This is a rewarding Headship; where you will be able to lead our school on to the next stage of its journey shaping and developing what this will look like. You must exhibit confidence, resilience, fairness and be an engaging communicator who displays empathy, inclusivity and has a clear focus on continuing to build a healthy workplace culture to benefit the wellbeing of staff and pupils. The future of our school requires a strong leader with a clear vision, who has the ability to communicate that vision to others and to make an instant impact.

While we have many strengths, we know that we must improve too. We need to continue to build a school-wide love of reading and improve outcomes in writing and mathematics across our school. Further, we need to maintain and build on the quality of teaching and our expectations of the capabilities of our children as well as developing our staff team to ensure they reach their full potential.

We are always looking for ways to improve. We want your skills as an impassioned leader to make a difference, to enhance teaching and learning across the curriculum, to enrich the personal and social development of our children and to join with everyone - staff, governors and pupils – to promote our ethos and further develop the vision for our school.

Our new leader will:

• Be a committed leader with excellent interpersonal skills who can motivate and manage all stakeholders, effectively shaping and delivering the strategic plan.
• Demonstrate superb leadership skills with ability to challenge robustly and constructively.
• Be someone who recognises the importance of maintaining the school’s existing values while instilling their own leadership and identity.
• Be an outstanding teaching practitioner able to set and achieve ambitious goals and continually seek to raise standards and promote our vision, values and aims in a way that is relevant and inspiring to all.
• Be able to provide excellent and robust staff management.
• Have progressive IT skills and a deep understanding of the significance and importance of consistent data monitoring.
• Consider and shape how we can adapt our practices innovatively to promote and enhance the wellbeing of our staff team.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the needs of young people in terms of their social, physical and emotional development alongside educational needs, and ensure that the school provides a rounded provision to nurture them.
• Show practical knowledge and experience in raising standards.
• Be a strategic thinker able to plan long, medium and short term.
• Be able to review our financial resources and look at how we invest in our school.
• Have a continuing drive to reflect, learn and strive for positive development, for themselves, their staff team, the children and our school as a whole.
• Be someone who is capable of and confident in making difficult decisions and ask challenging questions in order to seek the best possible outcome for our school as a whole.

This is an excellent opportunity to provide strategic leadership and direction while building on high expectations.

Our school is located in central Harrogate a 10-minute walk from the train and bus station, which gives excellent links to Leeds and York. The proximity of the A1 (15-minute drive) and other main roadways means that travel by car from Harrogate is easy to Leeds, York, the Northeast and further afield. It is an equal distance to the delightful North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales.

The town is growing with the local plan approving several new housing developments. Harrogate was voted the 3^rd happiest place to live in the UK by Right Move in 2021. We have a shared catchment area with another local school but frequently attract pupils from out of area.

Grove Road school has a warm and welcoming feel. The children are well behaved, polite and genuinely care for each other and their school community. They are motivated leaners and have a great sense of pride in their work and the school. The school is alive with inquisitive pupils and engaging teaching and support staff who all exude a positive and vibrant atmosphere at the school.

Grove Road has a strong community spirit with effective support for all ages. At the heart of our School lies a learning community that embraces every opportunity to offer an exciting, social, multi-cultural and pioneering educational experience for each and every one of our learners.

Our dedicated team are fun, friendly and motivated to ensure that each learner is stretched and that they experience fulfilment in learning every single day.

Our philosophy of learning, delivered through our broad and rich Grove Road Curriculum, creatively embraces the essence of our vision to instill in our children the knowledge, skills and values to be confident, resilient, independent and successful life-long learners. Our school regularly showcases its learning to visiting schools.

Make-up and needs of our pupils:

• A third of the children are on the SEN register
• Approximately a quarter of the children come from a disadvantaged background
• 20% of pupils are eligible for pupil premium

Features and Benefits of our Schools

“Grove Road is a unique school that truly epitomises inclusion. Well-being and relationships underpin everything at Grove Road and the wide spectrum of emotional needs are supported through a clever combination of the Thrive Approach, the ReflectED metacognition approach and the Principles of Pivotal Practice” - Pivotal Behaviour HealthCheck Report 2021

September 2022 will see the school celebrate its 125^th anniversary and we are proud to be a part of such long-standing education provision for children in the local community. As part of our school we offer wrap around care at Sammy’s Den, our own in-house provision, alongside numerous after school clubs, which are run by external providers as well as school staff. We love the arts offering singing clubs and performances regularly. In 2020 we launched our own digital radio station ‘Groove Road’ Radio, this is run by our digital leaders in Year 5 and 6 with podcasts and pre-recorded music shows running at certain times throughout the year.

We are a diverse and inclusive school community with approximately one third of our pupils on the SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) register and just over a quarter are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our pupils speak around 25 different languages.

Our Pupils are the heart of our school; they are well mannered and confident, keen to learn and engaged in class. They treat each other with respect and their behaviour is good. Children’s attitudes to school and learning are good, they enjoy coming to school and show great interest in the learning activities provided for them.

The school fosters a welcoming, caring, stimulating and secure environment in which the children are encouraged to develop as learners. The Grove Road Community of staff, governors, pupils and their families is committed to providing a nurturing and inspiring environment where everyone is safe, respected, supported and challenged. Nurturing the children within this environment enables them to develop to their potential and broaden their horizons. The Headteacher will be expected to lead by example. The ethos is reflected in the relationships between staff, children, parents and governors of the school.

Child wellbeing:

The emotional wellbeing of the children at the school has always been a high priority, we have adopted the thrive approach across school and in the targeted mainstream provision. Trained practitioners work with children who have been identified as needing support with their wellbeing. One of our school PRIDE values is empathy and children are encouraged to talk to and support their peers. Mental health has continued to be of key importance during the Covid pandemic and activities, such as mindfulness, have been shared with the children. Internet safety is also a key factor and regular information is shared with children and parents on how to stay safe on the internet.

Ofsted recognised – “Staff know the pupils very well and model positive relationships. Consequently, parents and carers, as well as pupils, value their nurturing approach. Above-average attendance is testament to pupils’ enjoyment of school and the value they see in their education” - Ofsted 2018

Our staff are our greatest resource and are incredibly committed, loyal, positive and hardworking. They always have the best interests of the pupils at heart and are determined to find something at which every child can shine. Staff get to know the children in the school very well and use this information to personalise opportunities for learning.

Ofsted recognised – “Staff feel valued and appreciate the opportunities you provide for them to learn from each other. They are becoming increasingly reflective about the impact of their teaching on pupils’ learning. Additionally, adults’ focus on helping pupils to understand how they can be effective learners has quickly become established. Pupils now demonstrate greater perseverance and resilience in their learning. Consequently, improving outcomes for current pupils are being secured throughout the school” - Ofsted 2018

Please click here to view our Team

SLT structure:

• Headteacher
• 2 Assistant Headteachers (One is the SENDCo),
• Full-time school Business Manager
• 2 Early Years Leads
• Mastery Maths specialist/Lead
• Subject leadership is distributed across the whole teaching team.

We have a strong and supportive staff team:

• 16 Teachers 13.88fte
• Number of classes - 11 including a nursery provision
• There are a number of non-teaching support staff including a pastoral team, intervention team, SEN teaching assistants and site/premises team

Staff are utilized by supporting vulnerable children to help meet the targets outlined in their EHCP’s as well as supporting all pupils within school.

Staff have good positive relationships and work well as a whole school team, finding opportunities to come together as a whole school team to support each other's well-being

The Governing Board’s Role and Support

Our Board of Governors actively support their school and take their link responsibilities seriously. During Covid, they have continued to do so virtually, with a focus on staff well-being.

All school governors are engaged, positive and proactive in ensuring the school continues to thrive and develop.

As a full governing body, they meet regularly, always striving to ensure our children receive the best education possible, in a safe and supportive environment.

Governors seek and consider a range of feedback from the whole school community to ensure that they fully understand the differing perspectives of all stakeholders on how the school is performing.

Ofsted recognised – “Leaders and governors are passionate about the school providing a high-quality education for pupils. They are clear that not only is academic achievement important, but that emotional well-being is also critical to pupils’ success and development” - Ofsted 2018

Our School Vision, Ethos and values are at the heart of everything we do. They underpin our teaching and learning, and provide an environment which prepares our pupils to be confident, caring and happy citizens.

Everyone at Grove Road Primary School believes in making a difference together and through caring and nurturing we make our school a happy, safe place to learn.

At Grove Road we are all working together to achieve our vision for the School:

Passionate

Resilient

Intrepid

Dependable

Empathetic

Please click here to read more on our vision and values

In the 2019-20 academic year we asked all of the children at Grove Road to suggest who they would like our school houses to be named after. We asked for the most inspiring role models, people that show our school’s PRIDE values on an international scale. From there, four new house names were chosen and each child has been allocated a house team. Sunshine points can be earned around school for making positive choices and showing our PRIDE values, culminating in half-termly house parties for the houses with the most. Children will also have opportunities to work within their house teams at events like sports day to support them with building relationships with a wider range of children from across school.

Please click here to see which inspiring role models our children chose

Ofsted Inspection – Graded Good 2018

Ofsted recognised – “Leaders’ inclusive approach has earned them a reputation for championing vulnerable pupils and providing a safe haven for those in need, and a place where all pupils can shine” - Ofsted 2018

Ofsted recognised – “Leaders have a very accurate picture of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have, therefore, prioritised appropriate school improvement actions. Improving the quality of teaching and learning was an area for improvement from the previous inspection” - Ofsted 2018

Our School’s current strengths:

• A positive pupil environment where mistakes are debated and challenged at an individual and class level leading to an enrichment of their learning experience.
• We offer a high level of support for vulnerable children and for children with SEND
• We offer Targeted Mainstream Provision within the House for children with Communication and Interaction needs, where they are unable to access the mainstream classes.

Main priorities of your School improvement Plan:

Taken from School Improvement Plan September 2021

Priority 1: Quality of Education

• To improve the standards and achievement of all learners in maths
• To improve the standards and achievement of all learners in Early Years
• To raise standards with SEND, Targeted Mainstream Provision and Intervention children and to Close the Gap
• To maintain the quality of teaching and learning as assessment so the children are fully engaged in their learning

Priority 2: Behaviour, Attitudes and Personal Development of Pupils

Priority 3: Continue to improve the effectiveness of leadership and management

Future Considerations:

The school is currently undertaking a consultation exercise to amalgamate with another local school. If approved Grove Road will be spread across 2 sites

Budgetary Position:

The school is currently in a cumulative deficit position; however, this is forecast to improve over the next three years. There is a recovery plan in place and the new Headteacher will be required to work with the School Business Manager to ensure that the recovery is sustained, demonstrating best value and strong resource management.

Current levels of pupil achievement, attainment and progress:

Please click here for the most recent progress report

Grove Road is at the heart of its community. Our children are encouraged to think of others and give back to their community. For example, we support the local foodbank, at Christmas we did a reverse advent calendar for them. Pupils are often encouraged to plan and host events to fundraise for the school and become involvement in events such as Children In Need. The Governing Board and the new Headteacher will look to deepen and extend our community links.

The needs of our children always come first and we work closely with parents and carers, building positive relationships that help contribute to the work we do. We have a strong team of parent volunteers who help with reading.

Many parents and residents continue to support the school, it is in this way that all are able to feel they are active participants in the functioning and development of the School; which can only have positive implications for the children. We communicate via the website, Twitter, our newsletters and email. Parents are also welcome in to school and if they need to get in touch with a Teacher they can do so quickly using Seesaw.

The Friends of Grove (FOGR) an enthusiastic committee of parents and staff working hard on behalf of the School who raise funds for the school.

Collaborations:

Red Kite Teaching Alliance provides our ECT (Early Career Teachers) support.

One of our senior leadership team is a mastery maths specialist and is working with Red Kite to provide maths support to a number of schools.

We have a Targeted Mainstream Provision at school located in “the House” - This is a space to provide an alternative education environment for pupils who are able to access the mainstream curriculum when their environment and learning opportunities are adapted to meet their individual needs

Local Authority and School Improvement

We have strong relationships with our contacts at the LA and are able to access support. Staff are also made aware of training opportunities through the LA, and our leaders and designated safeguarding lead attend LA organised meetings/training/networking sessions.

Harrogate is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow Carr gardens. 13 miles (21 km) away from the town centre is the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Nidderdale AONB. Harrogate grew out of two smaller settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, in the 17th century. For three consecutive years (2013–2015), polls voted the town as "the happiest place to live" in Britain.^[2][3][4]

Harrogate railway station and Harrogate bus station in the town centre provide transport connections. Leeds Bradford Airport is 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Harrogate. The main roads through the town are the A61, connecting Harrogate to Leeds and Ripon, and the A59, connecting the town to York and Skipton. Harrogate is also connected to Wetherby and the A1(M) by the A661, while the A658 from Bradford forms a bypass around the south of the town. Harrogate had a population of 73,576 at the 2011 UK census;^[5][6] the built-up area comprising Harrogate and nearby Knaresborough had a population of 89,060,^[5] while the figure for the much wider Borough of Harrogate, comprising Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon, as well as a number of smaller settlements and a large rural area, was 157,869.^[7]

Harrogate is an attractive town offering a wide choice of restaurants whose cuisines are drawn from all over the world, a lovely theatre putting on a varied programme, the Royal Hall and International Conference Centre which are venues for a varied range of musical events, a well-established RHS garden, and several art galleries.

The Town also hosts its own Spring and Autumn Flower Shows, Harrogate International Festival attracting high class performers in plays and music, and there is also a Crime Writing Festival, a Children’s Festival and a History Festival. Cycling also helped to promote the town, and Yorkshire in general, when the Tour de France spent its first 3 days in the county, based in the town in 2014, and an annual Tour de Yorkshire followed on from the enthusiasm from this event.

York is a cathedral city with Roman origins at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has long-standing buildings and structures, such as York Minster, York Castle and York city walls. It was a county corporate, outside of the county's council and the ridings. The City of York unitary authority area includes the city, the town of Haxby, and surrounding villages and rural areas. The City of York Council is responsible for providing all local services and facilities throughout the district.

The city was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. It became the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and later of the kingdoms of Deira, Northumbria and Jórvík. In the Middle Ages, York grew as a major wool-trading centre and became the capital of the northern ecclesiastical province of the Church of England, a role it has retained.^[6] In the 19th century, York became a major hub of the railway network and a confectionery manufacturing centre, a status it maintained well into the 20th century. During the Second World War, York was bombed as part of the Baedeker Blitz; although less affected by bombing than other northern cities, several historic buildings were gutted and restoration efforts continued into the 1960s.^[7]

North Yorkshire

The geology of North Yorkshire is closely reflected in its landscape. Within the county are the North York Moors and most of the Yorkshire Dales; two of eleven areas of countryside within England and Wales to be officially designated as national parks. Between the North York Moors in the east and the Pennine Hills in the west lie the Vales of Mowbray and York. The Tees Lowlands lie to the north of the North York Moors and the Vale of Pickering lies to the south. Its eastern border is the North sea coast. The highest point is Whernside, on the Cumbrian border, at 736 metres (2,415 ft).^[9]

The two major rivers in the county are the River Swale and the River Ure. The Swale and the Ure form the River Ouse which flows through York and into the Humber Estuary. The River Tees forms part of the border between North Yorkshire and County Durham and flows from upper Teesdale through Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough and to the coast. The River Wharfe forms much of the southern border and also flows into the Ouse within the county.

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. 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, 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.