The Whitby Secondary Partnership was formed in July 2019 when Eskdale School and Caedmon College were brought together to form a Federation with a single Governing Body, responsible for both schools. The Federation was formed to ensure that everyone involved in secondary education in Whitby should work together to provide the best possible education and opportunities for all students in the Whitby area.

This is a first-time post for Caedmon College and we are looking for a leader who will bring energy and commitment to our school, consolidate the work of the federation and strengthen the educational offer. The successful candidate will work as part of an executive team, leading the college in preparing our young people to be independent, successful adults who can make a positive contribution to society. We are looking for someone who can lead and inspire teachers to be aspirational for their pupils and themselves; someone who is able to communicate a vision and bring together staff, pupils, parents/carers and other stakeholders to create an exceptional educational experience for our young people.

This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced educationalist and the post will afford the opportunity to develop the school’s vision and to increase the collaborative working with our partner school. We expect that the Head of School will work with the Executive Head to develop and expand educational opportunities in Whitby; working closely with the Governing Body, North Yorkshire County Council and strategic stakeholders. The post-holder must exhibit confidence, empathy and a clear focus on building a healthy workplace culture that benefits the learning and the wellbeing of pupils and staff.

This is an exciting opportunity for the successful candidate – to work in a beautiful town on the North Yorkshire coast, to work with others to shape the education and opportunities of young people in the area. With the Federation Strategic Plan in mind, the Head of School will formulate a School Improvement Plan that meets the needs of Caedmon College and the individual needs of the staff and students, thus securing that all stakeholders maximise their potential and feel safe and happy in school.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, inspire and motivate effective teams in order to raise standards and academic performance across the school so that all pupils achieve to the very best of their ability.
• Lead the school in the provision of excellent learning, teaching and assessment, ensuring that the National Standards for Teachers are applied and upheld.
• Ensure that effective pastoral and student support systems are in place.
• Ensure the wellbeing and effective work-life balance of staff within the school.
• Lead the College through rigorous self-evaluation, including quality monitoring, assurance and improvement, and performance management at all levels, engaging teams and individuals in the process.
• Work with the Executive Headteacher in formulating a vision of educational excellence and support in planning and working towards this.
• Adopt a style of leadership that engages and inspires staff, harnessing and developing talent and expertise amongst staff at all levels.
• Recognise and understand the cumulative effects of significant change on staff motivation and engagement and lead the change process to achieve stability and inspire confidence.
• Have an understanding of what good pastoral support looks like for staff and students
• Ensure the smooth running of internal and external communication systems; ensuring that staff, students and the wider community have a clear understanding of operational developments and the strategic direction of the Federation.
• Be a seasoned and rigorous self-evaluator who ensures that there is effective monitoring of, and considered change to, operational and strategic plans.
• Ensure that accurate information is passed to Governors in a clear manner that informs the decisions made regarding immediate and future priorities.

The support you will receive:

The new Head of School can expect the full support of the Executive Headteacher, an enthusiastic senior leadership team and staff, together with the support and encouragement of the Governors.

The school’s SEA will also be keen to advise and support, together with a large team from the Local Authority. There is also a comprehensive induction package available to support the new Head of School through the first year.

Being able to attract and recruit the very best teachers and leaders to our area is vital to our schools’ continuing development. As such, we are able to offer a relocation package of up to £8k for this post, if relocation is necessary. More details can be found here.

Key competencies in summary:

• Improve academic and social outcomes for all students in the College
• Manage school improvement and performance effectively
• Provide a safe, calm and well-ordered environment for learning and working that promotes the well-being of pupils and staff
• Understand the nature of learning and help to secure excellent teaching, learning and wider educational opportunities within the school
• Distribute leadership to develop and support effective teams within the college
• Implement agreed financial strategy and manage the college‘s budget effectively
• Ensure effective and transparent use of college and federated systems and processes
• Embrace and champion the vision and strategy for the Federation

Caedmon College is situated on the west side of Whitby and has two sites: the Normanby site has the 11-16 students and the Scoresby site houses Whitby Sixth Form (under Caedmon College’s DfE no.). Both sites have extensive playing fields, with tennis courts, as well as an all-weather pitch on the Scorseby site.

Normanby site: The original building on Normanby site was built in 1912 and has some fine, ‘period’ architectural features. More buildings have been added over the years and the school is well-resourced and well-maintained.

Scoresby site: this was formerly a middle school, Caedmon School, built in the 1960s. Caedmon School merged with Whitby Community College in 2014 to become Caedmon College. In September 2019, after some refurbishments, the Caedmon Sixth Form moved to Scoresby site and became  Whitby Sixth Form.

The Whitby Secondary Partnership is the leading provider of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme in the north of England and very good numbers of students take part in the scheme

As part of the extended curriculum and part of transition, all Year 7 students take part in a night away camping in the North York Moors. There are also regular battlefields trips run by the History department, a bi-annual ski trip, and many smaller trips and visits which make use of the wealth of educational opportunities in the surrounding area. There is a strong PE department which offers a variety of different sports that students can get involved in and the College’s equestrian team is very successful.

Whitby Sixth Form

Whitby Sixth Form currently has around 200 students and has been growing year-on-year since moving to Scoresby site in 2019. We offer a range of A Level and Btec courses, as well as courses for foundation learners. We are keen to expand our offer to meet the needs and wishes of our students and the local community.

Our students progress to a wide range of settings, including four students securing places at Oxbridge last summer. Pastoral care is a strength of the Sixth Form with student feedback suggesting that they are happy and secure in their learning.

Our Pupils:

Pupils at Caedmon are welcoming, well-mannered and hard-working. Staff at Caedmon put a strong focus on pastoral support and work hard to enhance the learning opportunities for all students.

Behavioural issues are minor and managed well, with regular contact made with parents to ensure that the proper support is in place. Our students work well in lessons, but require more support in building resilience, especially since the COVID pandemic.

Caedmon runs the Whitby area Alternative Provision on the Normanby site, to which Eskdale pupils also have access.

Ofsted Recognises – “Pupils are well mannered and polite. They are happy to speak to visitors and hold open doors willingly. Pupils are keen to do well and value their education” – Caedmon College Ofsted 2017

Formed in July 2019, the federation has three attractive sites set in large playing fields. Whitby Sixth Form, which is based on Caedmon’s Scoresby Site, has been developed as a shared resource.  Both schools serve the same town and rural catchment area, (Whitby town, north up to Staithes, south down to Fylingthorpe and west up to Castleton). Thus, many of our students travel into school by bus and train from the surrounding villages.

Our staff are our greatest resource and Caedmon College is fully staffed with specialist teachers in every department. Staff are incredibly committed, loyal and dedicated, and always have the best interest of the children and young people at heart. They are determined to find something at which every child can shine. Staff get to know the students in the schools very well and use this knowledge to personalise opportunities for learning.

Class teachers lead their support team through shared goals, working in close partnership with parents and carers, Governors and the local community, to provide an excellent, individual educational experience for all. Inter-staff relationships between the schools are positive and developing well and staff recognise their shared purposes and goals.

There are positive staff relationships, and a well-being group is working to ensure that, where possible, workload and stress levels are kept to a minimum.

Caedmon College’s current structure:

• Interim College Principal
• 5 Assistant Headteachers
• Directors of Learning of English, Maths, Science, Humanities and PE, as well as Heads of Department
• Directors of Learning for KS3, 4 and 5
• 52 members of teaching staff and 49 support staff.
• Each year group (7 to 11) has 5 form groups
• SENCo heads up a team of 8 Teaching Assistants with a dedicated base (8 students with an EHCP, 6 of whom are in the sixth form)

Ofsted Recognises – “Teachers and students have excellent relationships, which leads to a good atmosphere for learning” – Caedmon College Ofsted 2017

Current Federation structures: a Business and Resources Manager role has been created and IT, Careers and Site staff are now working across all the sites in the Federation under the lead of the Business and Resources Manager.

New Federation Structure (from September 2022)

• Executive Headteacher
• 2 Heads of School
• 4 Assistant Heads (including Head of Sixth Form) - Caedmon College
• 4 Assistant Heads - Eskdale School
• Business and Resources Manager (federation)

Our federation has an experienced Board of Governors that meets monthly as a full board. The Chair of Governors currently meets on a fortnightly  basis with the individual Heads and jointly once a month.

Governors understand that their role is to support, challenge and act as the ‘critical friend’ to support the federation leaders. They have Link Governor roles and visit the schools in relation to specific issues and objectives. They also attend key school events.

Ofsted Recognises – “Governors ensure that performance management arrangements are effective and contribute to whole-school improvement. Governors review salary progressions, ensuring that a rigorous approach leads to high standards and progression only when merited” – Caedmon College Ofsted 2017

Caedmon College

The College strives for continuous improvement, aiming to bring leading edge teaching and learning to one of the most beautiful and historic places in the country.

• Our mission: ‘To be the best we can be’

Our aims: to enable our students to develop a real passion for 21st Century learning and work, through engaging in teaching and learning in a safe environment. We will facilitate learning which our students and community value and which brings out the best in them. We will motivate students to succeed both now, and in the future, allowing them to achieve their best. To do this, we will offer the best possible opportunities for personal development and optimism for adult life.

• This is what we believe in: Excellence, Friendship, and Respect.

All members of the College community have a duty to develop themselves and to encourage others in our core values

More specifically this means:

Excellence is giving your best. It is not only about being your best but also about participating, making progress against personal goals, striving to be and to do our best in our daily lives and benefiting from the healthy combination of a strong body, mind and will. A resilient, growth mindset is essential and adopting a healthy lifestyle is important and expected.

Friendship encourages us to develop mutual understanding among individuals and people from all over the world. We will develop empathy and inspire humanity to overcome political, economic, gender, racial or religious differences and forge friendships in spite of those differences.

Respect incorporates respect for yourself, for others, for the rules and regulations of our society and the environment. Respect also stands for fairness and for the fight against unethical behaviour; being a good citizen.

• These values will be developed by using them overtly to remind ourselves of how we would like to be and providing a focus for all our aspirations.
• Students have a duty to apply themselves to their learning and personal development, making best use of all the support and opportunities available to them; high expectations and effort is paramount for lifelong learning. Involvement in College life using their voice will be expected from all.
• The College staff and governors have a duty to create the conditions for safe, successful learning and personal development, meeting to the best of their ability the needs of the full range of learners equally, using all available resources as effectively as possible and safeguarding the students. Consistency and fairness are developed through our ‘House Style’.
• Parents have a duty to work with the College to support the successful learning of their sons and daughters, through challenge and encouragement.

Ofsted Inspection – Caedmon College Rated Good (the 2022 Ofsted report will be public in March)

Ofsted Recognises –“Senior leaders rigorously hold middle leaders to account for performance in their subject areas, through regular meetings and the recent introduction of departmental reviews. This means that all staff have a greater awareness of pupils’ performance and teachers carry out interventions sooner to ensure that all pupils make good progress.“– Caedmon College Ofsted 2017

Ofsted Recognises –“ Leaders have taken action to improve attendance. While attendance remains below the national average for some groups of pupils, the impact of leaders’ actions is resulting in an improving picture, despite a high number of holidays taken in the first term of the academic year. Leaders need to do further work to ensure that the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities improves more rapidly. “ – Caedmon College Ofsted 2017

Current levels of pupil achievement, attainment and progress:

Caedmon College

In the last set of external exams in 2019, Caedmon was continuing an upward 3-year trajectory, particularly in regard to student progress. In 2017 Progress 8 was at -0.29 and had risen to +0.04 in 2019.

Last summer’s TAG process showed a further rise, when comparing grades with 2019, and the school is working hard with its current exam groups to overcome the gaps in learning caused by Covid. This includes the use of catch-up funding in order to develop students’ literacy and numeracy ability.

Current School Strengths

The Whitby Secondary Partnership, and the increasing collaboration between the two schools in terms of teaching and learning, curriculum, safeguarding and support staff teams, is developing a stronger, more sustainable model of secondary education for the community of Whitby.

Caedmon College - current strengths

• The school has established a curriculum offer that allows all students the opportunity to pursue a range of academic and vocational courses at KS4 and KS5, maintaining the breadth and balance of the KS3 curriculum, and departments have worked hard to ensure that their curriculum intent is clear and underpins what is taught in the classroom.
• Many students develop sporting and cultural interests as part of the school’s extra-curricular programme.
• Safeguarding is taken seriously by the school and is very effective through the coordination and leadership of the DSL.
• The school is popular in the local community and has recruited well in the last three years, with sixth form numbers also rising.
• The disappointing GCSE outcomes in 2017 were improved upon in 2018 through a range of targeted interventions, and this work was built upon in 2019, leading to further improved outcomes in 2020 and 2021.
• Post 16 outcomes, which were disappointing in 2018, have improved in both 2019 and 2020. Strong leadership in this area is leading to rising levels of attainment and sixth form students making better progress

Areas for improvement, main priorities of Caedmon’s School Improvement Plan:

• T&L: Attainment and progress for disadvantaged students and boys; attainment and progress in key subjects where performance needs improvement.
• Behaviour and attitudes: Low level disruption; develop Pivotal behaviour model; improve attendance; embed values and ensure consistency across all staff in relationships with students and setting high expectations; develop a reward culture
• Personal development: develop greater opportunities for student leadership and voice; quality assurance of PHSE and careers programme; develop breadth of extra-curricular provision
• Leadership and Management: Development of an extended leadership team; staff wellbeing; student and parent voice; ways in which governors hold school to account.
• Sixth Form: secure viability; improve outcomes; improve enrichment and wrap-around curriculum

Needs and expectations of pupils - Caedmon College:

Caedmon is made up largely of white, British students, most of whom have resided in the local area all their lives.

• Pupil Premium - 18%
• EAL students - 0.05% (4 students) and there are five languages spoken by our students
• SEND needs - 15% of which we have 18 students with EHCPs and 4 in the process of applying for one.

Federation: areas for improvement (School Improvement Plans)

• Clear areas for collaboration between SLTs of both schools identified and plans for development opportunities for alignment of two schools’ systems and structures identified
• develop joint approaches to T&L, B&A as appropriate
• identify opportunities for savings and economies of scale for both schools
• explore the curriculum benefits of closer collaboration, in particular in relation to the breadth of curriculum offered at both schools.

Future strategic considerations:

• Budgetary constraints mean that the federation would not be able to academise at present. The Governors and school leaders are not minded to join an academy, but recognise the need to explore this option.
• Likewise, there is an on-going debate within the schools and community as to whether the two schools should merge.
• The development of the federation and the strengthening of education across the board is a priority
• Falling rolls in both schools and the need to stabilise and strengthen the resourcing of the federation.
• The need to uphold the Federation Governing Body’s commitment to respect the wishes of the local community and maintain the individuality of both schools
• The ambition to develop Scoresby site as a hub for the local community, possibly with an adult educational offer and activities which contribute financially to and support the retention of a third site.

Budgetary position:

Budget - Caedmon College

As a result of a significant loss of income, Caedmon College has been working to eliminate a very significant budget deficit.

Reductions in spending and improved recruitment to Year 7 has seen the school achieve a positive in-year budget position, with the overall deficit forecast to be removed by 2024. Due to these circumstances, the school works very closely with the Local Authority around both revenue and expenditure, in order that this positive progress is maintained.

Relationship with NYCC

Caedmon buys into the majority of NYCC services including:

• Ongoing support plan from SEA in the form of visits to school and progress reviews with the HTs
• Ongoing support to the bursar and business manager from an LA Finance Officer; ongoing support from an LA Health and Safety Officer
• Audits/reviews of Safeguarding, Pupil Premium as requested by/agreed with the HTs.
• Ongoing support from NYHR

Relationship with Parents/Carers and the wider community

Caedmon enjoys good relationships with the wider community. They work particularly closely with their feeder primary schools and there is a well-developed Year 6 into 7 transition programme, which includes several days of transition activities in July each year. One of the Heads sits on the Local Authority’s Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Locality Board and therefore has a say in funding decisions made for this area; this has also been a good mechanism for developing relationships with other schools in the wider area.

Through the work of the Careers Lead, the schools enjoy good relationships with the local business community, and there is the potential for an exciting new relationship with Anglo-American which has recently established itself as the largest company in the area.

Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the college and are continuing to develop these relationships in order to make more use of the positive parent voice in the community.

Other relationships

The federation is fortunate to be part of the DfE North Yorkshire Coast Opportunity Area (COA) Coastal Opportunity Area which is now in its fourth year.

The COA supports ambition and outcomes on social mobility across Scarborough, Whitby and Filey with projects focusing on early years, phonics, literacy, attendance and teacher recruitment and development. The two schools have worked closely with the COA and have benefited from funding for a variety of projects, including attendance and disadvantaged support amongst others. More information on the OA can be found here.

Whitby

Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Cliff is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey, where Cædmon, the earliest recognised English poet, lived.

The fishing port emerged during the Middle Ages,  supporting  important herring and whaling fleets,^[2][3] and was where Captain Cook learned seamanship. Tourism started in Whitby during the Georgian period and developed with the arrival of the railway in 1839. Its attraction as a tourist destination is enhanced by the proximity of the high ground of the North York Moors national park and the heritage coastline and by association with the horror novel Dracula. Jet and alum were mined locally, and Whitby jet, which was mined by the Romans and Victorians, became fashionable during the 19th century.

The abbey ruin at the top of the East Cliff is the town's oldest and most prominent landmark. Other significant features include the swing bridge, which crosses the River Esk and the harbour, which is sheltered by the grade II listed East and West piers. The town's maritime heritage is commemorated by statues of Captain Cook and William Scoresby, as well as the whalebone arch that sits at the top of the West Cliff. The town also has a strong literary tradition and has featured in literary works, television and cinema, most famously in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula – Discover More

Yorkshire Coast

The Yorkshire Coast is a world-famous stretch of coastline that runs from the Tees estuary to the Humber estuary on the east coast of England. The coastline between the two estuaries was historically made up of the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire. Since the 1974 county boundary shake-up, this now comprises Redcar & Cleveland, North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The North York Moors National Park extends up to the coastline and traverses 26 miles (42 km) of the coast between Boulby and Cloughton, taking in the historic fishing villages of Staithes, Runswick Bay and Robin Hood's Bay.

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is England's largest county and one of the most rural. The area comprises the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a stunning coastline around Scarborough and Whitby. There are ruined castles and abbeys, serene gardens, unique breweries, thrilling rides and industrial heritage. The area hosted the phenomenal Tour de France ‘Grand Depart’ in 2014 and has since created the Tour de Yorkshire, an annual event with global recognition. Our success in supporting these events led to Harrogate hosting the UCI Cycling World Championships in 2019.

North Yorkshire has plenty to offer the outdoor enthusiast. From the hard gritstone of Almscliff and Brimham rocks to the limestone of Malham, Gordale and Kilnsey climbing venues are in abundance. The Yorkshire Dales is the premier area for caving and for mountain biking; there are the bridleways of the Dales and North York Moors as well as the renowned trail centre at Dalby Forest. There are a small number of sailing clubs on reservoirs around the county and fantastic surfsport venues and sea kayaking on the east coast.

While the county is rightly known for its wide-open spaces, it also incorporates attractive market towns including Pickering and Helmsley, traditional seaside towns such as Whitby and Scarborough, the Spa town of Harrogate and the ancient city of York - the most visited city outside of London. There are a wide range of shopping, leisure and cultural facilities as well as excellent schools, universities, road and rail links, there really is everything to offer you and your family as a place to work, live and enjoy!

Travelling further afield we have convenient connectivity, with close proximity to metropolitan cities of Leeds and Newcastle and with a little over two hours commute on the main train line to London. We border the Lake District, Lancashire, County Durham, and Yorkshire & Humber regions with all they have to offer.