Course Writers | Years 7-9 | Multiple subjects, multiple roles

Course Writers | Years 7-9 | Multiple subjects, multiple roles.

Job Title: Course Writers – Australian Curriculum v9 – Years 7-10

Employer: St Philomena School – Distance Learning
Location:  Flexible or Remote Arrangement
Employment Type:  Either Freelance Contractor or Contracted Employee

About St Philomena School

St Philomena School was founded in Queensland in 1999 to offer a distinctive Catholic classical education across P-12 with Distance Learning (DL) being added as a mode of delivery in 2026 for Years 7 and 8. Year 9 is being added in 2027, and future grades will be added annually. In addition, the school is planning the extension of distance learning into other states across different curricula, all of which is placing pressure on the school to quickly grow its pool of talented Course Writers to support this expansion.

At St Philomena School, we value education for education’s sake, and not merely as a means to something else. This is why we embrace a traditional approach to education, with an emphasis on teacher-led, explicit learning, using a pen-and-paper exploration of content, a narrative style of engaged teacher-student Socratic discussion and a broad integration of history and literature across all subject areas. We seek to form the human soul through virtue and character, not merely to inform intellect.

Our work is summarised in our vision: the formation of spiritually vigorous Catholic young men and women who are intelligent, cultured, healthy, vocationally prepared, social-minded and patriotic, formed by a well-rounded education.  

Empowered by that vision, St Philomena School of Distance Learning seeks to deliver a rigorous Catholic classical education to Australian high school students directly into their homes through live, face-to-face, small-group online classes. Led by top-tier registered teachers, our unique model pairs the deep intellectual discussion of the Great Books with customized, tactile pen-and-paper learning practices across the broader Australian Curriculum. By rejecting passive screen time in favour of rich dialogue and well-crafted physical resources, we seek to nurture both the intellect and the soul, reviving the Western Liberal Arts tradition within a flexible, accessible, modern learning environment. 

About the Role

St Philomena School of Distance Learning seeks Course Writers to join our incredible team developing coursework for our Australian Year 7-9 (and expanding annually) Distance Learning school. The course work will be published and professionally printed by the school. Our focus initially, is on supporting Queensland’s interpretation of the Australian Curriculum (v9.0) across our traditional Catholic Liberal Arts approach to learning, but as we broaden out into other states (NSW, VIC, WA, TAS, etc.) we will be addressing the specific curriculum needs of those states as well.

We are not looking for people to merely compile worksheets or adapt an existing textbook. The successful applicants will need to understand (or be willing to learn) how to teach through written coursework via a Classical-narrative style, develop genuine understanding and retention within students, and write specific work units that inform our teachers, engage our students, and meet various state curriculum compliance.

A Course Work Refinement Process: Apart from writing original Course Work, an additional component of the role is to retrospectively update previous Course Work, using the feedback provided by in-class teachers who have delivered the unit(s) to real classes online and/or feedback gained from students themselves.

Though the school is ultimately interested in exploring opportunities across the full range of high school and upper primary school subject areas and year levels, our most urgent needs are:

• Year 7-9 Science (Australian Curriculum v9 QLD)

• Year 7-9 Arts | Music & Vis Arts (Australian Curriculum v9 QLD)

• Year 7-9 HPE | Health (Australian Curriculum v9 QLD)

• Year 7-9 Logic & Philosophy | A subject unique to Classical Education.

Selection Criteria:

1. Applicants will need to submit an example of a (teacher-facing) unit plan (preferably 10 weeks, approx. 30-40 45-minute lessons) they have written for a particular Year Level and Subject Area for which they will be applying. (NOTE: Work submitted for review purposes only, remains the I.P. of the applicant.)

2. Applicants should provide an explanation of: How they would go about planning a module lesson in the classical pedagogical style – for example in the high school (Dialectic or Rhetoric Phases of the Trivium) – if they were supplied with a stimulus (textbook, chapter, etc.) and a basic unit sequence/outline.

3. If the applicant has completed any educational course work in the past, we would be keen to see an example (or excerpts) of such work as part of the evidence provided. We need to know that you can write teaching and learning materials in a Classical style, specifically for high school years (Logic/Dialectic Phase and the Rhetoric Phase of the Trivium). https://veritaspress.com/blog/classical-pedagogy/

4. Professional Registration: Current registration with an Australian state teaching regulatory body (QCT, NESA, VIT, TRB, etc.) is required and Registration Number(s) and expiry date(s) should be provided.

5. Subject Expertise: Applicants should nominate for which subject/learning areas and year levels of the Australian Curriculum they wish to apply for and describe their proven track record of teaching or developing curriculum within that context (i.e. those years/subjects).

6. Mastery of Australian Curriculum v9: Evidence of a comprehensive working knowledge of the AC v9 framework with ability to precisely map content descriptors (descriptions) and achievement standards within the relevant Learning Areas (and General Capabilities and Cross-Curriculum Priorities) into a cohesive, sequential scope and sequence.

7. Autonomy & Reliability in relation to Deliverables: Demonstrate a proven capacity to work independently from home as a Contractor (or Contracted Employee), managing time effectively to meet school deadlines and delivering polished, publication-ready drafts. Applicants should address this requirement by providing background information including whether they have an ABN and wish to operate as a freelance contractor or if they wish to be employed on an ‘Award-Free Fixed-Term Employment Contract’ (no ABN required) and to provide any specific information to assist the school’s selection and budgeting decisions…e.g. you could wish to include how many hours you believe you might require to complete a 10-week, 3 lessons per week (45-minute lessons) unit plan, Instruction Journal, Home Supervisor Guide and associated learning materials, for a specific Year Level/Subject. (Your estimate could include projected total hours of work, and the number of weeks/days you are likely to allocate to the completion of this module of work.)

   • NOTE: Since this type of work is typically project-based, it would be beneficial for the Applicant to include as much information as possible to inform the wording and details of any contract the school might offer.
     The Applicant might include an initial estimate for a proposed module…e.g. if you were being asked to complete a 30 lesson science unit from a supplied textbook (Novare Life Science), the applicant might suggest…
     Project Description: [e.g. A 10-week Science unit consisting of 30 lessons]
     Textbook: [e.g. Chapter 2 ‘From Molecules to Cells’ of Novare Life Science]
     For: [e.g. Year 8 Science Module 2 (Term 2)]
     Covering Content Description Codes: [e.g. AC9S8U01, AC9S8U02, etc….]
     Detailed Contract Proposal: [Specify what you believe will be the approximate hours of work required to complete the proposed module and also provide an approximate first draft delivery deadline date.]

   • Contracted Course Writers who require assistance with estimating hours and time frames for a proposed project, can discuss and negotiate this with the school.

8. Written acknowledgment of school’s ownership of Intellectual Property: Every applicant needs to express in writing their understanding and acceptance of the fact that any and all materials produced by them in the course of their paid employment by ‘the school’, belongs to and remains the sole property of ‘the school’.

Desirable Criteria:

• Alignment with Classical Pedagogy and Texts: Evidence of a deep affinity for the Western philosophical tradition and classical pedagogy. For Science applicants, familiarity with - or an eagerness to design around - the Novare Science mastery-learning model is highly advantageous. For applicants in all other subject areas, evidence of a creative capacity to anchor modern curriculum requirements to historical, virtue-based, or traditional pen-and-paper learning frameworks would be advantageous.

• Excellence in Material Design (Pen-and-Paper Focus): Demonstrated ability to craft highly engaging, rigorous, and beautifully formatted physical learning materials (student workbooks, lesson plans, and tactile resources) that prioritise deep cognitive focus over digital screen time. (The school can assist with layout and design of workbooks, e.g. workbook templates can be provided in digital formats like .docx, etc., and the school will professionally print workbooks and resources from the design materials provided by our course writers.)

Who should apply?

• Anyone with the relevant teaching qualifications in their state, who wants the freedom and flexibility of working from home and who either understands the traditional Catholic classical education approach or is willing to learn about it…there are plenty of simple resources available online. E.g. https://veritaspress.com/blog/classical-pedagogy/

• Anyone who wants to create high-quality teacher-directed, student-focused, pen-and-paper learning style unit plans and learning materials aligned to the Australian Curriculum… in a timely manner. (It’s a valuable skill, worth developing.)

• Anyone who can accept that all creative output and IP produced by them as a paid employee or paid contractor of the school remains 100% owned by the school and can be edited and modified by the school as required. (Final publications are typically the product of several team members and editors.)

• This is an opportunity to help build a high-quality program for students who cannot physically attend a Catholic liberal arts school, but who otherwise deserve an education of the same academic rigour via a distance mode of learning.

• This can be a long term, stable and rewarding career path, suitable to a meticulous, creative professional who enjoys managing their own time and workload.

Application:

Applicants should submit:

• Cover letter addressing the Selection Criteria and Desirable Criteria

• Current résumé/CV including relevant qualifications and Teacher Registration details

• Examples of curriculum or educational writing, if available

• A brief statement explaining their understanding of Classical Education

• A brief statement outlining how they would approach writing coursework for Distance Learning

• A brief statement declaring their understanding that by accepting employment as a Course Writer for the school, the Intellectual Property IP of their submitted work becomes and remains the IP Intellectual Property of the school to do with as it chooses.

• A brief reference to whether the applicant has their own active ABN and wishes to operate as a contractor, or whether they would prefer to be employed under a contract and have tax and other government-mandated employee contributions deducted.

Applications and Enquiries in the first instance should be directed to:

***********@stphilomena.qld.edu.au

Deadlines for applications: This is an open, ongoing process. Multiple opportunities exist. Applicants can apply at any time.