Deputy Headteacher

Thank you for expressing an interest in Durham Johnston Comprehensive School. The school website is an excellent starting point if you wish to know what life is like at Durham Johnston and we would encourage any prospective candidates to consult that resource to help them decide if our school is right for them.

School systems at Durham Johnston are built around five core values which, together, form our ethos and are at the heart of everything that we do.

Academic Excellence: a belief in progress for all.

Acquiring Knowledge: the importance of being an educated person and knowing things.

Social Justice: providing opportunities for all, regardless of background or personal circumstance.

Public Service: the importance of making a contribution to both the school community and wider society.

Global Opportunities: a rounded education that ‘opens doors’ regardless of location or specialism.

It is important to us that anyone wanting to work at Durham Johnston realises that each of our 5 values are of equal importance. We want our students to gain both a high level of academic knowledge, whilst also contributing to the wider community. We also want every child to enjoy such opportunities, regardless of background. Our teachers have a passion for their subject and a determination to ensure that every child, no matter where they grow up, whatever their personal circumstances, whatever life has given or denied them, has the opportunity to fulfil their potential and to be happy.

Leadership

The school is led in a way that seeks to maximise the autonomy of individual classroom teachers and departments, as we recognise that highly dedicated, educated and trained professionals are the people best placed to determine how to teach their subject to the individuals in their classroom. The leadership of the school look to ensure that departments and classroom teachers are supported in a way that allows them to focus on this as much as possible; we keep good order and let our teachers teach.

Pastoral Care

Our pastoral systems help to ensure that every child feels valued and cared for. We believe strongly in the power of community to help make potentially worried or anxious children feel safe and secure, and to provide a sense of collective endeavour. Our tutors play a vital role in this. Tutors can also help students make the most of our vast extra-curricular programme. We are justly proud of the range of sports our young people can take part in and the school has regularly been recognised in the top 1% of sport schools nationally by School Sport magazine. This reflects both

the range of sports offered, as well as the high standards that many of our students achieve. Our music department lead a series of highly popular orchestras and choirs, with the department being recognised as a Music Mark School Member “in recognition of a commitment to providing high quality music education for all children and young people” as well as holding the PTI Mark for Subject Leadership. However, it is not just in these two areas that children can access a wide range of opportunities, our offer extends from coding to gardening; from film club to Ancient Greek. There are clubs for everyone and our young people always meet students with a shared interest. We actively seek to ensure that all children find something they can enjoy during their time at Durham Johnston. We were chosen as The Sunday Times Comprehensive School of the Year for 2019/20 and we are very proud that the award was based upon a wide range of factors, including the opportunities that we provide for students regardless of their backgrounds or personal circumstances.

Staff Wellbeing

The wellbeing of our staff is central to the ethos of Durham Johnston Comprehensive School. We have a strong sense of community within our school and our staff work very hard as a team to support one another. We welcome opportunities to come together as a staff and these can range from tea and scones in the staff room, to the highly competitive end of term departmental quizzes. Many staff socialise both inside and outside of school and in school run sessions such as sport and fitness clubs and wellbeing sessions. Our staff like each other and enjoy spending time together.

At a leadership level we are committed to the values of ethical leadership and try to model this at all times. As a leadership team we listen and respond to staff concerns and our staff are able to raise problems and tough issues when necessary. In a recent staff survey, an overwhelming majority of our staff said they felt well supported by the school’s senior leadership team.

Living in the North East

Living in the North East is an attractive proposition within itself. Many of our staff live within our catchment area and house prices in the region mean that it is ideal both for those seeking to establish themselves on the property ladder, or for families in need of more space. As well as the historic city of Durham, the surrounding area offers much in the way of natural beauty for people to enjoy, whether walking in the Wear valley, visiting the Borders or North York Moors, or surfing in the North Sea on the Northumberland Coast. Well served by transport links, the school is close to both Durham train station, a key stop on the East Coast Mainline, and the A1 (M), allowing easy access to Newcastle, York and London.

Durham is a beautiful place to live and at Durham Johnston Comprehensive School we value experience and believe that teachers should be given the professional autonomy to teach and make decisions that work for their students. On that basis, we hope that we are the right school for you.

Andrew O'Sullivan

Headteacher