Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) welcomes and supports the induction of beginning teachers into Catholic school communities

Catholic school communities understand that through collaboration, partnerships and life-giving relationships we build a culture of learning together. The school community context is crucial in how teachers learn and grow. For graduate teachers, effective induction eases their transition into such learning communities and helps strengthen their impact on students.

The Vision for Instruction education framework for the Archdiocese of Melbourne expresses our commitment and understanding of learning and growing in a complex and globalised environment. Learning within this context, and in dialogue with the Catholic tradition, offers all of us opportunities – not only to understand others, but to understand ourselves, our identity and our faith more deeply. Despite today’s context posing many great challenges, the mission and message of Jesus instils a hope and possibility for each person.

In Catholic education, our capacity to navigate the current landscape – to learn together, to work from evidence, to animate and support learners, and to lead in faith and transformation – presents us with great opportunities and exhilarating challenges. Catholic educators are called to meet these opportunities and challenges with courage and with faith, hope and love for their students.

Learning brings forth this hope – a hope that is based on the experience of God’s love and care for all. Pope Francis stated recently that through Catholic education we celebrate all the opportunities which enable young people to embrace the hope of a better world with greater possibilities. It is this ‘horizon of hope’ which propels us forward.

In Catholic education, we have a responsibility to strengthen ways in which we provide access for early career teachers to high-quality induction and mentoring. Once teachers are employed in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, they are supported in various ways:

• MACS, in its commitment to lifting quality teaching, attends to the role of induction in supporting teachers new to the profession. In the first two years, the process of moving from provisional to full registration is a key area of need. This includes not only developing teachers’ capabilities and confidence, but also their wellbeing and connection to learning communities.
• MACS also offers funding grants to Catholic primary schools to support the induction and mentoring of provisionally registered teachers (PRTs).
• The archdiocesan Graduate Teacher Celebration is an important annual event that acknowledges and welcomes newly appointed graduate teachers from both primary and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. This special function seeks to affirm our newly appointed graduates’ educational ministry, and provides an opportunity to meet key members of staff from MACS and network with other teachers in our school communities.
• Principals and teachers need to be accredited to teach in a Catholic school to ensure the Church’s mission and purpose is understood. The Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) has an Accreditation policy to ensure this: Accreditation to Teach and to Teach Religious Education or Lead in Catholic Schools. For more information, refer to the Accreditation webpage.
• MACS, in its commitment to supporting beginning teachers, provides resources and information to graduates, their mentors, and school principals or leaders on systemic accreditation and Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registration requirements.