements based on role, responsibilities and location may also apply. A refresher program is then completed annually.
The
mandatory annual training ready reckoner provides information on required programs.
The
induction planner provides a guide for the information you will need to share with new staff.
Beginning teachers
We support our beginning teachers and the unique opportunities and challenges that a career in teaching presents. We do this by providing quality wraparound professional learning and support so that our beginning teachers will feel more comfortable, confident and capable.
This is achieved through support at corporate, regional and school levels, as well as by recognising that beginning teachers are also proactive participants in their professional learning journey.
Leading the performance and development processes
The
employee performance and development policy promotes a constructive and supportive workplace culture where employees and supervisors have regular and meaningful (informal and formal) performance exchanges about standards of conduct, performance expectations and opportunities for developing capability.
Employees are encouraged to take ownership of their performance and career aspirations, understand how their work aligns to departmental objectives and act on opportunities for professional growth.
Current employees of the department can access further information on OnePortal.