Blanche Nevile School Headteacher recruitment pack Burlington Road • Muswell Hill • London • N10 1NJ Blanche Nevile School Contents Letter from the Chair of Governors 3 History of Blanche Nevile 4 Mission Statement 5 Challenges for the School 6 Children Quotes 7 Testimonials 8 Staffing Structure 9 Key Facts and Statistics 10 Advert 11 Job Description 12 Person Specification 14 School Location 16 How to Apply 17 2 Blanche Nevile School Welcome from the Chair of governors Alongside our specialist teaching, we work closely with our partners to offer mainstream inclusion opportunities so that our children benefit from playing, learning and excelling alongside their hearing peers. While we are based in north London, in practice we are a regional provision. Around one third of our intake live in Haringey whilst the remainder come from 12 other London boroughs. Our intake is ethnically diverse and many families speak a language other than English at home. Our exams analysis for 2016 shows that the vast majority of pupils make progress in the upper level quartile against their starting points in Year 7. Dear candidate, Around a quarter of our pupils already benefit from a cochlear implant, which gives them greater Thank you for considering Blanche Nevile School! access to spoken language. But the profile of the school is changing even further, reflecting improved Blanche Nevile is a unique provision for children implant technology and national trends in multiple with hearing loss, aged 3-16, situated in the heart special needs. A growing number of pupils have of north London. The school is currently rated additional needs, such as Autism, Global Delay, as Ofsted ‘Good’ (October 2012); we are now Visual Impairment and physical needs. seeking a leader to make us truly outstanding. We are seeking a leader to work with a re-energised At Blanche Nevile we aim to offer our children ‘the governing body, who can develop a shared vision best of both worlds’. We approach this in two ways: for the school as it grows and develops. • We are a bi-lingual school where British Sign I would be delighted for you to visit the school, to Language is taught to all pupils and used to deliver meet our wonderful children and talented and the curriculum alongside English, as well as to staff committed staff. and parents, including those from our partner schools. I look forward to meeting you. • We are co-located with two excellent mainstream schools. Our primary department is in Highgate, and shares a building with Highgate Primary School. Our secondary department is less Jonathan Duff than a mile away in Muswell Hill, in a dedicated Chair of governors building on the same site as Fortismere School. 3 Blanche Nevile School History of Blanche Nevile Our founder, Blanche Nevile, was born on 16th February 1871. Blanche was the youngest of 13 children. Blanche lived in Tottenham and became a Teacher of the Deaf at 23 years old. This was the start of a remarkable career with a far-reaching impact on how deaf children would learn to communicate and actively participate in their community. Blanche Nevile started the school for deaf children on 14th January 1895 and worked at the school for 30 years. Blanche Nevile was not only an exceptional teacher and formidable headteacher, she studied new methods of teaching, travelled widely and, through her work with Manchester Leeds University, was involved in training and inspiring a new generation of Teachers of the Deaf. Our school, which she established, has an unbroken tradition of leadership in standards, in communication techniques and in caring for and valuing every child. 4 Blanche Nevile School Mission Statement At Blanche Nevile School the child is at the centre of our philosophy to create a safe, positive and effective learning environment in which all members of our community are respected. We have high expectations of children’s social, emotional and academic development. We believe that effective communication, praise, celebration of success and quality teaching and learning will enable each individual to reach their full potential. Developing Sign Bilingual and Bicultural Education for Deaf Children. Aims for our children: • Develop fluency of language (English and/or British Sign Language) • Develop Proficiency in Literacy (English) • Ensure high expectations of each pupil to enable them to reach their potential in all areas of their development • Develop a positive self image and identity • Develop emotional understanding, resilience and awareness • Develop social communication skills with deaf and hearing peers and adults • Celebrate and value all successes 5 Blanche Nevile School Challenges for the school The Key Development Priorities for 2016-2019, as set out in our School Development Plan, are as follows: • Balance the budget • Develop consistently outstanding teaching and learning across the whole school • Assess all pupils accurately without levels and ensure challenging targets so that every child can achieve their true potential • Further develop and diversify the curriculum to meet all pupil needs • Further develop and strengthen the partnerships with both Highgate Primary and Fortismere Schools to enable our pupils to benefit from ‘the best of both worlds’ • Develop Post-16 provision at Blanche Nevile School to meet the needs of students with AEN • Further develop new ways of recruiting and succession planning, making use of social media • Further strengthen Safeguarding policies and practice, including the embedding of British Values, the Prevent Strategy and e-Safety, all within the Social Moral Spiritual and Cultural framework 6 Blanche Nevile School Blanche Nevile School What our children like about the school In pupil surveys, children were asked what they liked about the school . Here are some of their responses: “I like talking to my friends” “I like the staff” “I like learning new things and learning more BSL” “I like learning about being Deaf” ‘PE is very enjoyableis fun’ and BSL “I like the people in the school” “I like all deaf together” 7 Blanche Nevile School Testimonials from Parents and Professionals Here are some of the responses from Here are some comments from our parents following parent surveys: Open Day for Professionals, November 2016: - “Always excellent in all aspects” - “Fantastic day. It was lovely to see the children so confident and obviously - “I commend the staff ability to enjoying their work and learning so much.” recognise individual student needs and the way they are - “It has been great to see how you work in an integrated way across specialisms addressed” and year groups. It will provide a positive - “Very pleased with the school” blueprint for adapting how we work in the community.” - “I am happy with my child’s progress. She enjoys coming to - “Absolutely loved seeing the BSL story school every day and enjoys the sessions what young, yet confident, deaf work” children! Great to see BSL being valued as an essential part of the deaf culture.” -“Brilliant to see gold standard communications and learning environments where children obviously flourish. Lots of ideas to take forward and to think about it.“ 8 Blanche Nevile School Staff Structure HEADTEACHER Secondary School Primary HSL Deputy Business Senior CSW Audiologist Deputy Officer Headteacher Manager Headteacher Admin CSW’s Senior Teachers Primary & Primary & Senior Teachers Secondary Secondary Teaching Staff Teaching Staff Secondary Primary Schools Meals Schools Meals Supervisory Supervisory Assistants Assistants Secondary Primary Learning Learning Support Support Assistants Assistants 9 Blanche Nevile School Key Facts and Statistics Type of school Community Special School Age range 3-19 (currently no sixth form) Location Burlington Road, Muswell Hill, London, N10 1NJ School website www.blanchenevile.org.uk Denomination None Budget £2,533,239 income for 2016/17 Number of children 68 Attendance 91.35% Primary, 91.59% Secondary Total number of staff 52 Number of teaching staff 16 Number of education support 32 staff % of children on FSM 47% % of children with SEN 100% % of children with EAL 57% KS1 Progress 40% of pupils made expected or above ex- pected progress KS2 Progress 88% of pupils made expected or above ex- pected progress KS3 Progress 87% of pupils made expected or above ex- pected progress KS4 Attainment 64% of GCSE entries Grade C or above 77% of Entry Level Certificate Grade Level 3 Does the school have a nursery Yes - Early years foundation stage 10 Blanche Nevile School Advert Blanche Nevile Special School For more information on our school, please visit: www.blanchenevile.org.uk London Borough of Haringey School Group: 4 We would warmly welcome you for a visit to the Salary: L24 – L27 (£76,017 - £81,249) per annum school. Please contact Deborah Lissowski, the Salary negotiable for outstanding candidate. school Business Manager, on 020 8442 2750 to make an appointment. Blanche Nevile is a unique provision for children with hearing loss, aged 3-16, situated in the heart Closing date: Midday Monday 27th February 2017 of north London and co-located with two excellent mainstream schools. We are a bi-lingual school Applicants will be advised of the selection date after where British Sign Language is taught and used shortlisting has taken place. alongside spoken English. Blanche Nevile is a Haringey maintained school. To apply, please go to the following website www.islington.gov.uk and follow the jobs link. If We are seeking a leader to make us truly outstanding; you require any assistance, please contact the a leader with: Schools’ HR Team on • A passion for special education and commitment [email protected]. to the very best outcomes for children • A strong commitment to school improvement Blanche Nevile School is committed to safeguarding • The ability to collaborate and build partnerships and promoting the welfare of children and young • Capacity to inspire and motivate people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.