DCB1929 Early Years AEN Leader

Dulwich College Beijing

Dulwich College Beijing, established in 2005, is a dynamic, high-performing, co-educational, independent school catering for 1520 children, aged 2–18, from forty different countries across six continents. The College comprises three schools, each with its own Head teacher: Early Years, Junior School and Senior School. 

For children aged 2 to 5 we offer the EYFS curriculum. We offer an enhanced English National Curriculum in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, International GCSEs in KS4 and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in KS5. We are situated in the capital city of the second largest and fastest growing economy in the world, 45 minutes from both the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square. 

Last year the College won a British International School Award for Teaching Initiative and a Corporate Social Responsibility Award. The School’s philosophy draws on 400 years of experience in education from the founding and partner school, Dulwich College in London. We also benefit from collaboration with our sister schools in Myanmar, Seoul, Shanghai, Suzhou and Singapore. As a teacher at DCB, you will be given the freedom to try new methods and experiment with the latest resources in the classroom. Senior leaders provide staff with an enormous amount of trust and support, and are genuinely committed to teacher and middle leader development. DCB has an open and transparent coaching and feedback culture, based on the use of evidence to assess impact. Transparency and openness with parents and students is the norm at DCB.  

Early Years at Dulwich College Beijing

Early Years has over 350 pupils, aged 2-7 years old and 62 members of staff. The curriculum starts for children aged 2-5 years with the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and for children aged 6-7 years we offer an enhanced version of the English National Curriculum. Early Years prides itself on its child-centered, holistic approach for all children throughout the age range. We are able to do this successfully, by offering small class sizes of 22 children or less, a high teacher-to-pupil ratio and generous resources, for a range of abilities. Assistant Teachers are of a very high standard and are all bilingual. Children here have a thirst for learning and behaviour is exemplary. Parents at our school are supportive and value teachers highly. We invest heavily in professional development and as part of a large school and group of Colleges we are able to offer unique opportunities for career development. 

Early Years Learning Environment

In 2018, Early Years learning spaces were rebuilt and enhanced. There is a beautiful, natural look to all learning spaces. The classrooms are designed to operate either as a stand alone class or as a unit, according to the needs of the children during the day. Outside, we also have two new, exciting learning spaces. The Early Years environment reflects both the quality of the teaching and the excellent resources available. All classes have interactive whiteboards, I-pads and laptops with MacBooks for teachers. We enhance our curriculum through in-depth planning, specialist teaching in P.E., Mandarin, Art and Music, and through a range of resources, such as Numicon for Maths. Our assessment tools include SeeSaw, now used throughout the school. Visitors to Early Years will see children highly engaged and learning actively through collaboration, problem solving and creative thinking. 

The Role

The role of AEN (Additional Educational Needs) Leader requires someone with a deep knowledge of child-centred pedagogy and a passionate belief in children initiating their own learning through play. Your role will mean leading a large and experienced team of EAL (English as an Additional Language) and SEN (Special Educational Needs) staff. You will need to have specialist knowledge of SEN and have experience of applying this knowledge, when working with young children. A large proportion of our children have English as their second language with the majority speaking Mandarin as a first language. The AEN teachers in our school mainly teach the EAL children in class. The progress all our children make is excellent and a key part of the role is to make the most effective use of pupil data to ensure the best outcomes for all pupils.

Benefits

Your package offers excellent saving potential. The school will even transfer your savings to your overseas bank account on your behalf, if you so wish. As well as a competitive salary the school offers two flights per year to your home destination, full medical cover, free school places for two dependent children and a contribution to some of your living expenses, for example your restaurant and laundry bills.

China is an increasingly modern, wealthy and culturally rich society. Technology continues to be a defining aspect of life here. Beijing itself is a vibrant, constantly changing and exciting city. Its historical sites are second to none, as is its food culture. Restaurants are child-friendly, especially those close to school. There is also a bustling nightlife downtown, where many staff live. Beijing is an incredibly safe city, and people feel secure walking the streets at night.  There is also a wide variety of activities outside of work. Beijing is very close to mountains and lakes, so hiking, cycling and running are popular activities. There are netball, rugby, football, Aussie rules, and Gaelic football clubs that staff can get involved in. Beijing is increasingly a hub for travel, with a second airport opening in 2019. It is easy to travel anywhere in the world from Beijing, and the high-speed rail system allows easy access to the fascinating Chinese interior. Such is the strength of the culture at DCB, that staff often travel together during their ample holidays, which include three weeks at Christmas and two weeks at Chinese New Year. 

Application Procedure

Applicants should ensure that they are aligned to our Philosophy and Objectives, and to our College Values, which can be found, along with other information about the College, on our website: https://beijing.dulwich.org/. To apply for this position please go to https://beijing.dulwich.org/careers/job-openings. 

The deadline for application is 25th Jan 2019

Contract type: Full Time

Contract term: Three Year Contract 

Dates: Job start August 2019

Dulwich College International is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all the students in our care and expects all applicants to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices which are aligned to the recommendations of the International Task Force on Child Protection. We hold ourselves to a high standard of effective recruiting practices with specific attention to child protection.  All appointments are subject to an interview, identity checks, criminal record checks, and successful references.