Advisory Board Handbook
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The Redhill Academy Headteacher L32 – L36 Candidate Information Pack 1. Welcome ................................................................................................................................... 1 Letter from the Trust Principal ....................................................................................................... 1 Letter from the Chair of Governors ................................................................................................ 2 2. The Redhill Academy ............................................................................................................... 3 3. The Redhill Academy Trust ..................................................................................................... 6 4. The Redhill Teaching School Alliance .................................................................................... 7 5. Role Information ...................................................................................................................... 8 Job Description: The Redhill Academy Headteacher ..................................................................... 8 Person Specification: The Redhill Academy Headteacher ........................................................... 11 6. The Redhill Academy Information ........................................................................................ 12 Curriculum Statement .................................................................................................................. 12 2018-2019 Examination Results Summary .................................................................................. 13 School Improvement Plan Summary 2019-2020 ......................................................................... 15 7. How to apply and recruitment timetable .............................................................................. 18 1. Welcome Letter from the Trust Principal Dear Applicant, As the founding school of the Trust, The Redhill Academy has consistently maintained high standards of student achievement over many years. The academy has an excellent reputation in the local community and is heavily over-subscribed. We are looking for an exceptional candidate who will be able to further improve standards and build on these achievements whilst taking the school into the new challenges and opportunities of the new decade. Across the Trust, our headteachers meet regularly as our Executive Senior Leadership Group. Our annual headteacher residential planning day in June is a chance for us to plan strategically for the development of educational priorities for the Trust. As a headteacher in the Trust, you will have access to high quality professional support from our executive headteachers and central service teams, including HR and finance advice. The Redhill Academy is a rewarding place to work, with friendly and professionally committed staff who are determined to provide the very best standard of education they can for our students. The students themselves come from a broad spectrum of social backgrounds. They are ambitious for themselves and are proud of their academy. I have no doubt that the new headteacher of The Redhill Academy will enjoy working in such an environment. I look forward to receiving your application. Andrew Burns Trust Principal 1 Letter from the Chair of Governors Dear Applicant, Thank you for your interest in the post of Headteacher at The Redhill Academy. I hope that the information in the application pack provides you with enough insight into our school to make an informed decision to apply. Arnold is a market town and suburb of the city of Nottingham. It is situated four miles north of Nottingham City Centre. Arnold's town centre is the largest in the borough of Gedling and the most important in the northern part of the Greater Nottingham conurbation. Redhill School formed The Redhill Academy Trust in 2010. The Redhill Academy is a popular and successful comprehensive school of which we are justifiably proud. We believe that every student should have the opportunity to enjoy and achieve in a safe and supportive environment. We focus on working together to provide a welcoming, inclusive, stimulating and challenging educational environment where high expectations, the highest standards of teaching and learning and the development of the whole child are central to all that we do. Whilst it is the governors’ ambition to retain its outstanding Ofsted status, our drive for continued improvement stems as much from a desire to ensure that every student leaves Redhill having had the best possible educational experience. We are the founding school of The Redhill Academy Trust and the new Headteacher will work closely with Andrew Burns the Trust Principal. Redhill is a vibrant, successful and outstanding school that, through its Teaching School status and under the Redhill Academy Trust is now influencing the education of thousands of local children. We seek to appoint an inspirational leader who shares our inclusive ethos, has the necessary skills to maintain and build upon our successes and has the vision to ensure that the school embraces the challenges of the future. If you believe that you are that person, we would be delighted to receive your application. Yours sincerely, John Fahy Chair of Governors 2 2. The Redhill Academy Introduction The Redhill Academy is a large, mixed secondary school in the residential district of Arnold, some four miles north of the centre of Nottingham. It caters for students across the 11-18 age and ability ranges, and currently has approximately 1500 students on roll, including a Post-16 of over 300. The Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection in March 2013 recognised it as an outstanding school. We became an academy in December 2010 and have been designated by the DfE as a National Support School. Our Principal, Andrew Burns, is a National Leader of Education. In April 2012 we became a National Teaching School and currently lead an alliance of over 34 other schools. The Redhill Academy Trust consists of 14 academies and caters for over 10,000 students over the full 3-19 age range. The academy has five feeder primary schools in the catchment area, as well as attracting students from further afield, and consequently the school is heavily oversubscribed. Students come from a variety of social backgrounds and represent the full ability range - the school is truly comprehensive. The majority of students continue with full-time education beyond the age of 16, a large proportion of them in the Post-16 Centre at Redhill, which continues to expand. Staffing Redhill has a teaching staff of 98.2 full-time equivalent, supported by 60 support staff, including a team of classroom support assistants and four cover supervisors. Redhill places a high emphasis on staff development and continually improving the quality of teaching and learning, mainly through the work of our Teaching School Alliance and the various subject networks which form a part of it. We have also developed director and assistant director of subject roles across the Trust with key staff responsible for ensuring consistency and high-quality delivery in all schools. We have an excellent induction programme and a range of support activities for all new staff. The appraisal cycle is seen as a helpful and supportive means of sharing good practice and complements our very active professional development programme. Vibrant teaching and learning communities further support on-going staff development. The Leadership Team currently consists of the Headteacher, two Deputy Headteachers, three Assistant Headteachers and a Business Manager. We know the crucial importance of maintaining a high profile around school as well as providing supportive line management to curriculum and pastoral teams. The school is involved in Initial Teacher Training in partnership with the Universities of Nottingham and Trent, and as a Teaching School, we work with School Direct to lead a cohort of over 20 trainees across our Alliance. From September 2020, the Academy will lead a SCITT. Curriculum Organisation At the academy, we currently operate a three-year Key Stage 4 so that students now make their option choices in Year 8 and commence their GCSE/BTEC programmes of study in Year 9. The academic organisation of the school is based on a faculty structure. A weekly timetable of 25 periods is in operation, each day being five periods of one hour each. Students are placed in two half year groups when they enter the school in Year 7, and are taught in mixed ability groups throughout 3 the first year except in Mathematics and English where they are setted on entering the school. From the beginning of Year 8, the timetable is structured so that setting can take place wherever any department feels that it is appropriate. Some students, with a particular aptitude for languages may be invited to study German in addition to French in Year 8. In Key Stage 4, all students continue to follow a similar core curriculum, but with a much greater element of choice allowing them to specialise in particular areas of strength or interest. Vocational courses in Health & Social Care, ICT and Music Technology are offered and a GCSE in Core RE is compulsory for all Key Stage 4 students. Students with particular learning difficulties are supported either in class, in small groups or on an individual basis. We also have a student support centre, to provide additional help and challenge for individual students so that our very high standards of