English Teacher

Team: Education and Teaching

The positive impact you can have on a young person’s life is most likely the reason you got into teaching in the first place. At Hall Cliffe School in Wakefield, that impact will be greater than you could have imagined.

As part of the Witherslack Group, we provide outstanding schooling for young people with a range of complex educational needs. For instance, some function at an incredibly high level but may have ADHD, social communication difficulties or autism and struggle to maintain concentration, whilst others may need emotional support to help them achieve their potential. Each young person’s set of needs requires a unique approach. Our teachers are there to channel their individual capabilities into academic success, as part of a holistic and uniquely attentive educational strategy – and all of this from a setting that is truly inspiring to both pupils and teachers.

Hall Cliffe School is a day school catering for up to 104 boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 16. The school is located in a beautiful Grade 2 listed building, with state of the art facilities, which allow us to deliver a creative curriculum. Alongside our academic subjects, our young people have access to our brand new, off site Vocational Centre that opened in September 2018. We offer courses such as Motor Vehicle, Construction and Hair and Beauty, allowing our young people to grow and reach their full potential.

The role

Raising literacy and creating positive behaviour strategies will be your focus here, right across both the primary and secondary schools – and not simply within English lessons themselves. As an English Teacher, you won’t just be teaching our young people to read and write, you’ll be helping them learn to communicate better, while steering their moral and emotional development through engagement with the written word. This kind of learning doesn’t end when the bell goes – it’s something they’ll carry with them from lesson to lesson and throughout life. Keeping subjects relevant and making them matter to our young people is a big part of the Witherslack Group philosophy. By joining the English department, you’ll be putting your passion into practice and using your own personal flair to make sure we reflect this idea in everything we do.

You’ll be working with young people until the end of Key Stage 4. It will be challenging and rewarding in equal measure, but whether you’ve given a particularly inspiring lesson or helped a pupil with a presentation or exam arrangements, you can expect to take home a sense of having done something amazing every single day. As all teachers know, some of those days may be harder than others but, at Witherslack Group, you’re never alone. You’ll work as part of a collaborative team, not just with other teachers across the school and Group but with our in-house psychologists, family liaison officers and therapy professionals. All pulling together to create the best possible outcomes for our pupils.

The person

We’re looking for an English Teacher with a vision. The kind of person who wants to make a difference and knows the pathway that will allow them to do so. Someone who also wants to be part of the conversation when it comes to group decisions on how we, as a Group, best meet the needs of each child with regard to training, support and annual reviews.

Aware of the standards that Ofsted look out for and always conscious to exceed them, you’ll be the kind of teacher who is never anything but engaged and engaging. What’s more, you’ll be excited by the prospect of our small class sizes of 8 pupils or less, (with at least one Teaching Assistant) and will seize upon this as an opportunity to tailor learning to individuals and build stronger, more insightful teacher/pupil relationships. Empathetic and passionate, you’ll understand that our pupils’ journeys aren’t necessarily linear. If you haven’t worked in SEN before, but are enthusiastic and motivated to make the move, we’ll give you all the additional training and support you require.

The rewards

The benefit of doing a role like this is it feels good. Every day brings a sense of hard-won achievement and progress. There are also some outstanding rewards – in fact, our salary and benefits package is one of the best in the sector. It includes:

• A highly competitive salary
• Full school holidays
• Teacher pension scheme or a range of flexible pension options to suit personal circumstances (where applicable)
• A comprehensive, market-leading induction and ongoing training
• Extensive Group staff benefits, such as a Medicash Health Plan/Employee Assistance and Cycle to Work Scheme
• Free lunches 
• Free DBS Enhanced checks for all new employees

To find out more please contact Gillian Slack – Senior Administrator on 01924 663420.

Interview Date: Thursday, 27 May 2021

Closing date: Friday, 21 May 2021, 23:59

The Witherslack Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its young people. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. We are an equal opportunities employer welcoming applications from all sections of the community.

For a full job description and person specification, please see the attached document.