As pre-service teachers, Toby and Erin participated in the Beyond the Line Program. During the five-day study tour, they visited five NSW public schools across the north-west coast of NSW.

After completing the Beyond the Line study tour, one high school in particular sparked Erin and Toby's interest. They were supported by the Rural Professional Experience Program to return to Coonabarabran High School for their penultimate professional experience placement.

‘Diving into the unknown was exciting,’ said Erin as she recapped her journey driving from her home on the south coast of NSW to Coonabarabran. For Erin, it was the community feel that made her feel most inspired. ‘It’s been wonderful to see the students being involved in the community and supporting each other.’

The department works closely with several universities across the state to offer rural professional experience placements to initial teacher education students. To be eligible, students must:

• be completing their penultimate or final professional experience placement

• have a paid Working with Children Check approval number

• have completed all mandatory departmental Health & Safety training, for example, anaphylaxis, CPAT and e-Safety

• be committed to the values of public education and be eligible for employment in a NSW Department of Education school at the end of their placement.

If you are a current pre-service teacher, you too can experience the rural lifestyle just like Toby and Erin. Pre-service teachers are supported to travel with a university peer to navigate the journey, learn together and have fun.

For Toby, completing a rural professional experience placement with a peer provided an excellent opportunity to connect with a like-minded student. He and Erin took full advantage of the rural lifestyle, heading out to hike in the Warrumbungle National Park. ‘I’ve gained a wealth of experience from this opportunity,’ noted Toby. ‘Smaller class sizes allowed for a slower pace, and I’ve gotten to be involved in many aspects of whole-school initiatives.’

Penultimate and final year pre-service teachers are encouraged to contact their university's professional experience coordinator to express their interest in completing a rural professional experience placement.

Students in the second or third year of their teaching degree can also explore all that regional, rural and remote NSW public schools have to offer through the Beyond the Line Program. Register your interest to be notified when program applications re-open.