Head of Music

Full-time, permanent, non-residential position for September 2024 or January 2025.

The Music department at More House School transforms the lives of very many of our pupils. Young boys who arrive at our School with very little self-esteem experience exceptional opportunities, discovering their hidden natural aptitudes across all musical genres, empowering their confidence and self-belief.

We seek an inspirational Head of Music to deliver transformative experiences for our pupils. Likely to hold particular experience and interests in jazz, musical theatre and music technology, our new Head of Music will be innovative in supporting children, who find learning difficult, to find their musical strengths, and will complement the skills of the existing departmental staff team.

A beacon of best-practice in aspiration for children and young people with literacy and language-related learning weaknesses, and with excellent facilities, the More House Music department has performed on various international tours and local stages, boasting a large number of ensembles including an acclaimed jazz band, brass ensemble, concert band, chapel choir, junior band, woodwind group and senior choir. Class music is taught at all ages, including through our Junior Band Scheme (years Four to Six), GCSE and A’ Level Music. There is frequent collaboration with the Drama department to stage fantastic musical theatre productions, which have resulted in performances at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Our new Head of Music will be an experienced teacher, who may hold Qualified Teacher Status or may be an ambitious graduate seeking QTS.

About the department:

Our Music department is situated in the spacious Bradbury Music School. The department has been significantly developed and enhanced over the past 20 years, and the curriculum and courses offered too. The Bradbury Music school comprises a band-rehearsal room, dedicated classroom, Music I.T. suite, chamber-concert hall, studio and six practice rooms including an external purpose-built drum studio. The resources in the Bradbury Music School are excellent and include two grand pianos, as well as standard uprights and Clavinovas. The music classroom is equipped with a full set of keyboards, acoustic guitars and percussion. We have a full range of orchestral percussion and a steelpan orchestra. The Chapel of Christ the King houses a Wyvern Pastoral Chamber Organ, with which the Chapel Choir rehearse and perform weekly.

Music lessons are delivered across the four key stages with KS2 pupils learning in an American Band environment; we have a full stock of concert band instruments that are loaned to the pupils in this age range. KS3 lessons are taught in the main classroom through various units including Keyboard Skills, Graphic Scores, Folk Music, Samba, Blues, Minimalism, and Music and Media. We offer the Eduqas GCSE Music and A’ Level courses at KS4 & 5. Extra-curricular activities and ensembles currently include Church Bellringing, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Dixieland Band, Choirs, Saxophone Ensemble, Handbell Club and Clarinet Ensemble.

The School affords its pupils ambitious experiences and in recent years, ensembles have performed in Cuba, New Orleans, Toronto, the Lake Garda region, Salzburg, and at G-Live in Guildford. In March 2024, the jazz band performed in New York. As members of the Independent Schools Association, our pupils access regional and national competitions.

It is an exciting and busy department, supported by a wealth of visiting instrumental teacher resource offering pupils a very wide breadth of opportunity to develop their musical curiosity and talent. The department has an excellent reputation both locally and further afield, sharing its expertise widely, and has pride in setting the highest standard in musical opportunities and successes for neurodiverse pupils.

 About this post:

At More House, Music is pivotal not just to the curriculum but also to the wider school. This is an extremely rare opportunity to work alongside our remarkable pupils and to lead the development of our Music curriculum, department and staff team in the years ahead. 

Our new Head of Music will be an exceptional teacher, inspiring pupils to feed their musical curiosities across the broadest range of genres and to engage in a rich array of musical activities. S/he will receive exceptional in-house specialist training, provided to all new More House School employees, to become expert in enabling our young people to excel musically, in spite of challenges associated with developmental language weakness and Specific Learning Difficulties, including attention deficit, weak Executive Function, high-functioning autism and Developmental Coordination Disorder.

They will lead a staff team comprising two full-time teachers, including the Head of Department, and one 0.8 full-time equivalent experienced teacher, plus a large team of self-employed peripatetic instrumental music teachers. Through their leadership, s/he will energise colleagues towards a shared vision for the department’s work, aligned with the school’s vision, mission and values.

The above list of duties is not exhaustive, and the post-holder may be required to perform such other duties as may be, from time to time, deemed necessary by the Headmaster. This is a non-residential post.

Full Job Description and Person Specification can be found: https://www.morehouseschool.co.uk/vacancies/teaching-and-therapeutic-staff-vacancies/head-of-music

Safeguarding:

This role is deemed to be one of working in regulated activity, meaning that the post-holder may expect to come into unsupervised contact with children and young people frequently in the discharge of their duties on-campus. As such, the expectations of conduct, required of all adults working at More House School, apply to this position, as does a full Safer-Recruitment vetting process of any appointee. A key responsibility of all adults working within the School is that of ensuring the effective safeguarding of all children and young people, through adherence to the School’s policies; full-training is given.

Closing date for applications:                   Friday 3rd May 2024

Interviews expected to be held on:        Tuesday 14th May 2024

Interested candidates are welcome to make an appointment to visit the school for an informal visit.

The School reserves the right to interview appropriate candidates in advance of the above-named dates, and to appoint. Interested candidates are therefore strongly urged to submit their application as soon as possible.

This post is subject to an Enhanced DBS clearance and the receipt of satisfactory references before a formal job offer is confirmed.

More House School is firmly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.