Forest School Lead

Avanti Hall is a community (non-denominational) maintained school. Avanti Hall is an all through maintained school (4 -16) and is situated to the north of Exeter amidst a beautiful woodland area with easy access to the M5. Following inspections in October 2018, the school was placed under special measures. In response to the inspections, the school was re-brokered and transitioned to Avanti Schools Trust in November 2019. As a Trust we have moved with speed to begin the journey of improvement, appointed new principals, restructured staffing and introduced a dynamic new curriculum.  

We now wish to appoint an excellent forest school leader to join our successful, friendly and creative team who enjoy an excellent reputation both within and beyond the school. If you are an effective practitioner with the ability to inspire and motivate students, we would like to hear from you.

Avanti Hall is part the growing family of Avanti schools. The key responsibilities laid out here are those, which will be assumed by the successful candidate upon appointment.

Main Duties

• To plan, prepare and deliver a range of Forest School sessions

• To promote learning in the outdoor environment and the ethos of Forest schools and outdoor learning.

• To create and maintain an engaging, fun and supportive environment record children’s development and progress.

• To regularly check and maintain tools and other equipment.

• To ensure the health and safety of all participants, including writing and checking risk assessments for the sites, tools and activities used.

• To be responsible at all times for high standards of care and education of all

• To ensure effective communication with the principal, teachers, support staff and parents

• To regularly check and maintain tools and other equipment.

• To adhere to all relevant policies

The role is almost exclusively out of doors and will require working in unpredictable weather conditions.

Applying 

• Due to the nature of this role, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. In making your application, it is essential you disclose whether you have any pending charges, convictions, bind-overs or cautions and, if so, for which offences. This post will be exempt from the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Therefore, applicants are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which for other purposes are ‘spent’ under the provision of the Act, and, in the event of the employment being taken up; any failure to disclose such convictions will result in dismissal or disciplinary action. The fact that a pending charge, conviction, bind-over or caution has been recorded against you will not necessarily debar you from consideration for this appointment.

• Avanti Schools Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and requires all staff, governors and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are required to have an Enhanced DBS check unless internally appointed and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will also be completed. 

• We want to make sure we are attracting the widest possible range of people to Avanti Schools Trust and ensure that they are accepted, understood and treated equally when they work here. This means we will work hard to understand that each employee is unique and ensuring that individuals or groups are not treated differently or less favourably on the basis of specific characteristics. 

• Such characteristics include (but are not limited to) age, disability, gender including transgender, race, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, and how the school supports pregnant women and new parents.

This is a rolling advert and applications will be reviewed weekly.

• Applications should be by completion of the Avanti Schools Trust application form and submission of a covering statement of no more than 2 sides of A4 setting out how you meet the essential criteria of the role. The successful candidate will be required to sign the application declaration and GDPR declaration on appointment. Any appointment subsequently made will be subject to the receipt of satisfactory references and other pre-employment checks.