Headteacher Application Pack

2012

Buttsbury Junior School Headteacher Application Pack

Chair’s Welcome Letter 3 How to apply 4 Job Description 5 Contents Person Specification 9 Our school 11 Community Trust 13 Academic Achievement 14 Billericay 16

2 of 16 Company Number: 07601846 Buttsbury Junior School Headteacher Application Pack

Buttsbury Junior School Norsey View Drive, Billericay, CM12 0RS

Headteacher: Mr Vaughan Collier MEd. BA, Cert Ed, Ad Dip Ed. Telephone: 01277 623217 Fax: 01277 631141 E-mail: [email protected]

May 2012 Dear Applicant

Thank you for your interest in our school. We are an outstanding school which converted to academy status in May 2011 and are looking for a pro-active, dynamic and enthusiastic Headteacher who will to continue to drive our school forwards.

At Buttsbury Junior School we want every child to do their best and we strive to give them an environment where they will be able to achieve to their highest level. We are an inclusive school.

The school is extremely popular and oversubscribed. We are proud of our standing in the community and have strong links with our namesake infant school, our neighbouring secondary school, the local church and feeder pre-schools.

We are looking for a Headteacher who will do more than just maintain our excellent educational experience. We want someone who will identify and make improvements to our school and enhance the experience of all the children who spend time here. We want every child to leave Buttsbury Junior School having made optimum progress.

If you believe you are that person we look forward to receiving your application.

Yours faithfully,

Heather Stuart Chair of Governors

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How to Apply

Closing Time & Date Tuesday 12th June – 12.00 noon

Short listing Thursday 14th June

Interviews Friday 29th June

School Visits Visits to the School are warmly welcomed and members of the governing body governors look forward to showing you round. We have allocated the following four times and invite you to choose the one most convenient. Tuesday 29th May at 4pm, Thursday 31st May at 4pm, Friday 1st June at 10 am or 2 pm. Please call the office on 01277 623217 to let us know when you are coming.

Job Description This tells you the main responsibilities of the post and explains what we are looking for. It tells you about the duties and activities required this post. These criteria will be used to make the appointment.

Person Specification This specification sets out the personal and professional qualities needed for this post. We will be using the criteria in this list to shortlist candidates for interview so please ensure that your application evidences how you meet the criteria.

Applying If you decide to apply for this post please complete the enclosed application form along with a formal letter of application and a supporting statement. Your supporting statement should be no longer than two sides of A4 and should address the selection criteria detailed in the Person Specification. In addition please include a concise statement of your central beliefs about the education of junior school children and your views on what constitutes an effective Headteacher. This should be no more than one side of A4.

Please return your application to either by post or email:

Helen Edwards PO Box 47, Essex County Council, , CM2 6WN [email protected]

Telephone: 01245 436247

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Job Description

Title of Post: Headteacher

Salary Scale: Leadership spine

Responsible to: Governing Body

Purpose of Job: To lead and manage the school in its day to day activity

Leads Senior Leadership Team

To provide for the educational, social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of each individual child in the class allocated for each specific academic year

To be responsible and accountable for securing the highest standards of pupil achievement across the year group, through effective monitoring, evaluation and review of learning progress and teaching outcomes and setting targets for improvement

To lead, develop and enhance the teaching practices of others across the school, by evaluating, supporting, guiding and target setting

To be accountable for the strategic leadership and management of the school, within the context of the school’s aims and policies

To be accountable to the Governing Body and to ensure that it is well informed about the school’s performance in all areas

To oversee and be responsible for Child Protection issues and Health and Safety throughout the school

Professional Duties – Headteacher

1. Play a major role, in consultation with the leadership team and staff, in: formulating the aims and objectives of the school establishing the policies through which they shall be achieved managing staff and resources to that end monitoring progress towards their achievement

2. Delegate appropriate professional duties of the Headteacher to those best suited to the task or activity

Headteacher Responsibilities

To be responsible for the leadership, management and organisation in:

1. the quality of educational provision 2. developing characteristics of an effective school 3. ensuring strategies for raising pupils’ achievement 4. promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and good behaviour

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Main Activities Attributable to Particular Duties

1. Planning and Setting Expectations

lead and manage the creation and implementation of a strategic plan underpinned by sound resource planning which -identifies priorities and targets to ensure pupils achieve high standards and make progress - increases teachers’ effectiveness - secures whole school improvement plan for effective monitoring, evaluating and reviewing of the plan to secure progress and school improvement think creatively and imaginatively to anticipate and solve problems & identify opportunities

Teaching and Managing Pupil Learning

create and maintain a climate and code of conduct which - promotes and secures good teaching - ensures effective learning - ensures high standards of achievement - promotes good behaviour and discipline throughout the school and enables teachers to meet standards determine, organise and implement the curriculum and its assessment monitor and evaluate the curriculum and assessment in order to identify and act on areas for improvement monitor and evaluate quality of teaching and standards of learning and achievement of pupils to meet challenging, realistic targets ensure improvements in literacy, numeracy and ICT are priority targets for all pupils ensure pupils develop skills which enable them to learn more effectively, with increasing independence, and become lifelong learners create and promote positive strategies for developing good race relations and for dealing with racial harassment

Assessment and Evaluation

monitor, evaluate and review the implementation and effects of the policies, priorities and targets of the school and take action as necessary ensure use of comparative data and ICT (with reference to pupils’ prior attainment) to establish benchmarks set targets for improvement

Managing Resources

work with Governors, and senior colleagues, when appropriate, to recruit high quality staff work with senior colleagues to deploy all staff effectively to improve quality of education provided set appropriate priorities for expenditure, allocate funds and ensure effective administrative control manage and organise accommodation efficiently and effectively to ensure it meets the need of both curriculum and health and safety regulations manage, monitor and review the range, quality, quantity and use of all available resources to improve pupils’ achievements, ensure efficiency and secure value for money deliver a balanced budget and a three year financial plan annually allocate funds and ensure effective administrative control

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Managing Own Performance and Development

participate in arrangements for Performance Management and take responsibility for own professional development prioritise and manage own time effectively work under pressure and to deadlines sustain own motivation and that of other staff maintain a healthy work-life balance as an example to staff

Pupil Achievement

make explicit to pupils, parents, teachers and the wider community, the school’s high expectations that all pupils will succeed ensure resourcing and staffing are dedicated to the highest standards of achievement for all pupils operate effective monitoring systems and support systems to ensure consistent pupil achievement from Year 3 to Year 6

Relations with Parents and the Wider Community

account for efficiency and effectiveness of the school to Governors, pupils, parents, staff, and the local community develop effective relationships with community, business and industry to extend the curriculum and to enhance teaching and learning create and maintain an effective partnership with parents and wider community to support and improve pupils’ achievement and personal development maintain and extend liaison with other schools, particularly our partner school Buttsbury Infants School ensure that parents and pupils are well informed about curriculum attainment and progress and about the contribution they can make to achieving the school’s targets for improvement

Managing and Developing Staff and Other Adults

implement and sustain effective systems for the management of staff performance incorporate Performance Management and targets for staff ensure that targets relating to performance include those relating to pupils’ achievements motivate and enable all staff to carry out their respective roles to the highest standards, through high quality continuing professional development and based on assessment of both individual and corporate needs maximise contribution of staff to improving the quality of education provided and standards achieved & to ensure constructive working relationships are formed between staff & pupils plan, allocate, support and evaluate work undertaken by groups, teams, individuals, ensuring that there is clear delegation of tasks and devolution of responsibilities lead professional development of staff through example support and co-ordinate the provision of high quality professional development by methods such as coaching and drawing on other appropriate sources of expertise e.g. higher education, LEA staff and professional associations understand expectations of other staff and ensure that trainees and NQTs are appropriately trained, monitored, supported and assessed in relation to standards for QTS, the Career Entry Profile and standards for induction ensure professional duties and conditions of employment are fulfilled

Strategic Leadership

create an ethos and provide educational vision and direction which secures - effective teaching

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- successful learning and achievement by pupils - sustained improvement in spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development - preparation for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences for life outside of school and in the wider community beyond school - commitment to the vision and direction of the school

present a coherent and accurate account of the school’s performance in a form appropriate to a range of audiences including Governors, pupils, parents, the LA, the local community and Ofsted and others to enable them to play their part effectively lead by example provide inspiration and motivation embody for pupils, staff, governors and parents, the school’s vision, purpose and the leadership of the school ensure that all those involved in the school are committed to its aims and are accountable in meeting long, medium and short term objectives to secure school improvement and targets which secure the educational success of the school ensure that management, finance, organisation and administration of the school support its vision and aims fulfil commitments arising from contractual accountability to the Governing Body provide information, objective advice and support to the Governing Body to enable it to meet its responsibilities for securing effective teaching and learning, improved standards of achievement and value for money ensure individual staff accountabilities are clearly defined, understood and agreed and are subject to rigorous evaluation and review perform the role of Accounting Officer and meet the related requirements in the Academy’s Funding Agreement

Other Activities

To promote the positive ethos and culture of the school to other staff, governors, parents, children and members of the wider community Contribute to and support the overall ethos/work/aims of the school Comply with, support and promote all school policies and procedures, particularly those relating to child protection, equal opportunities, racial equality, confidentiality, health, safety and security, behaviour and data protection, reporting appropriate concerns to the Chair of Governors Be aware of and support pupil differences and ensure that all pupils have equal access to all school opportunities to learn and develop To promote the general progress and well being of individual pupils throughout the school, in line with the Healthy Schools standards, action plan and Every Child Matters Communicate and co-operate with other agencies to support the educational, development/general progress and well being of individual pupils and to participate in meetings arranged for any purposes described above To inform the appropriate agency immediately of any concerns regarding a pupils welfare To communicate and consult with parents of pupils To maintain good order and discipline among pupils throughout the school, in line with the Behaviour Policy To safeguard every pupil’s health, safety and well being in line with school policies To participate in staff meetings which relate to the curriculum, administration or organisation of the school, including pastoral arrangements To lead assemblies and to attend assemblies

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Person Specification

Qualified teacher status E

Degree E

Evidence of appropriate and recent professional development E

Evidence of different leadership and management roles within school E

Higher degree D

Other relevant qualifications e.g. NPQH, LPSH (existing HTs only) D

Recent experience as Headteacher, deputy or assistant Headteacher D

LEADING LEARNING AND TEACHING Able to demonstrate a passionate and dynamic attitude towards learning and to act as an effective role model for other staff E

Commitment to providing an environment where no child is left behind and all children develop their self-confidence and self-esteem E

Commitment to developing flexible and effective approaches to learning and teaching which lead to high standards, underpinned by a set of strong performance data, which will lead to improved standards E

Evidence of providing effective assessment, recording, reporting and evaluation of student progress to improve standards E

Evidence of providing effective assessment, recording, reporting and evaluation of teacher progress to improve standards E

MANAGING THE ORGANISATION Is able to demonstrate a good understanding of the elements of safeguarding E

Experience of an effective performance management system with a view to improving standards E

Is able to demonstrate the ability to create an organisational structure that reflects the school’s values and allows it to work effectively in line with legal requirements D

Has experience of recruiting, selecting and interviewing staff together with managing their workloads to achieve the vision and goals of the school D

Experience and understanding of financial management and financial governance D

SHAPING THE FUTURE Is able to develop and articulate a clear and positive strategic vision, culture and ethos for the school and develop a strategy to implement this E

Is able to demonstrate a deeply-held philosophy that promotes active, independent learning and a rich, broad and balanced curriculum E

Has a commitment to supporting the children and school in understanding their rights and responsibilities within the local, national and global community E

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SECURING ACCOUNTABILITY Commitment to ensuring individual staff accountabilities are clearly defined, understood and agreed and subject to rigorous evidence based review E

Demonstrate the ability to analyse and interpret data and communicate a coherent and accurate account of the school’s performance to a range of audiences E

Ability to reflect on and acknowledge personal contributions to school achievements and take account of feedback from others E

DEVELOPING SELF AND WORKING WITH OTHERS Ability to act as a good role model throughout the school E

Is able to demonstrate a commitment to collaborative working, including the sharing of good practice within the school, the Trust and beyond D

Treats people fairly, equitably and with respect in order to maintain a positive school culture E

Ability to evaluate own practice, set personal targets and take responsibility for own development E

Commitment to continuing professional development on a personal level and for others with an aim of continual improvement E

Ability to manage own workload and that of others to allow an appropriate work/life balance E

STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY Commitment to a school culture and curriculum that takes account of the richness and diversity of the school’s communities E

Willingness to collaborate with others for the academic, spiritual, moral, social, emotional and cultural well-being of students and families E

Commitment to working effectively with parents/carers and others to support the learning of all children E

Commitment to ensuring students and staff make a positive contribution to the local community and actively support local events including those undertaken by the Friends’ Association D

PERSONAL QUALITIES AND ATTRIBUTES Motivational, inspirational and nurturing and committed to maintaining and building upon the school’s core values E

Perseverance, resilience, reliability, integrity and a positive ‘can do’ attitude E

Good self-management, including time management, skills E

Excellent oral, written communication and ICT skills E

A commitment to equality and diversity E

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Our school, our story

Buttsbury Junior School has been serving the north part of Billericay in Essex since 1967, when the original Buttsbury Primary School (which opened in 1930) split into separate Junior and Infant schools. It currently provides for 491 children aged between 7 and 11. The majority of the children come into the school from the neighbouring Infant School, with which we have close working links. 1.6% of our children are entitled to Free School Meals and 16% have Special Educational Needs, of which 7 have a statement. We are one of the largest junior schools in Essex, employing 81 staff and with an annual budget of £1.6M We are well supported by an active Friends Association, which raised £15,200 last year through its fund raising activities. We converted to Academy status in May 2011, seeing this as the best vehicle for building on the success achieved as a Foundation School. This is illustrated by the ‘Outstanding’ inspection judgement awarded by Ofsted in February 2010 and excellent Key Stage results. Accommodation The building has two storeys with seven classrooms on the ground floor and seven on the second floor. Two demountables provide a further three classrooms, one of which is used for SEN teaching, and a third demountable provides accommodation for a before and after-school Care Club. There are two ICT suites and a Wi Fi network covering all rooms. Interactive Whiteboards are located in all classrooms. There are two smaller ‘group withdrawal rooms’ and two halls. Nearly £650,000 has been spent in the last seven years on refurbishments.

A Year 3 class in the ICT Suite

Working in partnership We are dedicated to working with our partner schools, Buttsbury Infant School and Mayflower High School, to ensure curriculum continuity and an excellent educational experience. This achieves a smooth transition between all key stages for pupils and staff.

Buttsbury Junior School has a long history of working co- operatively with other schools across the town. We are a Partner member of the Billericay Community Trust, established in September 2009, comprising of two secondary schools, a special school and 12 primary schools in the locality.

Our Year 6 pupils helping at the infant school

In 1991 the school was a founding member of the Billericay Educational Consortium School Centred Initial Teacher Training scheme (BEC SCITT) and has remained a partner ever since. BEC SCITT was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in March 2010

From September this year we will be part of a new Teaching School Alliance based at St. Peter’s Catholic Primary School in Billericay. Our school will contribute to the school support and CPD provided to other schools across Essex and will benefit from the Alliance’s CPD provision, including ITT.

We have supported the conversion to Academy process of one other school.

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School ethos

At Buttsbury Junior School we have a caring and stimulating environment where all pupils have the opportunity to thrive both academically and socially.

We ensure this by providing:

Quality teaching that enables children to make good academic progress Opportunities for higher-attaining students to excel A wide range of support for students who find academic learning challenging A rich and varied curriculum Numerous trips off-site and visits by educational professionals An extensive range of after-school activities that enhance learning An ethos that encourages children to take responsibility for their own actions An environment where good behaviour is expected and observed An expectation that we make a positive contribution to the local community and the world at large An atmosphere of tolerance and respect for all cultures and beliefs The majority of our students transfer to nearby Mayflower High School, but about 10 – 15% transfer to selective and other secondary schools. Our pupils worked with pupils at the infant school to come up with ‘The Buttsbury Way’ Be safe, be smart, be happy, be Buttsbury As a school we try to ensure that they can achieve this and Ofsted agreed:

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The Billericay Community Trust (BCT)

What is the Billericay Community Trust?

The Billericay Community Trust is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee that was formed in September 2009. It comprises of 15 schools in Billericay, plus Anglia Ruskin University and Billericay Educational Consortium (a provider of initial teacher training). Schools within the Billericay area have a long and well- established history of working together. The Trust formalised the relationships that previously worked purely on goodwill. The BCT’S aim is to promote high standards and collaborative working across the community to make a positive impact on children’s education.

The Trust Board determines the strategy for the Trust. Implementation of this is delegated to the Management Board. The Management Board comprises the Headteacher (or nominated person) of each of the 15 schools. It meets termly and reports to the Trust Board.

What has the Billericay Community Trust achieved?

The BCT has promoted a great deal of networking and shared good practice amongst school staff through its curriculum cluster groups and an increasing amount of shared Continuing Professional Development for teaching and non-teaching staff.

The BCT provides opportunities for pupils e.g. sporting events; Gifted & Talented sessions; science and maths outreach to primary schools; Student Voice and projects such as International Art Week.

The BCT has facilitated the collective procurement of some services.

The BCT supports school management and governance through collective analysis of data / benchmarking and is beginning to develop shared policies.

The BCT organised a highly successful presentation by Sue Palmer on ‘Detoxing Childhood’ for parents, students studying Child Development and preschool staff. Further parenting workshops are being planned for 2013.

The BCT employs a Home School Liaison Worker; Language Support Worker and Educational Psychologist.

What does the BCT hope to achieve?

BCT’s focus in the next year will be on raising funds to sustain and further build the Trust’s infrastructure, securing additional income streams to achieve its vision.

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Buttsbury Junior School - Our Achievements

Buttsbury Junior School was judged to be Outstanding by Ofsted in February 2010. Attainment for the last two years is well above national averages.

Percentage at level 4+ Percentage at Level 5 2010 2011 2010 2011 English 90% 95% 43% 31% Reading 93% 98% 67% 52& Writing 85% 81% 34% 17% Mathematics 86% 88% 52% 52%

2010 2011 English and Maths L 4+ 85% 86% 2 Levels in English 80% 77% 2 Levels in mathematics 86% 86%

The school has been involved in the Healthy Schools Programme since 2002, gaining the ‘Intermediate Award’ in 2005 and National Healthy Schools accreditation in 2008. In 2006 the school became the first junior school in Essex to obtain the Quality in Study Support award at Established level and has maintained this accreditation. In partnership with our local church, we are linked to Ciamanda Primary School in Embu, Kenya. Five teacher exchange visits have taken place; three visits by Buttsbury teachers to Ciamanda and two visits by Ciamanda teachers to Buttsbury. In 2011 the school achieved the British Council’s ‘International School Award’ in recognition of the quality of the links established. The ‘Active Mark’ has been maintained since 2007 and we are an Olympic LOCOG-recognised ‘Get Set’ Olympic Partner School. Awards are given to children who demonstrate the Olympic Values. We have been awarded a grant to train ‘Olympic Champions’ who will deliver a child led presentation to neighbouring schools informing them of the ethos and impact of the Get Set Awards.

The school has been an ‘Investor in People’ for over ten years.

But it isn’t just about academic excellence and recognition marks ......

MUSIC: As part of their class activities, every pupil in the lower school learns to play the recorder. In addition to this all pupils have the opportunity to play the ‘cello, flute, guitar, piano and selection of brass instruments by taking private lessons with peripatetic teachers who provide expert tuition in our dedicated music room.

Our ‘cellists represent the school twice a year, competing in the Southend and Leigh-on-Sea music festivals, and regularly win trophies and medals for individual and group performances.

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Our choir is led by our Music Co-ordinator and comprises 30 pupils from years 4, 5 & 6. They enjoy performing in our Harvest Festival and Christmas assemblies, and take part in an annual festive charity event at Barleylands. Along with some of our talented musicians, they join forces with 8 other local schools to form a choir and orchestra at the annual Billericay Schools Music Festival. PYRAMID CLUB: Pyramid Club is an after school provision supporting pupils with social and emotional difficulties. It has successfully run for four years covering all year groups. OFSTED considered this club as a ‘valued part of the school’s commitment to improving pupil well-being’. SPORT: The profile of sport within the school, always high, has been raised even higher this year with the excitement of the Olympics already being keenly felt. In March this year Danny Lawrence, Olympic Gymnast, came and spent a day with the children, talking about his experiences and demonstrating his skills We have 2 children democratically elected to represent the school as Sports Ambassadors. They represent the school at sporting events and contribute to the coordination and running of our sports clubs which include Judo, Fencing, Basketball, Football, Rugby, Swimming, Tennis, Table Tennis, Skiing, Cricket, Athletics and Gymnastics. Individuals and teams have represented the school at a range of competitive district-wide events. Teams from various disciplines have also represented the school in friendly matches against other schools within the locality as well as competing in Billericay Community Trust tournaments. Football: Qualified for County Finals Tag Rugby: Qualifiers in Billericay Finals Winners of Fair Play Award Winners of Basildon Final 2011 Cross-country: Qualified for County Finals. Swimming: Runners up in Billericay Swimming Gala Netball: Winners of Billericay Central Venue League.

GYM TRAIL: Gym Trail is an early morning provision for children with dyspraxic tendencies. The Occupational Therapist frequently sends trainees and other schools to observe our Gym Trail as an example of good practice.

DIANA ANTI BULLYING AWARD - THE BUDDY SCHEME: The Buttsbury Buddy Scheme has won the Diana Anti Bullying Award 3 times. This award is run in memory of Princess Diana to recognise the work of young people in all areas of life to combat bullying. The Buddy Scheme consists of a team of year 5 and 6 children who are each ‘Buddied’ with a class for regular reading, wet play assistance and are always available on the playground to help children who have problems. They also run assemblies with a focus on anti-bullying.

SCHOOL COUNCIL: Our active School Council is run by a core group of six pupils who hold positions of dedicated responsibility. Two representatives from each class attend meetings and act as spokesmen for the rest of their class. The school council reports to Governors’ meetings once a term and have been involved in many initiatives. It is currently working on the Eco schools agenda

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PUPIL VOICE: The School Council are also representatives on the Pupil Voice Network run by the local secondary school. This committee has representatives from schools across Billericay and meets every half term. This year the Pupil Voice Network has worked collaboratively to design logos for the Olympics and Paralympics, to be displayed at Basildon Sporting Village when the Olympic torch visits. Last year Buttsbury representatives attended the Eastern Region Student Voice Meeting where we were the only representatives from key stage two. GARDENING CLUB: We have a very successful gardening club and we won the Billericay in Bloom ‘Best Vegetable Patch in a school’ in 2011.

ARTS MARK: Hot of the Press - In May 2012 we were awarded the Arts Council Arts Mark for schools at Gold level.

A little about Billericay

Billericay has a population in the region of 40,000; it is a friendly town with a welcoming community.

It supports two secondary schools, Mayflower High School (named after the ship used in the famous voyage to New in 1620) and The Billericay School; both have an excellent rating with Ofsted. There are twelve schools in the primary sector: primary, Infant and Junior and a special secondary school.

Billericay’s charm lies in its bustling high street and plentiful green spaces, most notably Lake Meadows and Norsey Wood. Billericay has an interesting history dating back to the time of the Roman invasion of 54BC. Building of the sports hall at Billericay School in the 1970s had to be halted to allow the excavation of Roman artefacts. The final battle of the Peasants’ Revolt took place in Norsey Wood circa 1381.

Billericay is a flourishing area, having grown through housing developments over the last 40 years and is predominantly a commuter town with exceptionally good rail links to London, some 28 miles away.

Billericay is mentioned in George Orwell's novel 'Down and Out in London and Paris'. Tony Parsons, broadcaster, journalist and best selling author of Man and Boy grew up in Billericay where the town provides the loose setting for his parents' home in his books. Billericay is also the setting for the home of Gavin Shipman and his parents in the hit BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey and the town was immortalised in the song "Billericay Dickie" through the rhyming slang genius of Ian Dury and the Blockheads.

Billericay has a thriving community with varied sports, leisure and cultural activities. Further information on the town can be found at

www.billericaytowncouncil.gov.uk

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