• About Children's Ground

Children’s Ground is a First Nations organisation. The Children’s Ground Approach is designed and delivered through the leadership of First Nations people. We are committed to systems change to ensure dignity, justice and equity for all children and families. Our work focuses on national reform as well as evidencing a new way of working.

The Children’s Ground Approach is a whole of community, whole of life approach. We privilege First Nations knowledge systems and practice. Over the course of a generation, led by local expertise, we create and deliver an integrated system that is centred on learning, development and wellbeing that responds to the child and their family through the key transition points from pre-birth to young adulthood.

Our approach recognises the cultural, social, and economic strength of our communities. We build on this over a generation to ensure a future for our children and grandchildren that gives them freedom, opportunity and rights to their culture and identity.

Children’s Ground operates in Central Australia and across the Top End, with support provided by a Melbourne-based Shared Services team.

About you

You will be a Primary Educator with 5+ years teaching experience and operational leadership skills/experience. You will be comfortable working within an integrated model, working and mentoring predominantly Early Years educators. You will be comfortable working on curriculum design and differentiated teaching environments. Educational sessions are delivered on-country and the role demands a certain amount of physicality to move in outdoor settings and transport resources and materials. A Driver's License is essential, and a bus license would be a bonus.

About the role

This role combines primary teaching with embedded pedagogical and operational leadership, working across Children’s Ground learning environments in Central Australia. 

The position delivers high quality primarily learning while working within an integrated model where the majority of educators are focused on Early Years.  The role requires the ability to work alongside and support Early Years Educators, recognising and respecting play-based, open ended and culturally grounded approaches (including Montessori and Steiner informed practice).

A key function of the role is to bridge and strengthen practice across learning stages, ensuring primary-aged children are appropriately extended while remaining connected to shared, community based and mixed-age learning environments.  

The role will work alongside First Nations and non-First Nations educators to:

·       Maintain consistent quality across multiple sites

·       Support educator capability through mentoring, modelling and supervision

·       Ensure program delivery meets compliance and documentation requirements.

The position introduces and supports projects-based and inquiry learning for primary-aged children, complementing (not replacing) existing Early Years approaches.

In addition, the role provides formal supervision, systems oversight and administrative leadership, ensuring robust data collection, clear documentation and continuous improvement across all locations.

This role brings together teaching, supervision and systems leadership – working alongside educators and communities across Central Australia while ensuring strong, culturally grounded and consistent learning delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Learning, Wellbeing and Educational Delivery

 ·       Deliver high quality primary learning across multiple Children’s Ground sites in Central Australia

·       Work within Arrernte-kenhe Angkentye and Apmerenge-ntyele frameworks, including first language development:

-      Teaching and Learning cycle also promotes Children’s Ground long term educational commitment, with educators’ alignment with the Australian Curriculum

·       Deliver learning onsite, in community and on country

·       Deliver primary learning that is integrated within an Early Years focused environment, ensuring older children are extended while remaining connected to shared learning experiences

·       Implement project based and inquiry learning approaches for primary aged children, complementing play-based and open-ended pedagogies

·       Work in practice alongside educator to:

-      Model high quality teaching

-      Co-teach and support delivery

-      Strengthen culturally responsive practice

·       Develop and monitor individualised learning plans with children and families

Ensure learning environment are engaging, safe and culturally responsive

Leadership, Supervision and Workforce Development

·       Provide day to day leadership across multiple locations and learning environment

·       Deliver formal one on one supervision including:

-      Goal setting

-      Reflective practice

-      Performance feedback

-      Professional development planning

·       Work alongside Early Years educator to:

-      Strengthen practice without compromising early childhood pedagogy

-      Support progression from Early Years to Primary learning

·       Mentor and coach through:

-      In practice modelling and co-teaching

-      Planning and programming support

-      Real-time and reflective feedback

·       Act as the primary learning specialist within a predominantly Early Years team, ensuring appropriate challenge and progression for primary-aged children

·       Build capacity of First Nations educators and local staff through strengths-based mentoring

·       Maintain supervision documentation and performance processes

·       Balance support and accountability to maintain high-quality delivery

·       Act in Deputy capacity across Central Australia sites when requires

Program Coordination, Planning & Implementation

·       Support planning and logistics of delivery across multiple sites and communities

·       Ensure consistence and continuity of programs across Central Australia

·       Support integration across Early Years, Primary and broader service areas

·       Develop culturally grounded curriculum and learning resources

·       Embed project based, inquiry and experiential learning approaches for primary aged children

·       Support educators to deliver hands-on, place based and community connected learning experiences

Community Engagement and Co-Design

·       Build strong relationships with families, Elders and community leaders across multiple communities

·       Support community-led input into program design and delivery

·       Work with governance groups to guide learning direction

·       Ensure learning reflects local cultural knowledge and aspirations

·       Support staff to engage respectfully across different community contexts

Systems, Data & Compliance

·       Ensure consistent, accurate and timely data collection across all sites

·       Design and implement templates, tools and systems to support:

-      Planning and programming

-      Documentation of learning

-      Individual learning plans

-      Reporting and evaluation

·       Support educators to maintain high quality, up to date records

·       Ensure documentation reflects progression across developmental stages

·       Monitor and ensure compliance with:

-      Children’s Ground frameworks

-      Educational standards

-      Regulatory requirements

·       Use data to inform continuous improvement across programs and locations

Quality Assurance & Risk Management

·       Maintain quality, consistency and cultural safety across all Central Australia sites

·       Ensure safe physical and emotional learning environments

·       Uphold duty of care in remote and multi-site delivery contexts

·       Support adherence to organisational policies and procedures

·       Engage with local languages by learning basic words/phrases and using them in interactions with First Nations people.

·       Participate in professional development programs offered by Children’s Ground.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

·       Oversee documentation and reporting across sites

·       Monitor outcomes and program effectiveness

·       Support reflective, evidence-based practice

·       Contribute to longitudinal evaluation work

·       Support community led monitoring and data practices

Leadership, Strategy & Organisational Contribution

·       Act as a visible and values driven leader across Central Australia

·       Contribute to strategic planning and program development

·       Support integration across Children’s Ground platforms