Teacher of Dance

Closing Date: 20th January 2020 12.00 pm

Start Date:  April 2020 

Salary: MPS possible TLR for teacher in charge

We became Atlantic Academy in September 2017, joining Aspirations Academies Trust.  We are quite unique in that we are a truly ‘all through’ Academy.  At Atlantic we are passionate about excellence in all aspects of a child’s life, giving students the very best start possible. We have high aspirations and believe students should:  Believe in themselves, Be actively engaged in their learning, See the connection in what they want to become and what they are doing,  Have disruption free learning, Have access to a challenging academic curriculum offer, Not dwell on barriers but seek solutions.

Our successes,  We have witnessed a remarkable turnaround in all aspects of the Academy with our high expectations having immediately raised outcomes.  The calm and purposeful atmosphere supports all aspects of learning, and the mantra of Work Hard, Be Kind permeates throughout the buildings and into the community. The success and recognition has created growing numbers on roll, and next year we expect both Year 7 and 8  to be at capacity. 

In 2018, after one year as an Academy:

Top 13 most improved (based on P8) Secondary schools in the country, 2nd most improved (based on P8) Secondary school in Dorset, Best performing school in Weymouth and Portland, Top 1 % of Primary schools (based on combined KS2) in Dorset, Top 8% nationally for Reading, Most progress, and top performing in reading in all Weymouth and Portland schools, 3rd highest performing school in Dorset, Moderated progress in Writing, TOP performing school in Weymouth and Portland, 3rd  in whole of Dorset. Top 10% of schools nationally, Top 20% of schools nationally for Maths - Primary

In 2019 we continued on journey with the successes we had made and further improved our P8 outcomes for our  students  at KS4 and KS2. Placing us as one of the best secondary schools not just in Weymouth and Portland but  in Dorset.

‘There is now an air of calm, order and discipline, which was so badly needed, my congratulations for instilling it’ Richard Drax MP.  ‘Just been on an action tour of Atlantic Academy wow, what a difference to this time last year! Feeling positive.’ Parent. ‘The happiness of my children and the progress they are all making is brilliant. This is purely down to excellent teachers who bring out the best in them as little individuals.’ Secondary Parent.  ‘I felt the students growing sense of ambition as I toured the school. The work that you and your staff are doing to raise aspirations and expectations of behaviour are obviously having affect’ Bradley Simmons HMI, Regional Director South West

Work life balance – not burnout,  We believe in creating a lifelong career and supporting teachers to achieve this and their own personal ambitions. For example:

Feedback policy NOT marking policy, allowing for whole class feedback, using a visualiser. Saving hours from NOT having to write personalised comments in every exercise book

Collaborative planning, centralised shared units of work – carved out planning time 

No written end of year reports – data report 3 times per year

Homework is standardised to Knowledge Organiser – Practice books, and reading. Removing any marking expectations and detentions  set are run centrally

The expectation of disruption free learning, high SLT visibility ALL day, focus on students allows staff to teach without low level disruption

Visualiser in every classroom – allowing for booklets, feedback, student work etc to be projected – as the teacher decides

Full equipment and perfect uniform checked every morning,

Very clear and transparent sanctions, allowing staff to focus on what really matters – the classroom

No graded lessons, no high stakes observations. We believe in a coaching approach and ‘leverage leadership’ approach

No work emails in the evening, weekends, or holidays

Teaching and Learning,  We have weekly, short, CPD sessions, focussing on classroom excellence. Heavily influenced by Doug Lemov’s – Teach like a champion, as well as Making Every Lesson Count, amongst many other blogs and research pieces.  We believe the curriculum should include:  A. Development of knowledge: Progress in knowing more and remembering more. The future requires the acquisition and application of a wide range of knowledge.  B. The ability to apply knowledge: Progress in knowledge being applied in more challenging, relevant and more engaging ways.  C. The acquisition of 21st century skills to translate knowledge into actions for success.

Atlantic Academy staff passionately believe in bringing out the best in everyone. Therefore, outstanding teaching and learning is fundamental to all that we do and  we have researched what our students need in order to make outstanding progress and have adopted an internationally recognised approach to delivering outstanding lessons, based on academic research. This research in practice can be seen at a macro and micro level in planning and delivery of lessons. Spaced Practice, Retrieval, Interleaving, Dual Coding, Concrete examples, Elaboration.   If you believe that this sounds like the school you would thrive in, are ambitious for all students, then here is information specifically about the vacancy:

Teacher of Dance 

You will be part of a successful Performing Arts team and will deliver Dance lessons for all students in year R-11. The ability to teach some PE or a 2nd subject would be an advantage. The department is lead by a member of SLT and has been transformed in a very short period of time.   As part of this team you will be responsible for ensuring the educational success of the Dance department within the overall framework of the Aspirations Academies strategic plan as well as the individual Atlantic Academy strategic plan. The Teacher of Dance is responsible for contributing to the effective day to day operation of the Performing Arts department and delivery of Dance to year R- 11. The Teacher of Dance will be fully supported by the subject Co ordinator for Performing Arts, and the Director of Faculty in every aspect of the subject. The Teacher of Dance should support the coordinator of Performing Arts to create a culture of constant improvement and be committed to the highest achievement for all in every area of the academy's work.  The department is fully staffed, with excellent and supportive team members. You will have access to a new Dance studio (2016)  as your dedicated space , equipped with a Clever Touch board, and all needed practical resources.  The Teacher of Dance is expected to participate in the weekly CPD programme offered by the academy, as seek external CPD opportunities that will support the development of the Dance department.  Our students have a genuine love of Performing Arts and Dance as reflected in our results.  In KS1- 3 Dance forms part of the core Sport curriculum, as such you will work with the sport department to ensure delivery of Sport and Dance. In Key stage 4 we offer a vocational qualification in Performing Arts (Dance pathway). The Teacher of Dance is expected to actively participate in promoting a healthy lifestyle and healthy living. 

How to Apply:

Please complete the application form via TES. We very much look forward to hearing from you.

For further information please contact Tasha Board, Associate Assistant Principal tboard@atlantic-aspirations.org  or 01305 820262