Design Technology & Engineering Assistant - Junior School

Dates: Sunday 9 May at midnight. Interviews will take place on Tuesday 18 May. Applications will be considered on receipt and we reserve the right to close an advert early if we find a suitable candidate.

Contract type: Full time, term time only (including INSET) plus 15 days

Highgate School supports anonymous recruitment. This means we hide your personal, identifying information to remove bias from the hiring process. We encourage applications from candidates who experience barriers and inequity due to their ethnicity, gender identity, physical or mental health, sexuality, and/or socio-economic background.

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, overseas police check if necessary and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING

Design Technology & Engineering is taught throughout the foundation from KS1-5 and is at the heart of the STEM vision at Highgate. The subject is compulsory up to Key stage 3, thereafter the School runs the OCR Design Engineering courses at GCSE and A-level. There is a strong ethos for preparing students for tomorrow’s rapidly changing world and invites them to become creative problem solvers, as an individual and a member of a team.

The Junior DTE department is able to deliver the DTE national curriculum and at the same time with the wonderful facilities is able to expand and bring the subject to life in a fun and inspiring way. The department is in a unique position to be able to deliver the KS2 DTE curriculum via specialist teachers and Assistants in a well-equipped workshop and computer lab.

The department coordinates regular entries to a wide variety of national competitions and organises pertinent educational visits within the London area. The department also runs a number of very popular clubs and inter-house engineering challenge days. 

THE ROLE

The role would suit a person who is interested in working with children in an academically selective Independent Junior School as well as those wanting to develop a career in Design Technology and Engineering. All training will be provided.

The main focus of this role is to provide support to teachers (in the preparation of resources for lessons and in the classroom), to support students (in small groups or on a one to one basis during practical activities and with projects) and to support after School clubs. Adhering to all relevant H&S legislation and general maintenance of equipment and resources are integral to the role.

There is scope for the successful applicant to be involved in the wider life of the School through, for example, after School clubs and educational visits. A person who would be able and willing to assist in cross-curricular projects would also be welcomed.

THE SCHOOL

A culture of community, kindness and belonging

Highgate is a different kind of independent school. We are a school whose charitable ethos is an inextricable part of both staff and pupil DNA. Highgate doesn’t exist in a bubble, but is connected to, and part of, a community. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and, in 2017, Highgate co-founded the free sixth form school, The London Academy of Excellence Tottenham (LAET), with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club as principal business sponsor.

From the Pre-Prep right up to the Sixth Form, we are actively seeking to embed a real sense of belonging at Highgate. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of an environment that:

• welcomes them
• enables them to be themselves
•  understands them
• encourages questioning, self-knowledge, and self-expression
• helps them not just to manage, but to thrive, to discover and pursue their passions, and to develop as individuals and members of a community.

To do this, we are evaluating diversity in our professional, curricular and co-curricular life, exploring how to attract pupils and staff from all backgrounds to work and learn at Highgate and providing opportunities to share our own experiences as well as learning from alternative perspectives. Our work on inclusion at Highgate involves pupils, staff, alumni, parents and carers.

Award-winning success

Founded over 450 years ago in 1565 by Sir Roger Cholmeley, Highgate is one of the UK’s leading co-educational independent schools for pupils aged 4-18. There are currently in the region of 1,850 pupils split across our Pre-Preparatory School, Junior School and Senior School sites, in conjunction with approximately 600 teaching and support staff. We are proud to be able to claim some of the top academic results across the UK, as well as titles of Independent School of the Year 2019 and Independent School of the Year for Social Mobility 2019. Highgate has recently been named the Sunday Times London Independent School of the Decade by Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide. “Ranking in the top 25 independent schools in the UK for its results in the examination hall, Highgate achieves well for its children. But it also makes a difference for many more children beyond its own gates.” Alistair McCall, The Sunday Times.