At Merstham Park, our ethos is simple - igniting a passion for learning. We are proud to be a values driven school which encourages its students to embrace these values in all that they do. This approach provides all students with the opportunity to exceed beyond their potential. We have a team of passionate staff who are committed to providing our students with the very best educational experience. We recognise the importance of academic success whilst embracing our wider role in preparing our students for their adult life beyond the formal examined curriculum.

It is our mission to ensure that 'everyone at Merstham Park makes a difference' to the future life chances of the young people who join our family.

We endeavour to:

• Build a school to serve our community 
  
• Provide a safe, exciting and inspiring learning experience for all
  
• Ensure everyone feels valued - celebrating the individual achievements for all
  
• Bring the real-world to life through practical exploration and project based learning

Merstham Park School is a new 6FE (900 student) Secondary Free School (aged 11-16) and is part of the GLF family of schools. In September 2018, the school opened in temporary accommodation on the site with one year group. With a vision for 'igniting a passion for learning', MPS aims to encourage every single student to succeed. This is achieved through the delivery of a broad and balanced curriculum that values project work and collaboration. The curriculum supports the needs of the community and focuses on the development of both locally and globally focused enterprise. The intention is for the school to be part of the local community through the shared use of facilities in our state of the art new build facilities.

The welfare of our staff is of the utmost importance. The list below details some examples of how we support the wellbeing of all of our colleagues.

• Designated PPA time: your time is precious and we want to protect it
• A core focus on Learning and Teaching: it is the most important thing we do 
• Comprehensive CPD: we invest in your professional learning 
• Senior and Middle Leader programmes to develop teachers into future school leaders
• Regular career development opportunities, both pastorally and academically, in a growing forward thinking school 
• A designated Staff Association to ensure staff feel valued and supported, also allowing opportunities to give critical feedback 
• Low Stakes observations that focus on development and enhancing teaching practice 
• An appraisal system focused on professional learning and developing high quality teaching; all within an embedded culture of collaboration and sharing best practice 
• Access to an external counselling and support service for mental health and well being
• One fully paid emergency family day per year if needed
• No written reports; we want you planning great lessons not doing paperwork 
• No formal lesson plan formats or rules about submitting them
• Trust: a leadership team that trusts you and is not ‘Ofsted focused’ 
• Staff offers and discounts through the ‘Wider Wallet’ scheme 
• MA offered with contribution to funding 
• Chromebooks supplied for every teacher with full access to Google Drive and Apps 
• Transparency: autonomy is given to teachers - no random ‘check-ups’ 
• Staff social events and a variety of whole staff celebration evenings throughout the year 
• A comprehensive development programme for trainee teachers and NQTs 
• Frequent external CPD and training through our MAT programmes
• All meetings calendared to one day of the week so you are not meeting every day after school 
• A history and culture of staff development within a caring multi academy trust, including opportunities to collaborate and progress within GLF - taking on a wider role across the Trust 
• Expectation of 7am-7pm communication etiquette with no replies expected outside of these hours 
• Number of data drops carefully considered and calendared appropriately to support staff
• Career development meetings with the Head regularly offered
• A sensible marking policy in which the entire book does not need to be marked
• Fully research based Learning and Teaching strategy - not just the latest ‘gimmicks’
• A culture of coaching - staff collaborate, support and develop one another

GLF Schools is a Multi-Academy Trust established in 2012. We believe that every child in our schools can achieve the highest academic standards whilst enjoying a vibrant, challenging and rich curriculum. What we say in our motto is true: "Where Children Grow, Learn and Flourish." Whilst operating as a part of a family, each of our schools has its own distinct character and culture which is respectful of its community and context but their utmost common ground is that it is our staff that make each school. Our collective GLF culture is built upon caring for our children and students by enabling our staff to provide the best possible education with the resources at our disposal.

We have a simple mission. "To be a supportive family of schools where together we grow, learn and flourish”

Joining GLF schools brings a wealth of opportunity both personally and professionally. Each school in our trust has its own individual identity, while benefiting from the expertise that comes from a dedicated and experienced support team. GLF Schools will recognise your skills, encourage creativity and provide opportunities for you to grow, learn and flourish. As a member of staff you can expect GLF to invest in your career progression, provide a bespoke career development plan and offer the potential to be fast tracked into leadership. GLF Schools has a generous employment offer which allows our colleagues to Grow, Learn and Flourish.

For more information about the benefits of working for GLF, please click here to visit our GLF Careers page. 

GLF is proud to have been selected by the Department for Education as one of the country's 87 centres of excellence for teacher training and development. As a Teaching School Hub, GLF provides high-quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers across our 43 GLF Trust schools and 475 other schools in the local region.

As a Teaching School Hub, GLF delivers initial teacher training, early career teacher support, and training for teachers in their first two years of teaching, as well as middle and senior leader training programs, through the delivery of our suite of national professional qualifications. GLF is also the Appropriate Body for over 730 early career teachers within GLF and beyond into West Sussex, ensuring that all early career teachers are well-supported and effectively trained.

We have excellent regional partnerships that benefit all teachers, support staff, and school leaders who work for GLF or collaborate with GLF’s Teaching School Hub. Many of our past trainee teachers go on to be mentors and leaders who come back and facilitate through GLF’s Teaching School Hub.

GLF Teaching Schools Hub seeks to train, develop, and grow ambitious teachers who grow into outstanding leaders.

GLF is exceptionally proud of GLF Schools Teacher Training, where our initial teacher training program integrates seamlessly with GLF’s Teaching School Hub programs to support all teachers on their journey to excellence.

 Working with Inspiring Future Teachers, GLF’s Initial Teacher Training Hub offers fee-paying and employment-based routes with PGCE for teacher training in primary and secondary schools. Our training programs are led by excellent, experienced, practicing facilitators who care for and develop our passionate trainees into the teaching profession. Our wide range of support and partnerships means we offer outstanding retention and employment rates for our trainee teachers.

Train, learn, and grow with GLF TSH

Find out more about GLF Teaching School Hub HERE