THE KING EDWARD VI SCHOOL
TEACHER OF ENGLISH
RECRUITMENT INFORMATION PACK
CONTENTS
Letter from Simon Taylor, Executive Headteacher
The Three Rivers Learning Trust: Ethos
Information about our Schools
The Three Rivers Leadership Teams
OfSTED
The Department
Job Description
Person Specification
Pay Structure
Career Stage Expectations
Advert and Application Process
Application Form
Criminal Records Declaration Form
Criminal Records Guidelines and Policy Statement
Dear Applicant
TEACHER OF ENGLISH
Thank you for your interest in a position within our school. The King Edward VI School is a highly successful one and therefore we are interested in appointing teachers of a first class calibre to ensure that we continue to develop as a school. You should be a well educated, enthusiastic and energetic individual who really enjoys working with young people.
With regard to teaching staff, we regard the position of form tutor to be critical and expect all of our teachers to develop this role in providing ongoing support and encouragement to their tutees as they move through our school. We expect a lot of our staff, but in return you will have the opportunity to work with wonderful young people and colleagues in a very special school. Standards are high and our 2014 results at KS3, GCSE and A level were all excellent. Above all, our school is a friendly, hardworking place, always busy and full of life.
We make a commitment to your professional development so we prefer to appoint ambitious colleagues who wish to gain further experience and further develop their career.
If you do apply for this post then please follow carefully the guidelines outlined in the application process document.
If you are shortlisted, we would hope to contact you within ten days of the closing date. If you have not heard from us within this timescale you will not be called for interview. The interview process normally consists of a tour of the school, time in the department, mini interviews with staff and students and a formal interview. You will also be required to teach part of a lesson. Please ensure that there is a clear contact address, telephone number and email at which we can contact you as notification may be at short notice.
The King Edward VI School is committed to safeguarding the safety, wellbeing and security of its students. The successful candidate will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Simon Taylor
Executive Headteacher
The Three Rivers Learning Trust - Ethos
About us
The Three Rivers Learning Trust provides education in the Morpeth and Rothbury area. Consisting of Chantry and Newminster Middle Schools and The King Edward VI High School, we provide an inclusive, supportive and high achieving learning experience for over 2,500 young people aged 9 – 19.
All three schools have a rich and successful history and continue to be a central part of our local and regional community. As a recently converted multi–academy trust (December 2011), we aim to build upon our successes whilst valuing our heritage, to ensure that our students are well prepared to succeed in the twenty first century.
Our three schools have shared values and priorities. A single Board of Directors is responsible for the strategic direction and performance of The Three Rivers Learning Trust.
Our Purpose
Our fundamental belief is that everyone matters and can make a valuable contribution to the world in which they live. We provide experiences to inspire, motivate and meet the needs of all learners. We encourage a lifelong love of learning to enable all to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge to become confident communicators and responsible citizens.
We want our young people to:
● make a positive contribution now and in the future
● aspire to be the best they can be, and to achieve success in their learning
● develop the skills to be successful for life beyond school
● make informed decisions for a healthy and safe lifestyle
● understand, appreciate and respect the diverse world in which we live
We aim to provide:
● the highest quality teaching, learning and assessment
● a broad, balanced and creative curriculum
● personalised support and guidance for all
● enrichment activities for development, challenge and enjoyment
● a flexible and enabling learning environment
The Three Rivers Learning Trust is an outward facing organisation open to learning from best practice. Considered research and evaluation, at local, national and global levels, will inform our priorities and development.
Information about our Schools
The King Edward VI School is a mixed 13-18 Comprehensive High School which converted to academy status on 1 December 2011. We serve the attractive market and commuting town of Morpeth, and the beautiful Coquet and Wansbeck Valleys to the north and west. Our students come predominantly from three Middle Schools, two in Morpeth and one in Rothbury; they in turn come from thirteen First Schools. Some of our students travel long distances for their schooling and we are heavily oversubscribed.
The King Edward VI School has a distinguished history. It was founded sometime in the 14th Century, in the Chantry Chapel that still stands in the centre of the town. In 1552 the school was granted a Royal Charter, by King Edward VI. Originally a private and then Grammar School, it was established in its present form in 1974, as a mixed comprehensive school on a large wooded site half a mile from the centre of Morpeth.
Collaboration
In September 2009 the school formed a Hard Federation with Chantry and Newminster Middle Schools (The Three Rivers Federation) with one strategic governing body overseeing closer working links across the three schools, giving greater flexibility for staffing arrangements. On 1 December 2011 The King Edward VI School successfully converted to academy status becoming part of The Three Rivers Learning Trust along with Chantry and Newminster. The trust is one organisation in terms of strategy, managing the finance and business of the three schools, although remaining three separate schools retaining our original names and identity.
As part of the Morpeth Partnership, we work very closely with all of our family of schools, which total 17. Curriculum projects across the schools provide opportunities for staff and our students to work with younger children in different settings. Student Voice and extracurricular activities are very active at King Edward’s and we lead a wide number of initiatives with other schools and community groups.
School Organisation
The school admits 320 students to Year 9 (aged 13+) and subsequently in Years 10 and 11, and it is heavily over-subscribed. About 80% of our students stay on for sixth form education: the school roll is approximately1450 with about 470 Sixth Form students. KS4 and KS5 results are well above national averages. We are at the top of various benchmarking groups and our aim each year is to maintain and improve this position.
The school is organised for curriculum purposes into subject areas. Subject Leaders are key post holders. Many teachers are members of working groups and we expect new members of staff to contribute to the development of the school by joining such groups. All teaching rooms have networked PC projectors. Staff have access to and share high quality resources through our VLE.
For student support the school is organised by Year Groups, Year Teams and Year Leaders. Year Leaders are also key post holders. All of our teachers are Form Tutors. We also have a designated Student Support Area and a well resourced base for Learning Support.
Staff Development
Staff Development is given the highest priority. We aim to appoint only the very best staff. In- school training for NQTs, Year 2 and 3 teachers and new staff, ensures that new teachers are properly inducted into the school and once established, that professional development is available to them. All teachers have an annual Staff Voice interview with a member of the Leadership Team and in-house Career Development Programmes are organised on a termly basis, focussing on our Teaching, Learning and Assessment priorities. We part fund teachers to take higher degrees and wish to appoint staff who have a clear sense of positively managing their career development. We also allocate staff additional non contact time to undertake particular research or coaching projects in school.
Associate Staff
As a result of workforce reforms, the number of associate staff in schools continues to increase and we currently employ 150+ Associate Staff across the three schools, including our own teams of cleaning and catering staff. Associate staff are an increasingly diverse group who have many different skills and expertise and comprise:
Teaching & LearningClassroom Assistants
Learning Resource Staff
Learning Supervisors
Foreign Language Assistants / Behaviour/Guidance/Parental Links
Home School Link Worker
Student Counsellor
Sixth Form Mentors
Administration & Organisation
Directors of Business & Finance
Facilities Improvement Manager
Personnel / HR Manager
Site Management / Grounds Staff
Finance and Admin Staff
Exams Officer and Exam Invigilators
Resources Assistant
Lunchtime Supervisors
Cleaning Staff
Catering Unit Manager and Catering Staff / Technical
Science / ICT / Media / Technology Technicians
Web and Data Manager
Others
Volunteers
Apprentices
Consultants
Outside Agencies
In order to support the individual in their ever changing roles within the school, training and development opportunities are encouraged. Appraisal interviews take place annually.
Facilities
The Advanced Study Centre is newly refurbished with enhanced facilities for independent study, including computer use. The Music department has received similar investment in facilities and resources including IT. There are assembly halls, drama studios, a Learning Resource Centre (open 8.30am – 5 pm). Sports facilities include gyms, a multi-gym, playing fields, tennis courts, an all-weather pitch and an athletics track. Specialist accommodation is arranged where possible in faculty areas; there is an excellent computer network, specialist ICT rooms, generous PC provision in individual teaching rooms and hubs of PCs across the school. A Modern Languages building was opened in 1995 and a new Arts Space was built in 2007. We have a refurbishment programme to systematically update our facilities and develop the best possible learning spaces. Our site is set within a beautiful wooded grounds in which it is a pleasure to work. We also have an Adult Learning Centre and Youth Centre on site.
Enrichment
Enrichment and extra - curricular activities are an important part of our life. Charitable work by students is encouraged and we are heavily involved in community based programmes. Since 2007 we have staged hugely successful musical productions of West Side Story, Fame, Grease and Les Miserables, as well productions of Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Abigail’s Party and The Importance of Being Earnest. The Music department lead an active school choir, community orchestra, ceilidh, steel pan and jazz bands and have an outstanding reputation. We maintain highly competitive fixtures in all the main team games. Students have won recent county and national honours in rugby, football, hockey, badminton and athletics. Sixth Form students work with major North East companies on engineering and business projects, and we have had finalists in the Young Engineer of Britain competition.
In 2008 we received the International Schools’ Award and again in 2011 which signifies the emphasis we place on the global dimension, whether it is in lessons or extra - curricular activities. There are many opportunities for overseas visits. Since September 2008 we have taken geographers to Iceland; historians to Eastern Europe; skiers to Switzerland; dancers to Spain; linguists to France, Spain and Germany, artists to the USA and rugby players to South Africa. In partnership with World Challenge, we took 25 students to explore Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands and last year 20 students travelled through Thailand.
We think that all of these activities are fundamental to the success that the school has achieved: we expect to appoint teachers who are willing to contribute to whole school life and keen to go the ‘extra mile’ to support and develop our young people.
Leadership Teams across the Learning Trust as at January 2015
Learning Trust:
Executive Headteacher Simon Taylor
Business Director Mark Tait
Chair of Board of Directors Paul Carvin
Chantry Middle School:
Head of School Steven Johnson
Assistant Headteachers Julie Edwards
Elaine Skinner
Newminster Middle School:
Head of School Elizabeth Kinninment
Assistant Headteachers Joan Calvert
Sumeena Razzaqi
The King Edward VI School:
Acting Head of School Mark Simpson
Acting Deputy Headteachers Clare Savage
Chris Tedder
Assistant Headteachers: Fiona Golding
Bryan Stewart
Leanne Johnston
RebeccaTaylor
OfSTED
The school was last inspected in April 2014 and was described as ‘Outstanding’. Other comments by OfSTED ………………
‘Ambitious and excellent leadership and governance, and extremely skilled and dedicated staff, have ensured that the school’s high performance has been sustained since the previous inspection’
‘Teachers are highly skilled and enthusiastic; they are relentless in their drive to help students to achieve their very best’
‘Students behave extremely well in and out of classrooms. They show high levels of respect and self-discipline at all times. Excellent pastoral care ensures that they feel safe and are safe in school’
‘The Sixth Form is outstanding. Outstanding leadership of this highly inclusive Sixth Form underpins a broad curriculum and the exceptional performance of students. Results at A Level are significantly above national averages, so that the vast majority of students move on to their first choice universities, which include Oxbridge and universities in the prestigious Russell group’
‘The curriculum is continually developing in response to students’ needs so that it helps them meet their aspirations successfully. The rich extra-curricular programme has a very positive impact on students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development’