Head of Art

Welcome to our school which is part of the Embark Federation. We are proud to be part of a family of 19 schools across Derbyshire who believe that by working together as a team we can create schools that ‘stand out’ at the heart of their communities. Our trust has four core beliefs; Family, Integrity, Teamwork and Success, which are integral to everything we do.

We have high standards across our schools but want to ensure that the school experience for our children is a magical time. Our purpose is to enable everyone in our Embark family to be able to ‘Love Learning, Love Life.’

We are a successful, supportive and high achieving secondary school based in the heart of the Peak District with over 1,000 students on roll. Student numbers are rising; applications for Year 7 have risen by 25% over the last 5 years as more families want to send their children to us. As an 11-18 provider, we play a key part in providing the highest quality education and support for our students across a broad range of subjects at KS3, KS4 and KS5.

Our approach with the students involves acknowledging and rewarding positive behaviours and achievements whilst challenging and supporting students to be the best version of themselves. Our values, Ready, Respectful and Safe are instrumental in achieving our vision.

We have a clearly defined plan and commitment to improving learning and support for students. Our outcomes have shown significant improvement over several years as our developments to teaching and learning have taken hold.

Our principles for learning are focused on learning for the long term and developing deep understanding. We have developed a clear strategy that underpins what happens in our classrooms. Teachers who join our school will find well-resourced and planned schemes of learning. However, they are not prescriptive, we believe the professional in the classroom is the subject expert and the champion of the needs of the children in their classes. Staff wellbeing is of utmost importance to me, and we have adopted a number of approaches in order to support in this area of school life. For example, we support all our staff by providing additional non-contact time above that of most schools to allow them the chance to prepare and assess effectively.

I am keen to appoint subject specialists who are passionate and demonstrate true excitement for their subject. We want staff who are positive, energetic, enthusiastic and deeply committed to supporting our young people, and who are prepared to go that extra mile to contribute to our whole school improvement.

We want the best for our staff and young people, and we will not let it get more complicated than that.