Headteacher Recruitment Application Pack

October 2013

1 Contents Page

Welcome Letter from Chair of Governors page 3

About Us page 4

Job Description page 6

Person Specification page 10

How to Apply page 12

Advertisement page 13

2 Dear Candidate,

Thank you very much for your interest in the post of Headteacher at Crane Park Primary School.

Crane Park children are friendly, well-behaved, polite and motivated to learn. We have developed an outstanding creative curriculum which involves as much first hand opportunity as possible. Our staff are hardworking and dedicated to giving the children the best opportunities to learn and be successful.

We are situated in extensive grounds, with fantastic outdoor space including a forest classroom. We work in close partnership with the children’s centre, neighbourhood day nursery and autistic centre, which are all based on our site. In September 2014, we will become a 3-form entry school and there will be significant building work on site to accommodate this growth.

Our future is exciting but we know that we have some hard work to do. Mrs Hardwick, the Headteacher since the School’s inception, retired at the end of August 2012 and we have an interim Headteacher in post.. Our SATs results have been less good than our last Ofsted report in 2010 and we need to address this. We have an enthusiastic leadership team with some of the staff new to their roles so we are looking for a strong leader who can harness all of these opportunities and lead us into the next stage of our development.

In support, the Governors are a committed group who fulfil the role of critical friend with professionalism and sensitivity. We understand the challenges faced by Headteachers and, indeed, all the staff in schools today.

We believe Crane Park provides an exciting and inspirational environment for an ambitious individual to drive our school forward.

I urge you to visit the school and we hope that you will make an application for this post. To book a school visit or to find out more information please contact Anna Mason at Hays Leadership.

On behalf of the Governors of Crane Park Primary School, thank you again for your interest in our School and we look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Dr Chris Bruton Chair of Governors Crane Park Primary School

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About Us

School

Crane Park Primary began in 2001 with the amalgamation of Crane Infants and Crane Junior. It has developed as a two-form entry school with 52 nursery places.

Currently Crane Park Primary School compromises of a:  Two/three-form entry primary school with 470 children  32-place centre for autistic children  Linked Children’s Centre  Neighbourhood Day Care Nursery with 65 places

The Day Care Centre is run as a stand alone business, It has very close links with the School. It is managed and supported by the Headteacher with the support of the Governing Body. The Headteacher leads in the Children’s Centre, which is managed in partnership with the Local Authority. The ACE Zone is an integral part of the School.

Following recent increases in the birth rate in Hounslow, Crane Park has recently undergone consultation to become 3FE following several years of bulge classes. This will be effective from September 2014. There will be significant building work on the site to accommodate the increased numbers. Crane Park currently has 470 children on its register with a maximum potential of 714.

The school population has a rich and diverse mix. Over 65% of the children have English as an additional language. There are over 45 languages spoken at Crane Park.

Local Community

Crane Park Primary School sits at the centre of a vibrant, dynamic community of families from many backgrounds. Our community has changed very rapidly over the last ten years and this has brought many opportunities as well as challenges for our school.

Money is tight in many of our families, with parents either out of work or on a low income. Many of our children live in overcrowded social housing. Parental engagement has been inconsistent in the past, despite the best efforts of the school. Many families now look to school for advice and support for a variety of issues and worries - not just their child's education.

We need to be able to offer our pupils a firm foundation in learning so they are equipped to make the most of the wonderful opportunities available at Crane Park School. We want to instil a love of learning that will stay with them long after they have left us. Our Children's Centre is working hard to identify and meet the needs of the under 5's and their families to ensure that the children are ready for school and will thrive.

Our school must be able to engage meaningfully with all of our parents to ensure our school is a place where they feel welcome, supported and equipped to support their child's learning.

4 Neighbourhood Nursery - Where Friendships begin

We are a 65 place Day Nursery offering full or part time day care. Our children can start at 3 months to 5 years. The children usually leave us when they are offered a full time place in reception. We also offer free funded places for two and three year olds. At Crane Park we have a team of 18 highly qualified staff. Five staff in the last 5 years have obtained their NVQ 3 diploma in childcare. Two staff are forest school leaders, one won an award from Hounslow and was able to go to Denmark to see how forest schools work out there. The majority of our team has been here since the nursery opened in 2004. We take pride in the knowledge that we offer continuity of care throughout our nursery.

We have also taken part in the government initiative of taking on an apprentice; this has been very successful and we now have 4 apprentices on our team. Two of our students will have completed their course by September 2013 and will be receiving their NVQ 3 diploma in childcare.

We have our own forest school and have in the last year have grown our own vegetables, from seed to table! We are looking to increase the size of the garden in the next year and also to have our own allotment, where children and parents will be able to grow and cook and maybe even have a small stall to sell our home grown produce.

We work closely with the Early Years at Crane Park and are able to offer wrap around care, with staff taking children to the Early Years and collecting them at home time.

Crane Park Children’s Centre

Crane Park Children’s Centre provides services for children under 5 and their families who live in the Crane Park, Hanworth and Forge Lane areas. Approximately 1080 under 5’s live in the reach area (2011 census).

The centre provides a variety of services including:

 Stay and play  Story and Rhyme time  Let’s Get Ready… (for children due to start nursery)  Well Baby Clinic  Antenatal Clinic  Toy Library  Baby groups  Family and adult learning  Family and parenting support  Parenting classes  Other activities including Amanda’s Action Club and Tiny Ballers  Information and advice about benefits and returning to work.

The centre is managed by the Children’s Centre Area Co-ordinator, and is staffed by a Receptionist and a Children’s Centre Practitioner (currently a job share). Staff are employed by the London Borough of Hounslow.

The centre is a ‘phase one’ Children’s Centre and was designated in 2005. The centre received a ‘Satisfactory’ grade in October 2010, and will be due to be re- inspected from October 2013.

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Job Description

Reporting Relationships

Responsible to: Governing Body

Mission Statement and School Ethos

The aims of Crane Park Primary School are:

 To encourage children to become independent learners whilst at the same time learning to work collaboratively.  To develop in children an awareness and consideration for other people’s needs and rights, an understanding of the world in which we live and a concern for the environment  To develop a sense of each person’s own worth and a responsibility for one’s own behaviour  To celebrate cultural, racial, linguistic and religious diversity among individuals and actively promote equality of opportunity  To ensure that children have full and equal access through a variety of approaches to a broad based curriculum that includes a wide range of practical experiences enabling them to take their place in the world and society in an informed, positive and active way.  To see education not only as a preparation for life, but as a way of life and an overall vision of what is possible. We regard education as an important partnership between home and school and look forward to fostering close links with you so that your child feels secure in the knowledge that we are working together for his/ her well being.  To involve children in decision making about their school life and their environment an opportunity is given through the School Council which has pupil representatives for each year group

General Description of Activities/ Functions

The appointment is subject to the current conditions of employment for Head teachers contained in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document, the 1998 School Standards Framework, the required standard for Qualified Teacher Status and any other current educational legislation as required in various Education Acts.

Statement of Purpose

To provide professional leadership for the school that secures its success and improvement, ensuring high quality education for all its pupils and improved standards of learning and achievement.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Shaping the future

 Ensures the vision for the school is clearly articulated, shared, understood and acted upon effectively by all.  Works within the school community to translate the vision into agreed objectives and operational plans which will promote and sustain school improvement. 6  Demonstrates the vision and values in everyday work and practice.  Motivates and works with others to create a shared culture and positive climate.  Ensures creativity, innovation and the use of appropriate new technologies to achieve excellence.  Ensures that strategic planning takes account of the diversity, values and experience of the school and community at large.

2. Leading Learning & Teaching

 Ensures a consistent and continuous school-wide focus on pupils’ achievement, using data and benchmarks to monitor progress in every child’s learning.  Ensures that learning is at the centre of strategic planning and resource management.  Establishes creative, responsive and effective approaches to learning and teaching.  Ensures a culture and ethos of challenge and support where all pupils can achieve success and become engaged in their own learning.  Demonstrates and articulates high expectations and sets stretching targets for the whole school community.  Implements strategies, which- secure high standards of behaviour and attendance.  Determines, organises and implements a diverse, flexible curriculum and implements an effective assessment framework.  Takes a strategic role in the development of new and emerging technologies to enhance and extend the learning experience of pupils.  Monitors, evaluates and reviews classroom practice and promotes improvement strategies.  Challenges underperformance at all levels and ensures effective corrective action and follow-up.

3. Developing Self and Working with Others

 Treats people fairly, equitably and with dignity and respect to create and maintain a positive school culture.  Builds a collaborative learning culture within the school and actively engages with other schools to build effective learning communities.  Develops and maintains effective strategies and procedures for staff induction, professional development and performance review.  Ensures effective planning, allocation, support and evaluation of work undertaken by teams and individuals.  Ensuring clear delegation of tasks and devolution of responsibilities.  Acknowledges the responsibilities and celebrates the achievements of individuals and teams.  Develops and maintains a culture of high expectations for self and for others and takes appropriate action when performance is unsatisfactory.  Regularly reviews own practice, sets personal targets and takes responsibility for own personal development.  Manages own workload and that of others to allow an appropriate work/life balance.

7 4. Managing the Organisation

 Creates an organisational structure, which reflects the school’s values, and enables the management systems, structures and processes to work effectively in line with legal requirements.  Produces and implements clear, evidence-based improvement plans and policies for the development of the school and its facilities.  Ensures that, within an autonomous culture, policies and practices take account of national and local circumstances, policies and initiatives.  Manages the school’s financial and human resources effectively and efficiently to achieve the school’s educational goals and priorities.  Recruits, retains and deploys staff appropriately and manages their workload to achieve the vision and goals of the school.  Implements successful performance management processes with all staff.  Manages and organises the school environment efficiently and effectively to ensure that it meets the needs of the curriculum and health and safety regulations.  Ensures that the range, quality and use of all available resources is monitored, evaluated and reviewed to improve the quality of education for all pupils and provide value for money.  Uses and integrates a range of technologies effectively and efficiently to manage the school.

5. Securing Accountability

 Fulfils commitments arising from contractual accountability to the Governing Body.  Develops a school ethos, which enables everyone to work collaboratively, share knowledge and understanding, celebrate success and accept responsibility for outcomes.  Ensures individual staff accountabilities are clearly defined, understood and agreed and are subject to rigorous review and evaluation.  Works with the Governing Body (providing information, objective advice and support) to enable it to meet its responsibilities.  Develops and presents a coherent, understandable and accurate account of the school’s performance to a range of audiences including Governors, parents and carers.  Reflects on personal contribution to school achievements and takes account of feedback from others.

6. Strengthening Community

 Builds a school culture and curriculum which takes account of the richness and diversity of the school’s communities.  Creates and promotes positive strategies for challenging racial and other prejudice and dealing with racial harassment.  Ensures learning experiences for pupils are linked into and integrated with the wider community.  Ensures a range of community-based learning experiences.  Collaborates with other agencies in providing for the academic, spiritual, moral, social, emotional and cultural well-being of pupils and their families.  Creates and maintains an effective partnership with parents and carers to support and improve pupils’ achievement and personal development.

8  Seeks opportunities to invite parents and carers, community figures, businesses or other organisations into the school to enhance and enrich the school and its value to the wider community.  Contributes to the development of the education system by, for example, sharing effective practice, working in partnership with other schools and promoting innovative initiatives.  Co-operates and works with relevant agencies to protect children.

7. Safeguarding

 Responsible for promoting the welfare of all children and young people.  Creates an organisational culture which is vigilant to, monitors and prioritises the safeguarding of children and young people above all considerations.

The content of this job description may be amended at any time following discussions between the Governing Body and the Headteacher.

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Person Specification

Crane Park Primary School – Headteacher Person Profile

Key Criteria

1. Shaping the Future:

 Is able to lead change;  Has a clear understanding of values, vision and aims and how they provide the context for school improvement;  Values the views of stakeholders;  Is able to communicate within and beyond the school;  Is able to work with governors in setting and monitoring priorities.

2. Leading Teaching and Learning:

 Has a proven record as a good teacher;  Has experience of monitoring and developing teaching and learning;  Has a clear philosophy on how the curriculum can meet children’s needs;  Is able to secure high standards of behaviour and attendance.

3. Developing Self and Working with Others:

 Is able to manage, inspire, encourage and empower staff;  Is committed to the development of an open and fair culture based on Christian values;  Understands about the relationship between managing performance, CPD and sustained school improvement;  Is able to foster an open, fair, equitable culture and manage conflict;  Manages own workload and that of others to allow an appropriate work/life balance.

4. Managing the Organisation:

 Has a commitment to developing and sustaining a safe, secure, happy and healthy school environment;  Is able to manage the school efficiently and effectively on a day to day basis;  Is able to manage the financial and human resources effectively and efficiently to achieve the school’s educational goals and priorities.

5. Securing Accountability:

 Has a commitment to the use of outcomes from regular self-review in order to develop the school;  Is committed to individual, team and whole-school accountability for pupil learning outcomes;  Is committed to the school working effectively and efficiently towards academic achievement and the moral, emotional, social and cultural development of all pupils with in the schools ethos;  Is able to work with the governing body to enable it to meet its responsibilities (by providing information, objective advice and support).

10 6. Strengthening the Community:

 Has a commitment to partnership with parents and the community to raise standards by supporting the learning of children and helping to realise the distinctive vision and values of the school;  Has a commitment to collaboration and networking with other schools to improve outcomes;  Is able to build and maintain effective relationships with parents, carers, partners, and the wider community so that they enhance the education of all members of the school community;  Is able to listen to, reflect and act on community feedback.

7. Professional Qualifications:

 Can show evidence of continued career development;  Has significant leadership experience.

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How to Apply

The Application Process

Anna Mason will be your point of contact for all queries relating to the recruitment of the Headteacher for Crane Park Primary School. She will accommodate all requests for information and liaise with the School on your behalf to arrange a visit. Anna will feedback to you after the shortlisting meeting and will support you throughout the assessment process.

If you wish to apply, please respond by submitting the Hounslow Application Form and including a supporting statement of no more than 4 sides of A4 (four pages) outlining why you believe that you have the right skill set to undertake this role successfully. Please be sure to address the person specification and include examples of impact and evidence.

Applications should be emailed to Anna Mason on [email protected] by xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Your references

You should give the names, positions, organisations, telephone contact numbers and email addresses of at least two referees, one of whom must be your current/most recent employer. If you specifically do not wish referees to be approached without your prior permission, then you should indicate the fact. Finally, please ensure that you have included daytime, evening and mobile contact numbers, as well as any dates when you will not be available or might have difficulty with the timetable.

Hays Leadership Appointments will feedback to all candidates on xxxxxxxxxxxxx, following the shortlisting meeting.

Recruitment Timetable

Closing date School visits Shortlisting day Interview and Assessment Day

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