Pre-Prep Head Teacher
Somerhill
Tonbridge, Kent
- Expired
- Salary:
- Very competitive
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- April or September 2019
- Apply by:
- 28 November 2018
Job overview
The Schools at Somerhill are seeking a new Head of the Somerhill Pre-Prep, answerable to the Principal and working closely with the Heads of the prep schools. On a day-to-day basis the Head Teacher enjoys considerable autonomy but must always be aware of their role within the larger organisation. They will bring energy, enthusiasm and a high degree of professionalism to the role. In this very senior role, the Head Teacher manages 35 staff in the Pre-Prep, 30 of whom are full-time employees.
The successful candidate;
- Has leadership experience. They may well already be a serving pre-prep Head of an IAPS school
- Has a good university degree and appropriate teaching qualifications
- Will provide clear vision and command respect amongst the whole school community
- Is an incisive and strategic thinker who is able to motivate pupils and staff
- Is an innovative manager who is able to assess and promote excellent teaching and learning
- Is knowledgeable about pre-prep schools and the Early Years and Foundation Stage
- Communicates well and enjoys working in partnership with parents and Governors
- Will inspire and excite pupils by generating a love of learning
- Possesses resilience and a sense of humour
- Has a genuine joy for working with children
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 28th November, 2018. Interviews and assessments will be held week commencing 3rd December, 2018.
Please visit our website for the Recruitment Pack and Application Form. Please note that we do not accept CVs in place of an official SAS Application Form as we require the same range of information from all of our candidates. Completed applications with covering letter can be submitted to recruitment@somerhill.org
The Schools at Somerhill is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. References will be taken up for those candidates short-listed for interview. The successful candidate will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.
The Schools at Somerhill is an equal opportunities employer.
Attached documents
About Somerhill
Ours is a very special school with a unique structure in this part of the world. We have a coeducational pre-prep of 200 boys and girls aged three to seven. At the end of Year Two, in the same way as for ‘diamond model’ schools, our girls join Derwent Lodge, (136 girls from Year Three to Six) and the boys join Yardley Court (250 boys from Year Three to Eight). Our pupils are, therefore, taught in single sex classes from the age of seven but very much in a coeducational setting. More details can be found on our website: www.somerhill.org.
The school is based in a stunning Jacobean mansion, set in 150 acres of beautiful parkland. You will be hard-pressed to find a more glorious setting for a school! Somerhill is an estate just to the south of Tonbridge and is readily accessed by a slip road off the A21. We have excellent facilities including a multi-purpose sports hall, astroturf, new dining hall, indoor swimming pool complex and music centre built in 2014.
Ours is a mixed ability school. We have very bright and capable pupils and are one of the largest 11+ grammar school feeders in Kent. We also have a strong record of obtaining scholarships to top independent secondary schools, such as Tonbridge and Sevenoaks, at 11/13+. We also have boys and girls who find aspects of their learning more challenging and currently approximately 60+ pupils receive some measure of additional support.
When girls leave Derwent Lodge, many of them go to the Kent grammar schools and others go on to Sevenoaks School, Kent College, Walthamstow Hall, Mayfield, and other independent and state schools. Of the boys who leave Yardley Court at 11+ many go to the local grammar schools. For boys leaving at 13+, Tonbridge School is the most popular destination. Others join Sevenoaks School, Bede’s, Eastbourne, Caterham, and Sutton Valence.
Whilst Somerhill has some 600 pupils, the division into three separate sections means that each section can tailor its teaching to best suit the children within it. Parents feel that they have the best of both worlds with small care and linked pupil/teacher ratios but with larger school facilities and social opportunities. They are very supportive of the idea behind a coeducational pre-prep leading to single sex prep sections, but within a mixed gender environment.
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