Early Years Practitioner

About RGS Dodderhill

Introduction - RGS Dodderhill is one of the leading independent girls’ day senior schools in the West Midlands. The School was founded in 1945 as the Senior Girls' School of Whitford Hall, a well-established Prep School located in Bromsgrove. In April 2019, Dodderhill Independent Girls School merged with RGS Worcester and became known as RGS Dodderhill.

Our School - RGS Dodderhill is an outstanding private School located in the town of Droitwich Spa. Offering nursery and Prep-School education for boys and girls aged 2 to 11 and a Senior School for girls only aged 11 to 16. Part of the RGS Worcester Family of Schools, we maintain an exclusive small school environment that allows pupils to grow up at their own pace whilst receiving a first class education from our highly qualified and dedicated staff. The small class sizes allow staff to get to know every child inside and out as well as ensuring that every child’s needs are catered for. Across the RGS Worcester Family of Schools we share a mission to inspire high academic standards and promote co-curricular opportunities. RGS Dodderhill is a very happy school for both pupils and staff members. Traditional values and manners co-exist with a forward thinking school that embraces the best of modern technology and teaching to ensure that when our girls leave us, they are outstanding young women, fully equipped for the changes of the 21st Century.

Our Vision - Educating pupils for future success.

Our Mission - To provide an environment that allows our pupils to develop a love of learning and facilitate their development into confident young women.

Our Staff – RGS Dodderhill is proud of its high academic standards, its pastoral care, and the wealth of co-curricular opportunities the School provides. Key to this success are the staff that work here. We employ a wide range of staff in addition to our well-qualified and experienced Teachers, Estates, Finance, IT, Human Resources, Specialist Technicians, Early Years Practitioners and many others across the RGS Worcester Family of Schools.

Teaching Staff at RGS Dodderhill come from a broad range of educational routes, some having worked in other professions before qualifying to be a Teacher. Every year we host PGCE students from local Universities. We expect all applicants to have a good degree in their subject specialism. However, a teaching qualification, whilst desirable, is not essential; we can and do provide full support for those who wish to become qualified after appointment. We are deeply committed to the professional development of our staff. Our staff who teach here will have a love of their subject and the ability to inspire and challenge and stretch able pupils to reach their potential. Our Teachers enjoy making an active contribution to co-curricular activities, both for the reward of the activity itself and because of the different dimension it gives to their relationship with their pupils.

RGSW is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness. We are able to grow and learn better together with diverse staff. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression and talent that our staff invest in their work represents not only part of our culture, but our reputation and RGSW’s achievements as well. In recruiting for staff, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your languages spoken, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, transgender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion and beliefs. We also want you to achieve your absolute best during the recruitment process. Please let us know of any changes we can make at any point that will help support you in completing an application.

Benefits - We offer challenging and stimulating career opportunities at RGS Dodderhill and we would be delighted to hear from you if you would like to join our team. Alongside a wonderful working environment all RGS staff benefit from the following excellent staff benefits:

Professional Reward and Development

We recognise the expertise of our staff and aim to create an inspiring environment in which you can work to your full potential and develop your career.

What we offer:

· Competitive salary with additional allowances for extra responsibilities

· Contributions to professional training costs where there is a benefit to the School and many opportunities for continued professional development projects

· The opportunity to take part in our bespoke Teachers ‘Middle Leadership Programme’ for sustained long term development

· Personal Development and recognition through our annual appraisal scheme

· Full commitment to the induction and training of ECT’s, providing excellent support from our in-house Professional Development Mentor

· Comprehensive INSET programmes, delivering high quality seminars, shared good practice and insights from external speakers

· As one of only a few Apple Distinguished Schools in the Midlands, the opportunity to take part in becoming an ‘Apple Teacher’. More details here: https://www.apple.com/uk/education/apple-teacher/

· Well-resourced departments

· Automatic enrolment into the Schools Pension Schemes

· For Teachers you will have the opportunity to become a certified Showbie Educator

Rewards and Perks

To make everyday life just that bit easier, we are continually developing the variety of rewards, discounts and perks we can offer our staff.

What we offer:

· Fee remission for staff of children who satisfy the admissions criteria (proportionately reduced for part time staff)

· Access to your own laptop and iPad

· Cycle Scheme for all staff

· Free refreshments and lunches when the School is operational provided by our excellent Catering team from Holroyd Howe

· Private healthcare with the option to add a spouse or dependant at preferential rates

· Discounted membership to Les Mills on Demand Classes for all the family

Health and Wellbeing

Your health and wellbeing is important to us and we encourage our staff to make use of the services offered to help you live and work healthily and happily.

What we offer:

· Family friendly policies including flexible working, enhanced maternity and paternity pay.

· Two paid ‘Family Days’ to help staff cope with life’s emergencies

· Free use of the School’s Gym (based at RGSW) at agreed times following an induction with a qualified member of staff

· Free access to our Employee Assistance Programme with Health Assured 24/7, which includes up to 6 free counselling sessions and caring and compassionate advice to help staff cope with a range of life challenges such as bereavement, debt and consumer issues.

· Free access to Health Assured’s Wellbeing app to support with health goals

· Ad-hoc wellbeing sessions delivered by our own staff such as yoga and meditation

Community and Environment

This is a stimulating, welcoming community where colleagues build supportive professional relationships and friendships

What we offer:

· A supportive network of experienced Heads, Deputies and Senior Leadership Teams

· Highly skilled and academic staff who, together are integral to the successful running of the School

· As part of the staff community there are opportunities to take part in enjoyable social events, sports activities and more

· By joining a family of four Schools, the opportunity to work across our School sites and work collaboratively with others, enhancing the development for both you and our pupils

·A beautiful and tranquil setting on the out-skirts of Droitwich Spa, RGS Dodderhill  combines the existing well-maintained Georgian building with state-of-the-art facilities. There have been significant additions to the school, including  the modern Goodman building and the David Street Sports Hall, named after the previous Chair of the Governors in 1999.  The old gym was converted to a performing arts centre, The Atrium, in 2013.  Creative arts continue to flourish and our choirs are famous for their high standards.

· Many parts of our beautiful and flexible School sites are available to hire at a discounted rate to staff

· Friendly and supportive staff who work together and share resources and ideas

School Aims - The aims of the School are to reach a high level of academic achievement, to be a caring and civilised society within a well-disciplined environment and, by placing emphasis on a wide range of sporting, cultural and other activities, to extend pupils in as many ways as possible.  Overall, the aim is to offer a balanced and challenging education, which will stand pupils in good stead in their future careers and within the community at large. Our School film "It's a feeling...” (see below) gives a flavour of our pupil-centred approach.

The Governors of RGSW are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. Safeguarding forms part of the interview process.