Head of Primary

Job reference: 005230

Contract Type: Full Time, Fixed Term, 2 years

THE ROLE:

The British School of Guangzhou is looking for a highly qualified and experienced Head of Primary to lead the strategic development of our Primary School from August 2019. The British School of Guangzhou enjoys an enviable reputation as a school where children achieve excellent academic results and have a great time doing it. The successful candidate will need to be a leader who can build on our successes. They will also help us to achieve our goal of becoming an international school with a reputation for excellence across the China region. Reporting to the Principal and Vice Principal, you will oversee a Primary School of over 850 students, from 50+ countries, with over 40 teachers from Y1-Y6. The successful candidate will be someone with excellent people skills who is able to inspire and lead our team of dedicated professionals and demonstrate the drive and commitment to improve a very good school. In addition you will be a key member of the school’s leadership team and will need to be able to work closely with your colleagues within SLT to support the overall strategic direction of the school. In 2020-21 we will open an additional, purpose built Primary and EYFS site, which will effectively divide Primary numbers between two schools. This will present a very specific challenge and the successful candidate will be fully involved in planning for this challenge.

THE PERSON:

Will need to hold a good degree, or better, with a minimum of 4 years leadership experience, in the UK or a reputable British Curriculum International School. Will be an excellent communicator, who gets on well with colleagues, students, parents, technology and change. Amongst other things, you will need to be dedicated to creating a love of learning amongst the students and understand the importance of enjoyment in the education process. You will need to be well organised; have a good sense of humour and an understanding of the expectations of high achieving international parents. While we are keen to attract applicants with high expectations, they will also need to have a flexible nature and an understanding that things do not always go to plan within China. If you are not able to deal with frustrations in a culturally sensitive manner this is not the post for you.

In fulfilling the requirements of the post, you will demonstrate essential professional characteristics, and in particular will:

• Actively promote a love of learning as stated in our mission;
• Demonstrate that we are personally, socially and academically ambitious for all our students;
• Inspire trust and confidence in students, parents and colleagues;
• Be passionate about children and their education;
• Be driven to help improve an already high achieving school;
• Clearly understand the needs of students who are learning English as a second or third language;
• Have the ability to build team commitment;
• Be able to engage and motivate students;
• Be an innovative and creative thinker;
• Have proven experience of using assessment to improve the quality of students' learning;
• Demonstrate an ability to lead the strategic development of the Primary School;
• Act as a role model in promoting our core values of respect, integrity, responsibility and commitment;
• Be willing to go above and beyond to help our school reach its full potential.

Some key tasks and responsibilities of the post will include:

• Raising our profile within the wider school community by organising high quality school events;
• Marketing the school through the quality of Primary performances and events;
• Promoting an extra-curricular or enhanced curriculum of high quality;
• Overseeing a high quality programme of residential visits for students from Y3-Y6;
• Promoting NAE collaborations with the Juilliard School, MIT, Kings College London and UNICEF;
• Ensuring Primary assemblies meet high expectations and help to foster parent advocates;
• Promoting opportunities for Primary student performance;
• Monitoring and intervening to ensure student progress is in line with the school’s expectations;
• Ensuring that teaching and learning within your school encourages engagement and enquiry;
• Ensuring that Primary tracking, monitoring, assessment and reporting support student learning and meet the needs of an Asian parental community;
• Promote staff involvement in the Primary Instrumental Programme;
• Demonstrate a commitment to professional development through NAU;
• Actively promote the opportunities that are available through Global Campus;
• Ensure that all stakeholders are fully aware of the benefits of being an NAE school;
• Other professional requirements in line with the Job Description.

THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF GUANGZHOU

The British School of Guangzhou offers high quality education in an international setting, comparable to the best schools in the UK. The school provides a superb learning environment through the recruitment of highly qualified, technologically literate teachers, who are dedicated to providing our highly motivated students with the very best education. Last year over 50% of our iGCSE and A Level grades were A*-A, an impressive achievement which provides us with a challenging target for the future. Our established choirs are in demand to sing at venues across Guangzhou. Students from Year 1 to Year 6 benefit from instrumental tuition and learn a range of instruments within the curriculum. Students from Year 3 upwards travel widely within China as part of our established residential trips programme. Our Years 4-6 students benefit from our 1-to-1 iPad initiative and our Primary teachers need to be adept at using technology to promote teaching and learning. Our Primary sports teams compete across the Pearl River Delta, within NAE in our regional games and across Asia, when competing against other FOBISIA schools.

The Southlake Campus, a 20-minute drive north of the city centre, enjoys picturesque views over Nanhu Lake and a golf course. All classrooms are attractively furnished, air-conditioned and equipped with WiFi and an interactive whiteboard. The school has impressive resources and facilities include music rooms, a well-equipped fitness room, guided reading rooms, IT zones, a dance studio, libraries, theatre and several coffee shops for staff and parents. Outdoor facilities include age-specific football pitches, a swimming pool, basketball courts and an adventure playground. In August 2018, we opened a purpose-built Year 1 building to cope with unprecedented demand for places. In August 2020, we will open an additional Primary and EYFS school, for up to 800 students, which will allow us to refurbish much of our current site to meet the growing number of Secondary Students. To find out more about our school you are encouraged to visit our website at www.bsg.org.cn

NORD ANGLIA EDUCATION

Nord Anglia Education is the world’s leading premium schools organisation. We are a global family of 56 international schools, providing outstanding education to over 51,000 students in China, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Americas. The successful candidate will benefit from the career and development opportunities from being part of the world’s leading premium schools organisation. Nord Anglia University unites our team through a vibrant online forum, which harnesses the collective expertise of their peers in an exchange of knowledge, ideas and best practice. Extensive online and face-to-face CPD is provided through Nord Anglia University to ensure that our team don’t just maintain their skills and expertise, they develop at the cutting edge of educational thinking. There has never been a better time to join the Nord Anglia Education group; to find out more visit www.nordangliaeducation.com

BENEFITS

In return for your passion to promote a quality education you will enjoy a competitive management salary and benefits in line with the status of this position, spacious accommodation, an annual flight allowance, a relocation allowance, international healthcare, an end of contract gratuity bonus and free school places for up to two children, with a third place available at a subsidised rate. It is important to note that all children will be subject to the school’s admissions process and will need to meet our entry requirements. We expect applicants to fully disclose any SEN needs or results of educational assessments for consideration, as part of the interview process. You will also have the opportunity to live in and work in one of China’s most vibrant and dynamic cities, Guangzhou (formerly Canton) is a city of over 14 million residents and is an historically important city and the gateway to the Pearl River Delta, potentially the most important economic zone in China.

The cost of living in Guangzhou remains comparatively low and, as a result, the majority of our expatriate staff save over 50% of their salary and still travel to exotic destinations throughout Asia. We want teachers to feel valued and well rewarded for their efforts. However if your motivation in applying for a position is simply financial then this is not the school for you. If, however, you are motivated by a desire to make a difference to the lives of our students then we look forward to receiving your application and discussing this in detail during your interview.

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

To Apply: Applications should be made online, and should contain an application letter and full CV (including photograph, phone number, Skype address and e-mail contact details of 3 referees – one of whom is your current Head Teacher/Principal).

The closing date for application is 30th November 2018

Initial interviews are to be conducted by Skype and shortlisted candidates invited to a final interview scheduled to take place in Guangzhou in January at a date to be confirmed.
Applicants will also be encouraged to attend the Nord Anglia recruitment event in London w/b 21st January 2019 to gain an insight into Nord Anglia Education.

Nord Anglia Education use an online recruitment system to track applications and help us to make a fair and balanced assessment of your suitability against other candidates.
To register your details go to www.jobtrain.co.uk/nordanglia and follow the online instructions to record your interest for specific jobs within Guangzhou.

The recruitment of high quality candidates is critical to the development of our school and a number of people will be involved in reviewing your application. We also understand how difficult it is to be left waiting and will do our utmost to review all applications by the closing date for the vacancy. Soon after the closing date we guarantee that we will contact all applicants to give them an update with regards their application. Courtesy is very important to our school, and we go to great lengths to update all applicants on the situation with regards their application.

At Nord Anglia Education we are committed to providing a world class, safe, happy environment in which children and young people are able to thrive and learn. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our pupils irrespective of race, ability, religion, gender or culture.

All applicants (having regular unsupervised contact with children) are subject to appropriate national and international vetting procedures including satisfactory criminal record checks from both Country of residence/birth and any Country of residence during the last 10 years.