Music Assistant - Required for September 2022

Part Time (0.6 FTE), Term-Time Only

The role may also require additional duties outside of these hours, to be negotiated with the Head of Department. 

Do you have a passion for life and learning? If so, our inspirational teaching team at JAGS is looking for a colleague to join the Music department for a year. Your dynamic and creative approach will help encourage and champion today’s young musicians across Years 7 to 13 in this, one of the UK’s leading independent schools. 

With its distinctive heritage as the oldest independent girls’ school in London, James Allen’s Girls’ School, JAGS, provides a forward-thinking and contemporary education for over 1000 girls aged 4 to 18. A diverse and dynamic school community, JAGS is in an exciting new phase in its development and this post presents a great opportunity to work within a community without barriers to full participation. Your input will help to bring a bold educational vision to life for all pupils and colleagues as we work together to develop this already exceptional school in its next exciting chapter. 

Our school aims, both in and out of the classroom, are clear:  

• To celebrate our diverse and inclusive community    
• To champion social awareness and sustainability   
• To empower courage, creativity and compassion in each student   
• To inspire aspirational and authentic lifelong learners and leaders    
• To nurture respectful, resilient and kind individuals 

If this matches your educational vision, then this is the perfect time to join the Music department. Our five teacher musicians are supported by two further members of the team – a music coordinator and a music technician. Music thrives in the newly built Community Music Centre, which contains three rooms for class work and ensemble rehearsals, as well as two music technology suites. The jewel in the crown is the VWA – an auditorium named after Vaughan Williams who taught at JAGS in the early 1900s. At the heart of the main school building is the Holst Hall – after Gustav Holst who succeeded Vaughan Williams as music teacher at JAGS. Holst’s philosophy of making music accessible to everyone at the school remains the same today. There are about 35 visiting music teachers who support the instrumental/vocal development of the pupils, many of whom make music together in the orchestras and choirs which perform regularly in our own concert halls as well as in London venues such as St John’s Smith Square, Cadogan Hall, Southwark Cathedral and sometimes at the South Bank Centre.   

At KS4 and KS5 we follow the Edexcel specification in Music. Our GCSE and A-Level results are outstanding, as you would expect from this highly selective school. At JAGS, however, we believe there is so much more to education than simply exam results. The department believes strongly in enrichment and extension and in all our teaching we aim to build critical thinking, confidence, independence and a love of Music.  

The role of Music Assistant is perfectly suited to a qualified Music graduate who loves to share their passion for music utilising their musical expertise. The ability to play the piano proficiently would be desirable. The Music Assistant would support both curricular and extra-curricular activities within the department and has the potential to facilitate all areas of the day-to-day life of the Music Department. The hours of a music assistant would contain a degree of flexibility within the specified quota, with expectations being that a music assistant contributes to the life of the department inside and outside normal timetabled hours. This would require an organised approach, planning well in advance with the Director of Music as to which rehearsals and/or events need assistance. The role is designed to fit alongside a portfolio freelance career. The music calendar is planned a year in advance and is available on interview.  

Teamwork plays an important role within the Department: the staff love to enhance the experience of the students by sharing good practice, resources and ideas. We are looking for a well-qualified musician to join this exceptional department who shares our vision, is passionate about Music, and who will bring their own individuality to this warm and supportive team.     

In addition, any prospective candidate must show an active commitment to the values and expectations of our school community and to the welfare of the pupils within it. The enthusiasm to assist in a strong co-curriculum is an important quality of all who work at JAGS.   

We welcome applications from all parts of the community and know that our school is strengthened when staff and pupils feel a true sense of belonging. To enable us to make any reasonable adjustments, please let us know when you submit your application whether you have any special requirements. 

We can offer you:   

• The opportunity to join our outstanding school where public examination results consistently place JAGS amongst the leading schools in the UK  
• A community of considerate, creative and compassionate students and staff  
• A highly diverse and inclusive school community, committed to our bursary provision  
• An inspiring and enthusiastic team of colleagues across the teaching and support staff  
• Excellent facilities, including the latest resources to support learning  
• Membership of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme  
• Wide-ranging benefit package including lunch, gym membership, free access to the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the cycle to work scheme  

What you can offer us:   

• Excellent subject knowledge and a passion for Music  
• The ability to inspire love of Music in young people  
• A talent for motivating and enthusing young learners to achieve their best  
• Kindness, open-mindedness and a sense of humour  
• Intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm and a personal ethos of lifelong learning   
• Resilience and optimism; someone who is willing to go the extra mile in the busy life of the school  
• Team-working abilities and a keenness to enable all colleagues to contribute ideas and be part of positive change  
• Commitment to the well-being and safeguarding of all students and staff   
• Commitment to diversity, inclusion and anti-racism in the school community 

We welcome applications from both newly qualified and experienced teachers.

Interviews: Friday 8 July 2022

Applications will be reviewed daily and interviews may occur at any stage after applications are received so we invite interested candidates to apply as soon as possible. 

JAGS is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. 

Reg charity No 1124853