Department of Education - Victoria

Peter Lalor Secondary College is a school for high quality vocational education based on best teaching and learning theory and practice for Year 10-12 students. Peter Lalor Secondary College has undergone a vast transformation to a specialist senior vocational college specialising in the delivery of applied learning. The school currently offers the Victorian Certificate of Education Vocational Model (VCE VM).

New curriculum in VCE VM Literacy, Numeracy, Personal Development Skills and Work-Related Skills has been developed by panels of current applied learning practitioners. The new curriculum is engaging, based in real life and gives students in-demand skills needed for the future world of work.

Applied learning teaches skills and knowledge in the context of `real life¿ experiences. Students apply what they have learnt by doing, experiencing and relating acquired skills to the real-world. It enables flexible, personalised learning where teachers work with students to recognise their personal strengths, interest, goals, and experiences. An ongoing commitment to the inclusion of Vocational Education and Training (VET) studies for students will continue to add value to student's studies.

The school has a total of 140 enrolments and 29 staff, including 3 principal class, 15 teaching staff and 11 ES staff.

Peter Lalor Secondary College endeavours to create an educational setting that fosters the development of lifelong career management and engagement skills. Students that enrol at Peter Lalor Secondary College have identified a desire to engage in pathways to immediate employment or vocational training following the completion of their secondary school certificate.

At Peter Lalor Secondary College we acknowledge and understand that in the 21st Century a job for life does not exist and it is our responsibility to prepare and equip young people with the career management skills required to adapt, survive and thrive in the modern world of work. We have an emphasis on equipping our students with transferrable employability skills whilst fostering positive social development.

Peter Lalor Secondary College has a targeted emphasis on employability and successful transition beyond the completion of secondary school. We endeavour to equip students with 21st Century tools to promote lifelong learning and support their development as active global citizens.

There are high expectations that students will succeed. Curriculum is strongly connected to the real world beyond the classroom. The learning environment is supportive, promotes independence, self-motivation and teamwork, and individual learning styles are accommodated.

Vocational education provides a clear, well-defined pathway to a wide range of further education, training and employment options and the College supports students to move into meaningful post-school pathways. The current weekly program involves three days of the VCE VM program, one day of VET and one day exploring a Structured Workplace Learning to experience learning on the job.

Peter Lalor Secondary College is the lead school for the $6.4 million Outer Northern Trade Training Centre (ONTTC) and is responsible for the management of the centre. The ONTTC is located at the High Street front of the College campus and is governed by a board of principals from the eight government schools in the ONTTC consortium.

The vocational focus of the college is supported and strengthened by ties to local business and industry and to other schools in the area, particularly those belonging to the Trade Training Centre consortium and the Northern Melbourne VET Cluster (NMVC).

Underpinning the school¿s mission to provide its students with the best possible pathways is a commitment to a positive education approach. This approach builds resilience and self-awareness in our young people and fosters in them a high level of confidence in their capacity to achieve their goals and their dreams.

SC1    Demonstrated knowledge of the relevant curriculum, including the capacity to incorporate the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills. Demonstrated capacity to respond to student learning needs.

SC2    Demonstrated capacity to implement high impact teaching strategies, guided by how students learn, and evaluate the impact of learning and teaching programs on student learning growth. 

SC3    Demonstrated capacity to monitor and assess student learning. Demonstrated capacity to use data to inform teaching practice and to provide feedback on student learning growth and achievement to students and parents.

SC4    Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated capacity to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with students, parents, colleagues and the broader school community to support student learning, wellbeing and engagement.    

SC5    Demonstrated behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values. Demonstrated capacity to reflect upon practice and engage in professional learning to continually improve the quality of teaching.