Brief for the Position of Director of Music
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BRIEF FOR THE POSITION OF DIRECTOR OF MUSIC PRESTFELDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL Shrewsbury’s Co-educational Prep School for 3-13 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 BACKGROUND 4 THE ROLE 8 THE PERSON 9 HOW TO APPLY 17 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Prestfelde School is one of the West Midlands’ leading co-educational day/boarding preparatory schools. The School is seeking to appoint a Director of Music, the successor to our retiring Director who has been at Prestfelde School for over 31 years. The School Council now seeks an outstanding Director to provide strong operational and strategic leadership, ensuring the efficient and integrated delivery of a wide range of musical events in support of the Head and the School as a whole. This post offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to the School’s reputation and ongoing success as the best local independent prep school. The successful candidate will offer a significant track record of leadership and management. He or she will be a creative and inspirational musician and a strategic thinker to lead a progressive, collaborative approach that is committed to ensuring the very best for our pupils. The appointee will possess highly developed interpersonal skills and robust intellectual abilities to build strong relationships with parents and their children. A genuine resonance with a traditional, but forward-thinking approach to independent education and it’s essential musical ethos. 3 WELCOME FROM THE HEAD Thank you for your interest in Prestfelde School, I hope that this document will encourage you to go ahead with an application that may lead to your joining this unique and vibrant school community. We warmly invite you to read more about us, scan our website and visit the school. We are a community which invests in people, offering a traditional, family ethos with a very progressive and modern outlook. Prestfelde School enjoys considerable success and popularity, it continues to build on its strong reputation of developing each individual and providing an outstanding education. Having had a long association with the school and an exciting four years as Head I can speak from first hand experience of the warmth and friendliness of the school community. The beautiful surroundings, enthusiastic pupils and high staff morale provide an energy and united purpose for enjoyment and learning. We have an excellent staff development programme ensuring that colleagues are stimulated to keep growing as professionals. Above all, it is a community where the individual is celebrated and encouraged to become the fullest and best version of her or himself: this goes as much for the staff as it does the children in our care. This role offers exciting leadership and commitment where the musical vision and opportunities for its pupils is highly ambitious and is placed at the centre of the community. BACKGROUND Prestfelde is a thriving, fully co-educational school, set amidst 30 acres of beautiful grounds on the edge of Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Founded in 1929 by the Reverend G. K. Dovey, Prestfelde Preparatory School is part of the Woodard Corporation of schools, a charity founded to provide high quality education in an actively Christian school environment. The Woodard Corporation Prestfelde is an incorporated Woodard School and so part of the largest group of Church of England schools in England and Wales. Founded by Nathaniel Woodard in 1848, the Woodard Corporation’s primary purpose is to awaken a love of learning in all and to do this within a context that recognises the unique value of each individual person and our responsibility towards each 4 other. All Woodard schools have an outstanding reputation for providing academic excellence coupled with unrivalled pastoral care. Woodard is the 18th largest charity in the UK, educates more than 30,000 pupils and employs over 2,500 teaching staff in a mix of schools, independent and maintained, senior and prep, co- educational and single sex, boarding and day. Further information on the Woodard Corporation can be found on their website: https://www.woodard.co.uk/ Prestfelde School Prestfelde is a happy and flourishing non-selective school of over 300 pupils, aged 3-13. The School prides itself on its academic, musical, sporting and artistic achievements, but also on its ability to foster positive attitudes, respect for others and a love of learning in all its pupils. The School received an excellent inspection report in November, 2018. There are at least two forms in every year group and the School comprises a first-rate team of staff, who are committed to delivering a broad, dynamic and innovative curriculum. High standards are achieved within a nurturing and inspiring learning environment. There is also an excellent learning support department. Over recent years, the School has seen much development and is today rightly proud of its outstanding facilities including its own newly built Chapel and Theatre, Music School, Dining Hall, Design and Technology Department, Gymnasium, Indoor Swimming Pool, Library, ICT suite, Art Department, Cookery school, two modern Science Laboratories, a Boarding House, wonderful playing fields and Forest School. Music at Prestfelde Prestfelde has an excellent, long-standing and enviable reputation for developing and inspiring musical talent as part of an overarching commitment to creativity and in particular the Performing Arts. A rich and varied extra-curricular programme supports curriculum music, and classroom lessons are timetabled throughout the school. Prestfelde is well known within the local community, and especially by senior schools nationally and in the region where music scholarships are regularly won. Pupils have the use of a modern, purpose-built Music School. The aim of the department is to deliver a high quality musical education, to foster an enjoyment of music in every child, but 5 also to identify, support and inspire those children who show particular talent. As well as the usual practice/teaching rooms, the Music School includes a large performance room (Orchestra and Choir practise here, and it is also used for small-scale concerts) and a smaller Technology Room where children acquaint themselves with the modern possibilities of PCs with linked keyboards. The children in Little Prestfelde (up to and including Year 2) have their own classroom music specialist, who also acts as Assistant to the Director of Music. The Director has particular responsibility for Years 3 to 8. All instrumental teachers (there are currently 16) are specialists, but also demonstrate the ability to communicate enthusiasm in an age-appropriate way. All major orchestra instruments are taught as well as piano, organ, classical guitar, percussion (mostly but not exclusively drum kit), saxophone and singing. Every opportunity is sought for the younger children to be inspired by the example of the older ones, and currently, for example, over two thirds of the year 3 children play an individual instrument. There is a special emphasis on ensemble work from the earliest stages, with a Training Band and String and Brass Groups which feed the 30 piece school Orchestra. Other ensembles are occasionally formed as required – and the House Music competition each year is just one of the enjoyable concerts – some formal, and some informal – which are held in and out of the school and which provide performance opportunities and experience to the children. In particular, the Blackburn Chapel and Theatre is a fine purpose-built 300-seater auditorium. With its Pulham chamber organ and Kawai baby grand it reflects the commitment the school has to the Performing Arts. Singing has always been a vital element of Prestfelde life – in addition to classroom music, there are two choirs: the Junior Choir (up to the age of 9 for anyone who enjoys singing) and the Senior Choir (casually auditioned!) which takes pupils from 8 to 13. The latter group currently has 55 members, and performs regularly out of school, where they have acquired the reputation as the go-to junior choir in the region. Recently they performed for Bob Chilcott in the world premiere of his “Move Him Into The Sun” based on the poetry of Wilfred Owen, and have twice in recent years performed Britten’s “St Nicolas” with community choirs. In addition to these concerts and set-piece Carol Services, the children of all ages benefit from singing in dramatic productions which are usually musical. More advanced musicians are fostered through an established system of admissions and scholarships. Children are auditioned for 11+ internal music scholarships and almost always these candidates are among Prestfelde’s steady flow of successes at 13+ external scholarships to senior schools. We have good relationships with these schools, and regularly 6 attend Big Band, Choral and other similar days there. The best players are also regularly put forward for competitions if appropriate, and we enjoy following their musical progress. It was rewarding to see our winner of Woodard’s “Young Musician of the Year” from 2012 as one of two Old Prestfeldians taking part in the ‘back row’ of King’s, Cambridge choir in “Carols from Kings” recently. 7 THE ROLE We are looking for an inspirational and skilled musician to lead and develop the musical life of Prestfelde School as a beacon of musical excellence. This rare opportunity arises due to the retirement of Mr Jeremy Lund in July 2020 after over 31 years of outstanding musicianship. His successor will have the opportunity to work with the Head, and Senior team to develop and shape the department within a fully co-educational prep school. A successful classical musician, with the ability to inspire our pupils, lead peripatetic staff and conduct outstanding quality performance. He or she will be a musician who places strong emphasis on diversity of music making and encourages participation and enjoyment at all levels. DETAILED RESPONSIBILITIES Strategic Roles Leading the musical vision for the school in collaboration with the Senior management team Overall leadership and management of the music department To act as line manager to the music peripatetic teachers To encourage, nurture and develop the talents of all musicians, at all levels.