Ark Greenwich Free School
Careers and Post 16 Lead
Location: Ark Greenwich Free School
Salary: Ark Support Scale 6: Pay points 8 – 13
[£28,998 - £31,344]
Contract: Permanent
Working hours: Full Time; term-time only plus 10 days
Start date: Monday 2nd September 2024
Closing date: Wednesday 17th July 2024 at 9am
Ark Greenwich
Click here to view our school video.
At Ark Greenwich we take the wellbeing and workload of our staff seriously. We are committed to sustainable high performance and recognise our staff are our primary resource. To find out how we approach staff wellbeing and workload, please click here
We are seeking to appoint an exceptional Careers Lead who will be fully committed to all aspects of our school vision and our values. You will be joining a team of dedicated staff who go the extra mile to make a real difference to the children in our care. If you are committed to making a lasting difference in our local community and want to work in a seriously ambitious, respectful and high performing school, this could be the job for you.
The typical working pattern for this role is 8am - 4:15pm although there may be flexibility if required.
Ark Greenwich is a new, ambitious school model based on what we know excellent schools do. We have created a highly respectful and disciplined environment where our staff and scholars can feel valued and fulfil their potential. We are one of the highest performing schools in the UK. Progress 8: +1.2, Attainment 8: 6.3, EM4+: 91%, EM5+: 81%, EBacc entry rate: 90%.
Ark Greenwich exists to empower young people, regardless of socio-economic background, to grow and be successful. This is an ambitious and forward-thinking school that encourages innovation and values its staff. We are proud of our highly respectful and disciplined community and of the outstanding academic outcomes achieved by our scholars. Expectations for all members of our community are unashamedly sky high. We work tirelessly to impact the lives of the young people we serve.
How is Ark Greenwich different?
• We are part of the Ark family of schools and benefit accordingly from outstanding networking and career opportunities and first-class CPD.
• Staff wellbeing is one of our main priorities. We provide breakfast for staff each morning, lunch for early careers staff and have a 6pm/weekend work-related communication cut off. We do not do knee jerk reactions, fads or last-minute deadlines. Our systems and processes for communication, marking and feedback and assessment are streamlined and the approaches we take are research led and based on our local context. We offer a WFH day to HoDs for curriculum design and also offer external marking of scripts to support workload. Our full approach to staff wellbeing/workload can be found here.
• This is a small school model (600 scholars aged 11-16) because we believe that our close-knit family community provides the optimum conditions for success.
• Scholar behaviour is exceptional with clearly defined and embedded routines. This means our teachers can focus their time on the things that matter – planning and delivering brilliant lessons for our scholars.
• This is a strict no excuses, no mobile phone school. Phones are not permitted onsite at all. Scholars wear business dress to prepare them for a professional career.
• Our curriculum is traditional and academic, and we do not take shortcuts to seek to boost our position in school league tables – we do not, for example, offer equivalencies such as Btecs or Vcerts. >90% Ebacc entry rate.
• We put high-quality teaching at the heart of what we do. We are committed to providing staff with weekly high-quality training. We run coaching for staff who want to see rapid progress in their discipline. Live coaching and current best practice in the field of education is central to our approach.
• We don’t grade individual lessons or ask for lesson plans but we do place a primacy on curriculum design, independent learning and formative assessment.
• Our scholars enjoy a compulsory co-curricular program on a Wednesday afternoon which includes a strong focus on community volunteering and we facilitate 12 drop-down days per academic year ensuring scholars benefit from a range of life-enriching experiences.
Alignment with the school’s vision, values and approach to education is essential.
The Role
As the Career Lead, you will provide a high quality of career provision across Year 7 - 11. You will ensure both scholars and parents fully understand the intent of the career provision, implement this through career tutor sessions, enrichment, drop down days, overseeing our Unifrog platform, liaising with guest careers’ speakers, 1:1/group guidance and delivering the post 16 project in key stage 4. This will set scholars up to fulfil the school value of ambition with every scholar having a clear career goal to stand shoulder to shoulder with any peer across the country.
Key Responsibilities
Management and Resources
Careers guidance and progression:
● Design, oversight and implementation of an ambitious AGFS careers curriculum.
● The will include oversight and implementation of the KS3 and KS4 careers map, including work experience and Post-16 destinations, the design and resourcing of the AGFS 5 year careers map and liaison with the person in charge of personal development to ensure careers is an integral part of this.
● Monitor and report on the impact of the AGFS career provision, including work experience and post 16 destination data.
● Ensure the post 16 data is accurately submitted to the Ark Central and the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
● Oversee the correct handover of school files to the post 16 providers for all scholars including SEND.
● Ensuring the school fulfils the Gatsby Benchmarks through tracking the provision of careers.
● Implementing the use of unifrog across the whole school and monitoring the provision of this.
● Communicating effectively with post 16 providers, parents and scholars.
● Ensure all statutory careers requirements are fulfilled.
● To liaise with a range of external agencies including guest speakers and strategically matching their sessions with the appropriate scholars.
Professional Development:
● Undertake required training in order to perform your daily duties to the highest standards.
● Take responsibility for your own professional development and demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development by undertaking, and seeking out, opportunities to build your capabilities.
● Ensure you understand your professional responsibilities in relation to school policies and practices.
● Evaluate your own practice critically and use this to improve your effectiveness.
● Engage, positively, with the AGFS performance-management system.
Other
● Actively promote the safety and welfare of our children and young people
● Ensure compliance with Arks data protection rules and procedures
● Liaise with colleagues and external contacts at all levels of seniority with confidence, tact and diplomacy
● Work with Ark Central and other academies in the Ark network, to establish good practice throughout the network, offering support where required
● Organise the ordering of book prizes for prize evening
● Help run the stationery shop in the morning.
● Support with GCSE results day preparations and advice services.
This job description is not an exhaustive list and you will be expected to carry out any other reasonable tasks as directed by your line manager.
View the full job description and person specification here
About our school:
At Ark Greenwich Free School, we believe education has the power to transform lives; that's why we strive for excellence in all that we do.
Our goal is for Greenwich Free School to be the top choice for families in Greenwich, known for outstanding teaching, exemplary student behaviour, and unparalleled opportunities in and out of the classroom.
Ours is a close-knit community of staff, students and families. You'll join a team of dedicated professionals who put students at the heart of every decision. We each play a vital role in making our school a secure, welcoming place to learn and grow.
Greenwich is our home, and we tailor our approach to serve this diverse, historic borough. We provide targeted support, challenge each student, and open doors to new experiences.
Learn more about our school and community at https://arkgreenwichfreeschool.org/.
We offer:
· Salaries 2.5% higher than main pay scale.
· Twice as many training days as standard.
· Generous pension scheme.
· Access to Ark rewards – a scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers
· Interest-free loans – up to £5,000 available for season ticket or to buy a bicycle.
· Gym discounts – offering up to 40%.
· Access to Employee Assistance Programme – providing free, confidential counselling, legal advice and a range of different support.
Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer.
How to apply:
Please visit this website and submit your application. Please note we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. Early application is strongly advised.
If you wish to discuss this opportunity or for any questions, please contact Leann on lcripps@arkgreenwich.org.
For any technical issues, please contact our system support team by clicking the chat function on the bottom right of the advert screen.
Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.
Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.