Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Appointment of Deputy Headteacher February 2021 Application pack BACUP AND RAWTENSTALL GRAMMAR SCHOOL Glen Road, Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire, BB4 7BJ Tel No. 01706 234500 Website - www.brgs.org.uk Number on roll 1320 including 421 in the Sixth Form Deputy Headteacher Required for September 2021 Salary Scale: L22-26 Do you want to be a leader of a school community where innovation and aspiration run alongside a commitment to historical values and traditions? Are you looking for a school committed to the development of all students as well- rounded individuals and potential future leaders? Do you want to work with highly motivated students who are keen to learn and develop? Are you looking for an opportunity to work with and lead a committed team of experienced and highly qualified staff? Do you want to make a leading contribution to sustaining a record of high academic achievement? Are you an outstanding classroom practitioner and leader with the vision and leadership skills to maintain high standards, build on success and help lead a highly successful school into the next stage of its development? We are seeking to appoint an outstanding candidate to the full time, permanent post of Deputy Headteacher. As the sole Deputy in this large, academically successful and oversubscribed 11-18 grammar school, you will have a critical role in supporting the Headmaster in the strategic leadership and day to day management of the school. This is an exciting opportunity for an outstanding teacher and leader to take on a significant and wide-ranging whole school responsibility; this post offers outstanding preparation for headship. Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar school is situated in the Rossendale Valley, within easy reach of Manchester and the Yorkshire Dales. The successful candidate will have specific responsibility for the safeguarding, pastoral care and welfare of students and staff. The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. Completed applications should be returned to: [email protected] marked ‘Deputy Headteacher Application’ To enable governors to give full consideration to your application: • complete the application form in full • enclose a supporting statement of no more than 1200 words (12point font). Applications should arrive no later than 12.00 noon on Monday 1st March 2021. Appointment of Deputy Headteacher I am delighted that you are considering applying for this exciting post. The person specification in this application pack tells you clearly the sort of person that we are looking for. As the single deputy headteacher, you would have a significant strategic role in working with me and the senior leadership team in shaping the future direction of this very successful school, as well as overall strategic responsibility for the safeguarding, pastoral care and welfare of our students and staff. The details in this pack will provide you with some background information about BRGS, and there is further information available on our website. Unfortunately, due to the current COVID restrictions it is not possible to visit the school at the current time. However, if you wish to discuss this post informally please contact my PA, Amanda Hughes, at [email protected] and she will arrange a mutually convenient time for a discussion. I do hope that the information in this pack will encourage you to apply for this post – we look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Alan Porteous Headmaster Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Salary: Leadership Spine 22-26 The Post We are seeking to appoint an outstanding candidate to the full time, permanent post of Deputy Headteacher. The post becomes vacant on the retirement of the current deputy, Paul Reeves. As the sole Deputy in this large, academically successful and oversubscribed 11-18 grammar school, you will have a critical role in supporting the Headmaster in the strategic leadership and day to day management of the school. This is an exciting opportunity for an outstanding teacher and leader to take on a significant and wide-ranging whole school responsibility; the post offers outstanding preparation for headship. The specific responsibilities of this post are outlined later in this pack but include overall strategic responsibility for the safeguarding, pastoral care and welfare of our students and staff. The school Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar school is situated in the Rossendale Valley, an attractive, semi-rural area surrounded by the spectacular East Lancashire Pennine Hills. Within the Valley there is a wide choice of affordable, residential locations in historic communities. Rossendale comprises the small industrial towns of Helmshore, Haslingden, Rawtenstall and Bacup and surrounding rural areas such as Loveclough, Crawshawbooth and Stubbins. The Rossendale Valley is situated 10 miles north of the City of Manchester, easily reached via the M66 and M60, which also provide direct links to Yorkshire through the M62 trans-Pennine motorway. To the north are the towns of Blackburn and Accrington, and south west is Bolton. Within an hour’s motorway drive are the Lancashire coastal resorts, the Lake District, the Forest of Bowland, and the Yorkshire Dales. The school has an excellent reputation in the local area, drawing students from a wide catchment area, although its primary focus remains as a grammar school for the valley. Entrance to the lower school is by selective entrance exam and we regularly receive over 500 applications for 180 places. A-level and GCSE performance is consistently strong. The Sixth Form ranks among the best in Lancashire, with over 400 students currently on roll. Post-16 entry requirements are based on GCSE performance, and around a third of the sixth form of each year join us from other schools. In January 2016 the school was inspected and graded as outstanding in all areas. We are very proud of having been recognised as an outstanding school but are focussed on continuing to improve our provision for our students. Our approach is built around allowing flexibility of implementation within agreed key principles. The Headteacher, Alan Porteous, has been in post since January 2012, with over 20 years experience in teaching and leadership in a range of comprehensive schools prior to joining BRGS. The current Senior Leadership Team of eight consists of the Headteacher, Deputy Head, four Assistant Heads, Development Director and Business Manager. The members of the SLT are energetic, talented and forward thinking – all are determined to continue to drive the school forward and maximise the potential for each and every student. The school is committed to an open management style and genuine distribution of leadership. In addition to specific responsibilities, the expectation is that the successful candidate will make a significant contribution to discussion, thinking and strategy in all areas of senior leadership responsibility. The post will therefore provide an ideal preparation for future headship. The school is very fortunate to have an enthusiastic, hard-working and committed body of teachers and support staff. The school has a very positive ethos and receives excellent support from governors and parents. Students are both keen to learn and positive about the process of learning. There is no doubt that effective practitioners will relish the opportunity to teach BRGS students. They are overwhelming polite and warm in their interactions with each other and with adults. BRGS converted to academy status in October 2012. Greater financial freedom, more flexibility with the curriculum, and other academy freedoms have enabled us to take more control of our future and will allowed us to continue to build on the foundations that have been laid over so many years as a school where innovation and aspiration run alongside a commitment to historical values and traditions. In 2017, we undertook a process involving all of our students and staff to establish some core values that define us as a school community. Our six core values are: Respect Trust Opportunity Ambition Resilience Support These are exemplified further in the values statement on our website. The school has a strong focus on the personal development of students, and in normal times there is an extensive programme of extra-curricular activities including: a D of E programme that is one of the largest in the NW of England (over 200 participants); 24 different sporting activities; over 50 educational visits annually, including international visits in recent years to China, USA and various parts of Europe; opportunities for instrumental tuition and a wide range of musical ensembles; and a weekly enrichment timetable for all Year 12 students offering over 40 different activities beyond the A-level curriculum. The governors have a strategic plan for the development of the school site which has involved significant investment from the schools reserves and a number of successful CIF bids. Recent projects have included redevelopment of the Art and Music facilities, extension to the sixth form and dining facilities, and refurbishment and re-structuring of a number of science laboratories. Our ambition is to complete the refurbishment and improvement of the whole school site over the next few years. Over the past few years we have been focused on the following key priorities: Quality of education: o Curriculum