Interim Headteacher, Bedale High School >

Dear Applicant,

I would like to extend a warm welcome from all Governors, staff and students of Bedale High School. I am delighted you have shown interest in becoming the Interim Headteacher of our small but progressive and outward-looking school. We hope the information provided captures the breadth of opportunity and encourages you to apply for this excellent opportunity as our next Headteacher. You can also talk confidentially with Sarah Hunter who is our Recruitment Partner supporting the recruitment process.

Over recent years, our community of students, staff, parents and governors have worked tirelessly to transform Bedale High School into a place which all of us are proud to be part of. Now that we are once again a ‘Good’ school (Ofsted Jan 2019) we are committed to ensuring that this positive journey continues.

What really matters to us? We want our students to have hope. We want them to aim high, to have the courage to fail, and the resilience to learn from failure. We want them to appreciate the advantages of growing up in a beautiful rural setting, while making them aware of the opportunities that exist beyond it. We want them to be compassionate individuals who understand the importance of belonging to a community, of respecting and appreciating each other’s differences as they learn about other cultures and traditions. Ultimately, we want them to be able to thrive and lead by example, in whichever corner of the world they finally live.

To make all this a reality, we are continuing our work to safeguard the future of the school: developing mutually beneficial partnerships, securing high quality training for staff, maximising our opportunities for providing different experiences through local and national business-friends and post-16 providers.

For an informal, confidential conversation about the role please email Sarah Hunter, who has been engaged to support us with recruitment to this key role, or call on 07816 251271. We would also encourage applicants to have a look at the school website and collection of newsletters to get a feel for our school.

I hope you find the information provided useful and informative and that it will encourage you to apply. On behalf of the governing body, thank you again for your interest in Bedale High School.

‘Courage, Commitment, Compassion’

Bedale High is a co-educational 11-16 school set in the picturesque town of Bedale, in North Yorkshire. Despite our size, we are one of the most inclusive schools in North Yorkshire. We pride ourselves on being outward-looking and fostering a culture of self-improvement. Over the last seven years we have successfully re-established our school as the automatic choice for most local families and have invested a great deal of time into securing positive relationships with local primary schools, businesses, and other partners. Our values have led to our strong and loyal community of staff, students, parents and carers, governors, and alumni.

Our curriculum is underpinned by our core values of ‘courage, commitment and compassion’ and is designed to develop knowledge and skills in a wide breadth of subjects as well as allowing students to forge relationships.

We are conscious, at Bedale High School, that our curriculum extends further than the subjects taught in classrooms, than the exams taken and the grades achieved. It encompasses our extra-curricular opportunities, our pastoral programme and our focus on personal development. We provide a space where each child can learn and flourish, achieving their very best and developing the qualities and skills that will allow them to make a positive contribution to the world around them.

We want our students to be brave enough to try their best, no matter how challenging a problem they face (academic or otherwise). We constantly ask them to make the link between being committed and achieving positive outcomes. But perhaps most importantly of all, we encourage them to be compassionate individuals, taking notice of others and their needs, and supporting each other to the best of their ability.

Our Year 7 welcome video gives you a further flavour of our community:

Application Guidance

Please note this post is in regulated activity and exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Employment is subject to satisfactory references and an enhanced DBS certificate and barred list check for work with children. An online search may be conducted for successfully shortlisted applicants. Candidates should disclose anything that may be relevant in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Please apply by the NYC jobs portal. Please contact us if you need an application form in a different format. Unfortunately we do not accept CVs. An email will be sent to shortlisted candidates with details of the interview process.

Queries

Informal chats with the Co-Chairs of Governors are welcomed and encouraged. For queries or to arrange a call, please contact NYES.Resourcing@northyorks.gov.uk.

We actively welcome you to contact us to chat through the role and talk informally about the school/post and how working here will make a real difference to the children and young people in the area.

References

When completing your application, please provide two employment references, one of which must be from your current or most recent employer.

Safeguarding

We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We have a robust child protection policy and all staff will receive training relevant to their role at induction and throughout employment at the school. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Please note this post is in regulated activity and exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and subject to satisfactory references and an enhanced DBS criminal records and barred list check for work with children. An online search may be undertaken as part of the recruitment process on information available in the public domain. Candidates should disclose anything that may be relevant in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Job Description

Statutory

To fulfil all the requirements and duties as set out in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document relating to the Conditions of Employment of Headteacher.
To seek to achieve any performance criteria, objectives or targets agreed with or set by the School’s Governing Board in accordance with the requirements set out in the agreed School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document and ensure that the school is compliant with all statutory guidance and legislation.
To promote and safeguard the welfare of all children and young people within the School, by ensuring that the School’s policies and procedures relating to safeguarding children and child protection are fully implemented and followed by all staff; resources are allocated to allow staff to discharge their responsibilities; and that staff, pupils, parents and other stakeholders feel able to raise concerns and that these are addressed sensitively and effectively.

The School's Governing Body wish a particular emphasis to be placed upon the following:

To meet the National Standards for Headteachers as published by the DfE.
To raise standards across the school with particular reference to academic performance so that all pupils achieve to the very best of their ability.
To lead in the provision of and delivery of excellent learning and teaching.
To establish a vision for school improvement and to lead the staff and Governing Board to plan, implement, review, and evaluate the impact of the School Development Plans.
To be accountable to the School’s Governing Board on progress made against School Development Plan objectives, making recommendations as to future priorities and actions based on robust evidence-based self-evaluation.
To further develop and extend partnership working with a variety of stakeholders and other bodies through co-operation and collaboration.
To establish a reflective culture through a process of rigorous self-evaluation, including quality assurance and performance management at all levels.
To develop, inspire and motivate effective teams to deliver high quality education and thereby raise standards across the school.
To manage the school’s budget to ensure efficient and effective use of resources in line with the School’s objectives and priorities.
To ensure the school always operates within the school’s policies and legislation.

These duties are neither exclusive nor exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake other duties and responsibilities as agreed with the employer. This Job Description may be amended at any time after consultation with the post holder and will be reviewed annually.

Person Specification

The Selection Panel will be looking for evidence that the candidate has demonstrated their ability to fulfil the following criteria within the National Standards for Headteachers.

QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING	Essential on appointment	Desirable on appointment (if not attained, development may be provided for successful candidate)
Qualified Teacher status or equivalent	x
Further professional/academic study e.g. MA, SEND qualifications		x
Evidence of gaining or working towards NPQH or NPQEL qualification or equivalent		x
Evidence of continuous professional development used to develop self and others including recent leadership training and development	x
SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE	Essential on appointment	Desirable on appointment
A detailed understanding of current legislation relating to schools and of national and local education priorities	x
Up-to-date knowledge of school improvement planning, evaluation, and quality assurance processes	x
Knowledge of the statutory documentation and legislation applicable to the leadership and management of schools e.g. child protection, the SEND Code of Practice, inclusion and health and safety	x
An excellent understanding of outstanding curriculum design and implementation appropriate for the setting	x
Knowledge of a range of effective communication strategies including for developing and maintaining high standards of attainment, behaviour, and attendance appropriate for the setting	x
Up-to-date knowledge of research relating to education and of current and emerging Ofsted policy and practice	x
SAFEGUARDING: Demonstrate a secure commitment to safeguarding and the welfare of children and young people	x
SAFEGUARDING: Form and maintain appropriate relationships and personal boundaries, demonstrating and maintaining appropriate authority	x
SAFEGUARDING: Secure knowledge of current statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and understanding of the strategic and operational management of safeguarding to protect the health and wellbeing of children and young people, and staff	x

EXPERIENCE	Essential on appointment	Desirable on appointment
Successful experience of workforce development, that includes performance management and the supervision of staff wellbeing and workload	x
Experience of using data, and other contextual information insightfully to meet challenging targets	x
Experience with whole-school organisational management, ensuring systems, processes and policies are effectively developed and implemented	x
Evidence of communicating and working effectively with staff, governors and other key stakeholders in school and externally	x
Experience of implementing professional development strategies for staff to ensure quality provision and outcomes for pupils	x
Experience of an Ofsted inspection at a leadership level		x
APTITUDE	Essential on appointment	Desirable on appointment
The ability to develop and maintain skills to enable successful partnerships and collaborative working to improve the quality of education and outcomes for all children and young people	x

There will be a particular focus on the following key competencies:

COMPETENCIES
Key Competencies identified to be assessed	Essential on appointment
Decision making and calculated risk taking	x
Strategic Thinking	x
Influencing	x
Respect for others	x
Building effective teams	x
Seeks organisation reflection	x

Applying For A Job With North Yorkshire Council

IMPORTANT ADVICE ON COMPLETING THIS APPLICATION

Your application form plays an important part in your selection. Please ensure you address all the essential requirements listed in the specifications. The following advice should help you to complete the application form as effectively as possible.

Data Protection

The information that you state on this application form will be used by the school and the Council to consider you for a job vacancy. To find out about how we use your personal data for the purposes of recruitment please see our Privacy Notice at www.northyorks.gov.uk/working-us.

Rehabilitation of Offenders

The post you are applying for requires you to have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service criminal records check for work with children, with a barred list check if you work in regulated activity. This check for disclosure of criminal history will include spent convictions, pending prosecutions / current court proceeding and police enquiries.

Should you be shortlisted, you will be asked to disclose full details of your criminal history prior to your interview. This includes any information deemed relevant as part of Keeping Children Safe in Education which may arise in an online search undertaken on shortlisted candidates. This information may be discussed with you at your interview in order to assess job related risks, but we emphasise that your application will be considered on merit and ability and you will not be discriminated against unfairly. Failure to disclose this information will result in any offer of employment being withdrawn.

Please also see the policy statement on the Recruitment of Ex-offenders below.

Information in Support of your Application

Every post advertised is supported by a full person specification. The specification lists all the essential skills, experience and qualifications which are necessary for the job and the criteria against which you will be assessed, both through your application form and at interview.

As part of the application process, you may have been asked to demonstrate within this application form how you meet some or all of the criteria or key competencies outlined in the person specification. Rather than simply repeating your career history, look at the skills and experience required by the job and provide evidence that you possess them by giving specific and detailed examples which include a focus on outcomes and on your own contribution to the scenario. Try to use different and varied examples wherever possible.

When completing these sections, do not forget the skills and experience you have gained outside full time work. Outlining your previous work experience or other responsibilities may help you to uncover skills which you have taken for granted and which are clear signs of your ability to do the job.

Canvassing

You must not try to influence an elected Council Member, any council employee or a member of the school governing body, to act in your favour, as this will disqualify you. If you are related to a Councillor, a Council employee or a governor you must indicate this in the relevant section of the application form.

Policy Statement On The Recruitment Of Ex-Offenders

As an organisation assessing applicants’ suitability for positions which are included in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order using criminal record checks processed through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), this school complies fully with the DBS code of practice and undertakes to treat all applicants for positions fairly.
This school undertakes not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a criminal record check on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed.
This school can only ask an individual to provide details of convictions and cautions that it is legally entitled to know about. Where a DBS certificate can legally be requested (where the position is one that is included in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) order 1975 as amended, and where appropriate Policy Act Regulations as amended) this school can only ask an individual about convictions and cautions that are not protected.
This school is committed to the fair treatment of its staff and potential staff, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, responsibilities for dependents, age, physical/mental disability or
offending background.
This school has this written policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders, which is made available to all DBS applicants at the start of the recruitment process.
This school actively promotes equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential and welcome applications from a wide range of candidates, including those with criminal
records. Candidates are selected for interview based on their skills, qualifications and experience and criminal record information is only requested from short-listed candidates.
A disclosure is only requested from the DBS after a thorough risk assessment has indicated that one is both proportionate and relevant to the position concerned. For those positions where a criminal
record check is identified as necessary, all application forms, job adverts and recruitment briefs will contain a statement that a DBS certificate will be requested in the event of the individual being offered the position.
This school ensures that all those who are involved in the recruitment process have been suitably trained to identify and assess the relevance and circumstances of offences.
This school also ensures that they have received appropriate guidance and training in the relevant legislation relating to the employment of ex-offenders, e.g. the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
At interview, or in a separate discussion, this school ensures that an open and measured discussion takes place on the subject of any offences or other matter that might be relevant to the position. Failure to reveal information that is directly relevant to the position sought could lead to withdrawal of an offer of employment.
This school makes every subject of a criminal record check submitted to DBS aware of the existence of the code of practice and makes a copy available on request.

This school undertakes to discuss any matter revealed on a DBS certificate with the individual seeking the position before withdrawing a conditional offer of employment.

Welcome Letter From The Co-chairs Of Governors

About Bedale High School

Application Process