Information for Applicants - Head of Secondary (Donnybrook)

Our School

As an Anglican Diocesan school, we offer our local communities affordable, high-quality, independent education, in a caring and inclusive Christian environment.

We want to inspire in our students a love of learning, and through a rigorous and rounded educational experience, to provide them with the means to achieve a fulfilling life.

Our History

Now in its 16th year, Hume Anglican Grammar has witnessed progress which has been nothing short of phenomenal. This is a great testimony to the vision and passion of the community that has built this exceptional school.

Hume Anglican Grammar was established in 2008 by St Peter’s Church and a group of passionate local parents who saw a need for an additional school in the area. Initially, the School commenced on a property owned by the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne on a small plot of land on Dorchester Street, Craigieburn. Opening its doors with just 37 students and 7 staff, by the end of its first year enrolled some 70 students from Prep to Year 7. By the end of 2009 the number had grown to 150 students, so it was quickly outgrowing this temporary location. Having secured a new site on top of Mount Ridley, Mickleham, its move planned for 2010 was delayed. At the commencement of 2010, the school had 230 students. For 2010 and Term 1 2011, it occupied temporary location in Sunbury’s Victoria University Campus while preparations were underway for the move to the Mt Ridley campus.

In Easter 2011, the school opened its doors on the Mt Ridley site with 491 students on a picturesque 10-hectare location. Since, commencing at its new home, the campus has enjoyed considerable growth. A total of fourteen new buildings have been established plus two playing fields and several playgrounds and ancillary structures. The School has also wherever possible prudently managed the site to utilise some existing buildings. Administration, maintenance/facilities, storage, and staff offices have all been established by renovating and adapting these existing facilities. Most notably the heritage listed Homestead and Coach house built in the 1880s.

Since establishing its permanent home at Mt Ridley, student enrolments have grown steadily. 2012 – 649, 2013 - 709, 2014 - 776, 2015 - 844, 2016 - 902, 2017 - 1,018, 2018 - 1,123. To cater for this considerable growth, the School opened its new campus off Donnybrook Rd in 2019, some 10kms northeast and a 10-minute drive from Mt Ridley and a third, Primary campus this year in Kalkallo. As the school approaches maximum enrolment at Mt Ridley, the new campuses will enable places to be offered to more families who wish for a Hume education, with the Primary campus also acting as a feeder for the others. The three-campus model will allow the School to grow beyond its current limit by replicating the ‘Hume educational experience’ at other close locations.

The new Kalkallo campus is on a 3-hectare site midpoint to the Mt Ridley and Donnybrook campuses, which will enable Hume to extend its catchment area so increase its educational offering to more families. It has commenced with 8 classes from Prep to Year 3 and each year a new year level will be offered. Two of these 8 starting classes were added ahead of the plan due to strong enrolment demand. Again, next year, an additional Year 3 and 4 class will be added supplementing the 3 Prep classes. Ultimately, the Kalkallo campus will have an enrolment of some 588 students from Prep through to Year 6.

Currently, Hume Anglican Grammar has a total student enrolment of 2,287 students - 1,400 at its Mt Ridley campus, 672 at its Donnybrook campus and a further 215 at its new Kalkallo campus. The growth of the school is managed to ensure facilities and organisational sophistication grow at a comparative rate.

The 8-hectare Donnybrook, and 3-hectare Kalkallo sites are close enough to Mt Ridley to allow easy movement between campuses. In addition, both are embedded within developing estates in areas that will in coming years see many thousands of new residents. Like Donnybrook, the site in Kalkallo is adjacent to a large public open active space. It is expected that the new Kalkallo campus will draw upon the immediate surrounding community, as Hume does now at Mt Ridley.

Our Strategic Plan

The School Strategic Plan, ‘Shaping our Future’, directs our efforts to obtain the best outcomes for the students in our care and to make a positive impact on the wider community. By having a focused direction, the School will drive forward to a successful future.

As a modern school, Hume Anglican Grammar continues to grow and respond to a rapidly changing world, and we are committed to the growth and development of our students in this dynamic environment.

The School aspires to develop young people who are kind, creative, inquiring, socially and emotionally at ease, and who strive to achieve their personal best in all their endeavours. The Strategic Plan captures the strengths and successes of our short history and propels us into the future.

Our Values

Our community embraces the following core values:

1. CHRISTIAN compassion and service to others built within an inclusive Christian community whose foundations are found in the Anglican tradition.

2. EXCELLENCE

high standards in all that we do and individuals realising their full potential.

3. RESILIENCE

a positive approach, founded upon realistic expectations, strength of purpose and flexible actions that help us deal with the challenges of life.

4. RESPECT care for ourselves and others through principled and disciplined respect.

5. INTEGRITY accountability, responsibility and trustworthiness.

6. SAFETY care for the health and wellbeing of all members of our community.

Our Philosophy

Hume Anglican Grammar is a progressive, coeducational Prep to Year 12 School. The School continues to develop its buildings, facilities and grounds and offers innovative thinking and advancements in its approach to teaching and learning.

Students are offered an environment where they can achieve academic excellence and find their inner talents. As an Anglican School we are bound by strong values and have high expectations of our staff and students. Each student is cherished for their own individual strengths so they may be nurtured to prosper and flourish. At the heart of the purpose at Hume Anglican Grammar is a commitment to developing lifelong learners and every student is encouraged and supported to discover and fulfill their unique potential – whether it be academic, service, sporting or artistic.

Hume is led by a group of dedicated and expert teachers who practice their craft with skill, and by building strong relationships with students. The student cohort readily display warmth, humour and respect for one another and their teachers, a testament to its teaching styles and programs.

Hume Anglican Grammar offers a broad, holistic, high-quality education, values-centred curriculum, compliant with the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). For the purposes of the delivery of the academic program, pastoral care, and organisation of leadership, it is structured into 5 sub-schools, 1 at each of the Prep to Year 12 campuses (Primary P-6, and Secondary 7-12), and one at the Prep to Year 6 campus - commonly called sections.

Each of the school sections caters for the individual needs of students and implements practices appropriate for that developmental stage. Most importantly, one of the great benefits of a Prep to Year 12 school is the smooth transition provided between the Primary and Secondary areas. Also, the equivalent of two additional Year 7 classes is added so there are a number of new students commencing in Secondary school. These junior secondary years are vibrant, challenging and appropriate to adolescents.

Our Philosophy

The School is in close partnership with the local Anglican Parish of Hume and St Peter’s Church, with whom facilities are shared. The Vicar also is shared between the Church and the School, she serves as the Minister for the former, and Associate Chaplain for the latter. Spiritual learning plays an important part in the curriculum and Hume welcome students from all denominations and faith backgrounds, as well as children from families with no particular religious commitment.

Hume Anglican Grammar believes that an education at our school should be accessible to all who wish to enjoy its benefits. As such, fees are consciously set to be as affordable as practicable to meet the needs of families. In 2023, tuition fees are for Prep $5,260, Year 7 $6,720, and for Year 12 $8,690.

Our Growth

Hume Anglican Grammar is expected to reach its maximum enrolment in 6 years’ time (2029), with a total of 3,612 students. The Mt Ridley campus will reach capacity in 2024 and the Primary school at Donnybrook is also rapidly approaching its maximum of 588 students. Therefore, much of this growth will be in the Kalkallo Primary and Donnybrook Secondary schools.

Over the last 10 years the number of students has grown by an average of around 12% per year. Over the last 4 years, with the expansion to a second and third campus student growth has accelerated to average 16% over this period.

Our Students

Hume Anglican Grammar has a fundamental belief that young people who are genuinely happy will engage, aspire and thrive within our learning community and beyond. To that end, the School expects all community members to hold the wellbeing of students at the heart of all decisions and activities. Similarly, all members of the School community, including students, parents, teachers and non-teaching staff, have the right to benefit from the opportunities that exist from being members of our community.

The School is therefore focused on creating an inclusive learning environment that supports and develops the wellbeing of all students and leads to positive learning outcomes. Our staff are committed to delivering this vision and thus contribute to an environment that nurtures personal growth and self-esteem. Through the delivery of balanced and structured activities encompassing social, emotional, mental, spiritual, academic and physical development, our staff focus on the wellbeing of individuals and the development of the whole person.

We also seek to be proactive in developing opportunities for students through a wide range of co-curricular activities. The Co-curricular Program at Hume Anglican Grammar provides students with opportunities to enhance their learning, social skills, sense of self, and community connectedness. Organised and delivered by staff members, the key purpose of any co-curricular activity offered to students is to enrich learning opportunities beyond the classroom. The School aims to develop an understanding, among both students and parents, that valuable learning can and does occur beyond the classroom. Co-curricular activities complement our curriculum learning areas and also the School’s vision; that is, ‘we want to inspire in our students a love of learning, and through a rigorous and rounded educational experience, to provide them with the means to achieve a fulfilling life.’

Hume has a current SES of 95 (DMI) and positions itself as an affordable fee school to accommodate families who would not normally have the opportunity to access an independent faith-based school. Hume has a very diverse student body that consists of students from a variety of cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds.

78%, 1,767 of our students speak a language other than English at home, approximately 216 students are on Visas. 83% of current students have both parents born outside of Australia and within this, 61% of students at Hume have both parents who were born in India.

Our Success

Each year, Hume Anglican Grammar makes its mark. In the most recent years results for both the VCE and NAPLAN have been extremely pleasing and show a continued climb in overall standings.

Regarding Year 12 VCE, over recent years the Dux has received an ATAR score in the very high 90s and they are joined by a good number who receive scores of over 90. Over half of the cohort receive ATARs greater than 70, and the median and mean increases each year brought about largely due to those in the middle of the group having a significant rise in their ranking. Study scores exhibit similar trends. The common measurables of percentage of scores of 40+ and school median have been 9% and 31 respectively.

Student pathways beyond school is a wonderful testament to the ongoing success of Hume. For some years the achievement of our graduating students is something to be proud. Over 95% of students elect to continue their learning journey with a course through VTAC. Customarily, 80% receive their first preference, 90% receive their first or second, and over 95% receive one of their top three preferences.

NAPLAN results demonstrate similar trends with over half of the metrics above or well above students with a similar background, and above or well above in all categories compared to all Australian students. Hume’s pursuit of academic distinction remains firmly on track.

Our Campuses

We are growing and each year the School has a number of capital developments underway. As we flourish, we continue to introduce more facilities on the school grounds, in the teaching space and to support our specialist programs.

Mt Ridley is a 10-hectare campus located 30 kms north of the Melbourne CBD. As a Prep to Year 12 campus, which commenced school operations in Easter 2011, it has just now celebrated its 11th onsite anniversary. The picturesque historic Victorian Heritage listed Mt Ridley Homestead property is currently home to 1,400 students from Prep to Year 12.

Donnybrook is an 8-hectare site located in the Olivine residential estate operated by Mirvac. As a Prep to Year 12 school, it opened in 2019 with 145 students from Prep to Year 3. Each year another Prep cohort is added and in 2024 will see the Primary school reach near capacity. This year the first Secondary years were introduced with Year 7, and in 2024 will then add Year 8.

Kalkallo is a 3-hectare site in the residential estate of Cloverton operated by Stockland. Located between the Hume Freeway and the Donnybrook railway station, it is a Primary school that opened this year with Prep to Year 3 and will mirror the other 2 Primary schools with 588 students.

Our Donnybrook and Kalkallo campuses operate in close partnership with the land developers and make use of creative and contemporary plans across expansive sites in open, environmentally friendly spaces.

Our Donnybrook Secondary School

The Donnybrook Secondary school commenced in 2023 with 5 sets of Year 7 numbering 140 students, which is the first year of secondary offering at this campus. Each year another cohort will be added, with existing groups moving up. The cohort sizes will work towards 6 sets of 168 students each. Therefore, the Secondary school (DB) will number 1,008 students, which is expected to occur in 2029. The total campus size will number 1,596 students and over 140 staff.

The Donnybrook Primary school will in 2025 reach its capacity of 588 students which comprises 7 cohorts (Prep to Year 6) each with 3 sets. The students are accommodated in four main learning neighbourhoods, the Prep Centre, Year 1/2 Centre, Year 3/4 Centre and Year 5/6 Centre. The first specialist facility opened this year comprising the Visual Arts Centre, and next year the first Secondary learning neighbourhood will open, followed by stage 1 of the STEM Centre in 2025 and the second of the Secondary learning neighbourhoods in 2026.

The Head of Secondary (Donnybrook) has a leadership tenure of 5 years (2024 to 2028) with an allocated time allowance and renumeration. The teaching role is ongoing and if at the conclusion of their time in leadership the incumbent does not continue as Head of Secondary, they will continue in their capacity as a teacher.

Our Prep to Year 12 School

For the last two years the School has enrolled nine Prep classes, three each at one of the three campuses. The amounts to some 250 students, which is understood to be the largest Prep intake of any non-government school in Victoria.

There are three Primary schools, one at each campus. Each Primary school will graduate three sets of Year 6. There are currently two Secondary schools, Mt Ridley and Donnybrook, each offering 5 and 6 sets of Year 7 respectively. The nine sets of Hume graduating Year 6 students will then be distributed to the eleven available classes. Therefore, the equivalent of 2 sets of Year 7s will be added to the equivalent of 9 from the School. The destination of Kalkallo students to either the Mt Ridley or Donnybrook campuses will depend largely upon the location of the family home.

Our Leadership

THE BOARD

The School is operated by Melbourne Anglican Diocesan Schools Commission Ltd (MADSC), a not-for-profit company established under the auspices of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.

The School is governed by a Board of Directors who are responsible for the governance of the School. The Board appoints the Principal to manage the School on its behalf and empowers them to set strategic direction and conduct all operations.

The role of the Board includes:

• setting strategic objectives

• approving objectives and policies

• reviewing the effectiveness of governance arrangements

• overseeing performance against targets and objectives

• reporting on the direction, governance and performance of the School.

Our Leadership

THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM

The Principal, Bill Sweeney joined the school in 2013, so now in his 11th year. He leads a professional and dedicated Senior Leadership Team of nine others. This comprises a Deputy Principal and Business Manager, four Assistant Principals each looking after a school section, and three Directors – Human Resources, Student Wellbeing, and Teaching and Learning.

The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is a committee of leadership and management. Its purpose is to initiate, analyse and evaluate issues relevant to change in the School. The Committee provides advice to the Principal in setting direction and is an essential component of the decision-making process. It collects and disseminates information from and to the staff. Whilst the focus of discussion will remain with transformational change, transactional decision-making is considered.

It is comprised of senior staff, all of whom report directly to the Principal. Some decisions made by the SLT that involve significant strategic change, affect staffing, entail major school planning and direction or have financial implications beyond the budget; may be referred to the School Board, Finance Committee, Governance and Development Committee or Property and Projects Committee.

Jeremy Assistant Principal Secondary (Mt Ridley)

Luke Friend Assistant Principal –Primary (Mt Ridley)

Rebecca Riley Assistant Principal (Donnybrook)

Kristen Smith Assistant Principal –Primary (Kalkallo)

Principal

Penelope Monger Deputy Principal

Rev Sheela Pandhare Associate Chaplain

Jeremy Martin Assistant Principal –Secondary Ridley)

Bill Sweeney Principal

Kieran Mitchell Business Manager

Claire Thompson Director of Student Wellbeing

Sam Butterfield Director of Teaching and Learning

Libby Hasler Director of Human Resources

Heather Pearse Executive Assistant to the Principal

Our Goals

We will:

1.

Instill students with school pride, who can embark on meaningful and productive lives as confident and respected global citizens.

3.

Be recognised in our community as a dynamic and outward-looking Christian presence.

Be acknowledged as a school of choice providing a relevant, progressive, and prized education, and valued for its contribution.

Deliver improvements in performance across all areas, including our academic, wellbeing and co-curricular programs.

Have staff who are engaged, collegial and dedicated to the School, who find fulfilment in a positive and stimulating workplace.

Have connected parents who support the School as an intrinsic and steadfast element of family-life.

Have strong and mutually supportive alliances with external bodies and agencies.

Be financially viable, operationally sustainable, and organisationally robust – so shaping our own destiny.

Be seen as helping to fulfil the mission of the Diocese and as a model in the promotion, growth, and nurturing of Anglican schools.

Our Appeal

We are a progressive school, not just in the development of buildings and grounds, but also in innovative thinking and advancements in our approach to teaching and learning. This is led by a group of dedicated and expert teachers who practise their craft with skill, and by building the strongest of relationships with our students. It is not by chance that we have young people who readily display warmth, humour and respect for one another and their teachers.

It is our fundamental belief that young people who are genuinely happy will engage, aspire and thrive within our learning community. By establishing high standards in all that we do, every student is encouraged and supported to discover and fulfil their unique potential.

Our Benefits

• Career and professional development opportunities.

• Generous salary rates.

• Access to the Employee Assistance Program.

• Fee remission of 30% for the children of staff.

• A range of salary packaging options.

• Five weeks paid annual leave for General staff.

• Paid parental leave in excess of NES entitlements.

MT RIDLEY CAMPUS

100 Mt Ridley Road Mickleham VIC 3064

P: 03 8339 6900

E: info@humegrammar.vic.edu.au

DONNYBROOK CAMPUS

40 Eucalyptus Parade Donnybrook VIC 3064

P: 03 7019 2900

E: donnybrook@humegrammar..vic.edu.au

KALKALLO CAMPUS

27 Goodman Avenue Kalkallo VIC 3064

P: 03 8339 6900

E: info@humegrammar.vic.edu.au

www.humegrammar.vic.edu.au