Berkhamsted Schools Group | Appointment of Head of Physical Education 1

Appointment of

Head of Physical Education

AIM HIGH WITH INTEGRITY – BE ADVENTUROUS – SERVE OTHERS

Berkhamsted Schools Group | Appointment of Head of Physical Education 2

The School

Berkhamsted School is situated in the historic Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted, a prosperous community surrounded by Chiltern countryside and within easy reach of London. With Her Majesty the Queen as the School’s patron, Berkhamsted is a leading Independent School for pupils aged 3 to 18 years, the foundation of which dates back to 1541 (when John Incent, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, successfully applied to King Henry the VIII for a license to purchase a piece of land for a ‘freescole’).

In 1888 a Girls School was founded in Berkhamsted under the same governing body, and the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools merged to form a diamond school in 1997. The Prep School was also integrated at this stage, and the School became Berkhamsted Collegiate School.

In 2011 the School merged with Heatherton House, a small independent day School for girls in Chesham Bois, and became the Berkhamsted Schools Group. Operating as a satellite Prep School Heatherton provides a feed of Girls to the Berkhamsted Girls School every year. In 2012 Berkhamsted Schools Group acquired Haresfoot, a small proprietary prep school in Berkhamsted. This site now houses the Berkhamsted Pre-Prep and Berkhamsted Day Nursery Limited, and Berkhamsted Prep School takes children from age 7-11.

Berkhamsted is the only School in the Herts, Beds and Bucks region, and one of only a small number of Schools in the country, to offer a ‘diamond’ structure that combines the best of both single-sex and co-educational teaching. Boys and Girls are taught together until the age of 11 (Berkhamsted Pre-prep and Prep), separately from the age of 11-16 (Berkhamsted Boys and Berkhamsted Girls), before coming back together again in a joint sixth form (Berkhamsted Sixth).

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The Opportunity A well-qualified, proactive and enthusiastic teacher of Physical Education is required for September 2018 to act as Head of Physical Education and manage the Academic and Curriculum Physical Education programme in this busy, innovative and thriving department and to teach pupils (boys & girls) across the Senior School (Years 7-13). The successful candidate should have had previous experience teaching/organising/leading at GCSE and A-Level.

The Department The Physical Education Departments (boys & girls) consists of fifteen full and four part-time subject specialists, several of whom also hold other significant posts in the School, as well as numerous external coaches and academic staff who contribute to the extra-curricular programme. The department covers the two senior school campuses, Castle and Kings, and also contribute to the delivery of Physical Education and Games at the prep school (Years 3-6).

The school boosts a strong sporting reputation and offers a diverse range of sporting opportunities to both boys and girls. The school has had notably recent success in the major sports of Rugby, Lacrosse, Netball, Football and Cricket as well as a number of achievements in Swimming, Tennis, Athletics, Eton Fives and Equestrian.

Curriculum Physical Education plays an important role in the life of our students, pupils in Years 7-10 are taught in single-sex groups. Our senior games programme for pupils in Years 11-13 is co-educational with over 40 options on offer throughout the academic year. The school introduced GCSE Physical Education two years ago to complement the existing ‘A’ level syllabus. The school teaches the Edexcel specifications for GCSE and the OCR specifications at A-Level. Pupils in years 10 and 11 are taught GCSE in mixed ability, single sex

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classes. In Years 12 and 13 pupils are taught in mixed ability, co-educational classes. There are currently two GCSE sets at Castle (boys) and one at Kings (girls). There are currently 54 pupils studying Academic Physical Education.

Our pupils are genuinely enthused by Physical Education and trust the department to serve them well. The Physical Education department in turn are always seeking the best, innovative ways to teach. In recent years, this has included developing the use of “Building Learning Power” (the School wide approach to learning) and use of Firefly as the School’s learning platform. The successful candidate will wish to engage in these endeavours and seek to develop the pedagogy of the department further.

We therefore seek a well-qualified and experienced teacher to take the lead role in both the day to day running and the development of the Academic and Curriculum Physical Education programmes on both the boys and girls campuses. The successful candidate will naturally be expected to teach at all year groups, contribute to the work of both the Director of Boys’ & Girls’ Sport and other Middle Leaders in driving forward learning at Berkhamsted and manage, motivate and inspire colleagues in the Physical Education Department. The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to all aspects of department life including the extensive extra-curricular programme which includes weekend commitments.

With both single-sex and co-educational teaching across the School, Berkhamsted offers excellent opportunities for professional development. It is expected that all members of the teaching staff will be able to contribute fully to the life of the School through participation in the pastoral and extra-curricular activities programmes, which are an integral part of a teacher’s role in an independent school community. The salary will be commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate and above national scales.

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Outline Job Description Under direction from the Directors of Sport, the Head of PE will be responsible for the delivery of Academic Physical Education at Key Stage 4 & 5, and the Physical Education Curriculum at Key Stages 3 & 4.

Responsibilities will include the following:

• Academic Physical Education (GCSE & A Level) Curriculum Physical Education (Years 7 – 10).

• Manage the Boys’ & Girls’ Physical Education Curriculum Co-ordinators

1. EXAMINATION PHYSICAL EDUCATION Responsible for Examination Physical Education (Key Stage 4 or 5) to include:

i. CURRICULUM • Responsible for the delivery of the Examination Physical Education Curriculum

To include: • Implementing syllabus and curriculum changes for individual examination boards • Updating and reviewing Programme of Study and Schemes of Work. • Creating and updating a central area for resources and lesson plans.

ii. TEACHING & LEARNING • Monitor and develop the standard of teaching and learning across all examination PE lessons. • Lead, support and take responsibility for the professional development of examination teachers.

iii. ASSESSMENT & REPORTING • Oversee and implement formal assessment schedules/criteria including pupils’ academic

development, progress and attitude and report to Head of Department and/or Head of House. • Annually report on: Examination Analysis -Trends in results/ Value added/ Specific issues relating

to individual pupils and or staff/courses/ MIDYIS, ALIS, YELLIS data analysis.

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iv. ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION • Organise and chair half termly Academic Physical Education Meetings. • Representing the department at parents’ evenings, Open Days, GCSE/Sixth Form Preview Evening

and GCSE and A-Level Exam Results Days. • Establishing links with Universities/ sporting organisations/ Examination moderators/examiners

and other centres that will enhance the delivery of examination Physical Education. • Organising and hosting examination moderation days.

v. ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES • Attending HODS meetings • Contribute towards teacher appraisals with the relevant Directors of Sport. • Contribute towards the annual budget proposal and annual Department Development Plan. • Compile the annual Department Review for Academic PE on: Examination Analysis -Trends in

results/ Value added/ Specific issues relating to individual pupils and or staff/courses/ MIDYIS, ALIS, YELLIS data analysis

2. CURRICULUM PHYSICAL EDUCATION (YEARS 7 -10) Overall responsibility for and in collaboration with the Directors of Sport

• Developing, implementing and reviewing (annually) innovative, suitably differentiated challenging programmes of study, schemes of work & resources.

• To include: Girls - Athletics, Girls Cricket, Dance, Trampolining , Eton Fives, Gymnastics, Health-Related Fitness, Rounders, Squash, Swimming, & Tennis. Boys - Athletics, Basketball, Eton Fives, Gymnastics, Health-Related Fitness, Outdoor Adventurous Activities & Swimming and any new activities.

• Monitor and develop the standard of teaching and learning within the department (Physical Education).

• In liaison with Directors of Sport lead, support and take responsibility for the professional development of the PE department (curriculum).

• Introduce, implement and annually update appropriate assessment criteria for each curriculum activity.

• Review and develop the current system of reporting for Physical Education & Games in line with the school’s reporting cycle.

• Oversee the administration of timetabled curriculum lessons including booking options, transport and staffing, production of Physical Education & games registers in collaboration with the PE Curriculum Co-ordinator (Years 7 – 10).

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The Process The closing date for application is 18 February 2018. The interview date will be Wednesday, 28 February. The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and visitors to adopt a child centred and coordinated approach to child protection and safeguarding. The successful applicant will be required to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure check by the Disclosure and Barring Service. Berkhamsted Schools Group is a registered charity dedicated to education: 310630.

How to apply Closing date for applications is 18 February 2018.

An application form is available on our website

Please include with your application:

• the completed application form which can be found on our website; • a full CV; • a covering letter, addressed to the Principal – Mr. Richard Backhouse, of not more

than two pages (total)

Applications should be sent by email to: recruitment@berkhamstedschool.org

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