Dear Prospective Applicant,
Thank you for expressing an interest in this key vacancy at our college. In addition to this letter I would also urge you to look at our website and the video about what it is we stand for and why you would want to join us.
The College has been serving the community since 1950 and continues to be a Good school after last being inspected in May 2019. Having said that though, we are not a college that is driven by OFSTED and the grade we hold, we want to be much more than that and I would like to think that when you look at what we have done over the last 5 years we are now at the forefront of educational excellence. We want to provide the best educational experience possible for the children in our care and thereby become a great school that goes beyond grades and targets.
I also sincerely believe that if we lead this school community by staying true to our values then it is possible. 5 years ago, after a school wide consultation we agreed that there was something missing from our values and the word commitment was born. It is this value that has really ignited all of the successes that we have achieved, from delayed gratification to simply expecting students to worker harder than staff.
The graphic below shows each of the values intertwine to form the basis of our work at Crown Hills but they sit beneath our mission statement of
“We want every student to be the best that they can be, thrive in the best possible career and contribute positively to society.”
We are very clear that the gender, background, colour, poverty, wealth or social status of a child should have no bearing on how well they perform and staff here work extremely hard in trying to close that gap between the different groups of pupils.
We are looking for somebody who is innovative, willing to take risks and looking to create educational excellence by delivering quality first teaching in the classroom on a daily basis.
That process has already started and we have removed lesson observations from the appraisal process for over 5 years now and linked it to professional development. Currently staff are entitled to ‘visits’ and entitled to a professional dialogue to improve their practice.
That is a risk we have taken but it is aimed at creating a learning community where teachers can teach and learners can learn, without fear.
However, curriculum is the progress model and the three things together: Curriculum, Responsive Teaching and
Assessment are the driving force behind the improved progress of our students, as is a clear and simple behaviour policy that expects students to respond first time every time. Teaching staff do not do detentions or call home about poor behaviour, these are all taken care of by a central team.
In addition to responsive teaching, we have what we call a knowledge-first approach to our delivery. This places the emphasis on the teacher being the most knowledgeable person in the room and imparting that knowledge to students rather than engaging in a discovery model that wastes time with students trying to discover the new knowledge. Again, if you are interested in this post then this method of delivery is key to you securing the position. I would urge you to read more about our approach in our teaching and learning blog.
The successful candidate will be expected to be a form tutor to support the personal development of pupils and you will be attached to a year group to support this important process.
If you have high aspirations for children from deprived backgrounds and want to support excellence by improving pupil outcomes, then we would love to hear from you.
As part of our recruitment process, it is important that you attend our information evening, as this forms part of the recruitment process. In order to be shortlisted you must attend either in person, online or ask for a recording. Please email Sinead in order to confirm your attendance.
Please read the attached job description and person specification. If you are interested in applying, please fill in the application form available on our website. Please include e-mail addresses of all referees, and e-mail it together with a letter of application (no more than 2 sides of A4, font 12) outlining your skills, qualifications and experience relevant to this post to Sinead by 9am on Friday 3rd February 2023.
KEY DATES
Information Evening Thursday 26th January @ 5pm
Deadline Friday 3rd February
Interviews Likely to be W/C Monday 6th February
Start Date Easter or August 2023
Should you wish to visit the College please contact Sinead.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants will be required to undertake pre-employment checks, such as an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check.