What skills and experience we're looking for
A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a Classroom Teacher to join our friendly team at Handsworth Primary School.
The successful candidate will be a committed, qualified teacher and will have:
• outstanding and innovative classroom practice with a commitment to ensuring the highest standards
• motivation, creativity and the ability to work as part of a team
• commitment to work in partnership with parents and the community
• excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Job Description
(1) Liaison and Co-operation
The teacher will work in liaison, contact and co-operation with:
• other members of staff
• members of Borough support and advisory services
• organisations and networks relevant to the teacher's specialism or subject
• parents, governors and the local community
(2) Policy and Legal Framework
The teacher will work within the framework of:
• National legislation, including Education Acts, and the School teachers Pay and Conditions Act
• school policies and guidelines on the curriculum and school organisation
• Borough policies in particular those relating to curricular aims and principles, and to race and gender equality
(3) Tasks and Duties
The Pay and Conditions Act lists the duties to be included in all Job Descriptions for teachers. The following statement is intended to incorporate all the duties itemised in Schedule 3 of the Act, and any subsequent statutory instruments made under the Act. The tasks and duties listed in section 3 (i-xii) below are required for all teachers. These may be reviewed at least once a year, usually in the Summer Term.
(i) Planning To plan and prepare schemes of work and individual lessons, appropriate to the needs, interests, experience and existing knowledge of the pupils in one's class. To adapt provision to ensure inclusive teacher practice.
(ii) Setting and supervising work by pupils To teach a class, or classes, sets, groups or individual pupils, and to set tasks to be undertaken both at school and elsewhere.
(iii) Marking and recording To assess pupils' work, offer feedback and record their development, progress and attainment.
(iv) Discipline and relationships To maintain positive behaviour, discipline and respect for others among pupils; to promote understanding of the school's rules and values; to safeguard health and safety; and to develop professional relations conducive to optimum learning.
(v) Communication with parents To build and maintain co-operative relationships with parents, and to communicate with them on pupils' learning and progress, drawing attention to special skills and talents as well as difficulties or gaps in learning to be addressed.
(vi) The Classroom To maintain an attractive and stimulating classroom environment, and to contribute to displays in the school as a whole.
(vii) Overall policy and review To take part in whole-school reviews of policy and aims, and in the revision formulation of guidelines.
(viii) Reports To provide or contribute to oral and written assessments, reports and references, both at school and elsewhere, relating to the development and learning of individual pupils and groups of pupils.
(ix) Review To evaluate and review one's own teaching methods, materials and schemes of work, and to make changes as appropriate.
(x) Professional development To keep up-to-date with current educational thinking and practice, both by study and by attendance at courses, workshops and meetings, and take part in appraisals and reviews of one's work arranged by the Headteacher.
(xi) Corporate life To take part in the corporate life of the school by, for example, attending and leading assemblies, registering the attendance of pupils, and supervising pupils before and after school sessions.
(xii) Equality policies To help ensure that subject-matter and learning resources reflect Borough and school policies on race and gender equality, and that the implications of these policies are borne in mind in relation to all the tasks and duties listed in (i) - (xii) above.
In addition, all school employees are required to:
• Be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo a Child protection screening, including checks with past employers (2 successful references) and the Criminal Records Bureau. (An enhanced DBS check)
• To be alert to issues of child protection, ensuring that the welfare and safety of children attending the School/Nursery is promoted and safeguarded and to report any child protection concerns to the Headteacher (Designated Safeguarding Lead) using safeguarding policies procedures and practice.
• Prevent, identify and minimise risk of interpersonal abuse or violence, safeguarding children and other vulnerable people, initiating the management of cases involving actual or potential abuse or violence where needed
• Be aware of and update colleagues, as appropriate to comply with current legislation and policies affecting practice, e.g. Children’s Act, National Service Frameworks, Child Protection Procedures, Health and Safety and Data Protection.
• Have a full commitment to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy and acceptance of personal responsibility for its practical application. All employees are required to comply with and promote the policy and to ensure that discrimination is eliminated in the service of the Authority.
• Uphold and comply with the statutory provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act and any other associated legislation or Council Policies and procedures.
Person Specification
School Procedures and Policies
⮚ Ensuring the safeguarding and welfare of all pupils
⮚ Experience of supporting the development and implementation of school polices
⮚ Successful experiences with working in partnership with parents
⮚ Ability to share the creation of the ethos, educational vision and direction of the school that secures successful learning and achievement by pupils
⮚ Thorough understanding of all safeguarding legislation, policies and best practice.
⮚ Experience of ensuring equal opportunities for all
⮚ Ability to set standards and provide examples of best practice for other teachers in meeting the needs of the pupils
Teaching and learning
⮚ Qualified teacher status or working towards
⮚ Experience of working in a multicultural school
⮚ Exemplary classroom practitioner
⮚ Knowledge of the characteristics of effective teaching and learning and strategies for improving and sustaining high standards of pupils’ achievement
⮚ Knowledge of the current legislation and legal requirements and the ability to use this knowledge in efficient curriculum practice.
⮚ An understanding of the role of monitoring to improve the quality of teaching and learning
⮚ A good understanding of assessment and how it can best be used to extend children’s learning
Interpersonal skills – Team Building
⮚ Ability to develop positive working relationships between pupils and staff
⮚ Ability to manage resources effectively to ensure maximum impact on pupils’ achievement
⮚ Ability to communicate effectively and to disseminate relevant information to colleagues
⮚ Ability to motivate support staff and set high standards.
⮚ Ability to team build and the ability to work as part of a team
Management
⮚ Ability to direct the work of classroom support staff
⮚ Evidence of managing parent volunteers
Transition
⮚ Understand the key factors in successful transition, between classes and year groups
⮚ Ability to effectively induct pupils arriving new to the school
⮚ Knowledge of working with pupils with EAL and SEN
Other qualities
⮚ Willingness and the ability to promote the ethos of the school
⮚ Evidence of recent and appropriate professional development
⮚ Sound knowledgeof the Primary Curriculum
⮚ A lifelong learner
⮚ Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
⮚ Confident user of ICT
⮚ Good organisational skills and time management
⮚ Ability to meet deadlines
⮚ Warmth, sensitivity and understanding in relationships with adults and children
⮚ Ability to work well under pressure and in stressful situations
⮚ Creativity and enthusiasm
⮚ Awareness of the needs of others
⮚ Flexibility and patience
⮚ The desire to develop leadership and management skills
What the school offers its staff
Handsworth is a happy, thriving learning community where diversity is celebrated and high aspirations are encouraged. We believe in the importance of motivating and inspiring our children to enable them to be confident, curious and ambitious. We can offer you a friendly, popular school with motivated learners, the opportunity to work with a dedicated team of staff and governors and excellent CPD & mentoring.
At Handsworth, we are committed to promoting equality of opportunity and opposing all forms of discrimination in relation to all protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act.
We foster positive attitudes and good relationships, creating a shared sense of cohesion and belonging. We consult and involve our whole school community. We invest in training for all our staff and base our practices on evidence and on the outcomes of our continuous learning. We are committed to embedding anti-racist practice in everything we do.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion objectives for this year are to:
• Place a rigorous focus on diversity, equality and inclusion through a contextually relevant, holistic curriculum.
• Teach an increasingly decolonised curriculum which celebrates the uniqueness of all children.
• Continue to offer intelligent, fair and highly effective action to support individual children with a focus on restorative practice.
• Refine and develop our recruitment process at all levels to ensure that it is fair and unbiased.
We welcome enquiries from everyone and value diversity in our staff.
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment. Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance. Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant): childcare disqualification Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) medical online and social media prohibition from teaching right to work satisfactory references suitability to work with children You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.