Teacher of English

We are pleased to provide the following information for candidates interested in applying for a post at Baines School.  It is only a snapshot of our school and the area it serves, but we hope that there is enough information here and on website baines.lancs.sch.uk to encourage you to apply.

Baines School has a long and proud heritage. In 2017, it celebrated its 300th anniversary. The school is also unique in the North West in holding its voluntary-aided, non-denominational status. It is proudly comprehensive in nature and renowned in the locality for the support it offers to the social and personal development of its young people at all stages of their school career. Baines is rooted in the local community but owing to its close geographical proximity to Blackpool Authority, the intake each year is wide-ranging and diverse in nature, although ability upon intake is high.

The third ‘Requires Improvement’ judgement from the 2019 Ofsted inspection should not deter applicants. There are challenges facing the school but we have a clear drive to rapidly raise standards. We are working hard to strengthen the typicality of high quality teaching and learning that leads to consistent pupil progress and several active partnerships that have been supporting this drive.

We are proud of the many successes of our young people and of the range of opportunities that our dedicated teaching and associate staff offer them. The work of our governors and of the Former Pupil Association provides additional support and funding for the direct benefit of the pupils. They actively encourage the development of wider activities which further contribute to the enrichment and success in the lives of our young people whilst they are with us and beyond.

The area served by the school

Poulton-le-Fylde is an attractive, small town situated close to Blackpool and the Fylde coast. We are well connected to the rest of the country by an excellent network of motorways and roads, with large centres such as Manchester and Liverpool being just over one hour away. The town has its own railway station, with regular services to Preston and the West Coast Main Line. The school is situated in a pleasant residential area and there is an extensive building plan for new houses in the area.

The school site

We have a spacious site with a number of different buildings ranging from the very oldest which was built 300 years ago, to the most recent additions around twenty years ago. Most recently, the science laboratories and English rooms have undergone major refurbishment and a new Independent Learning Centre and suite of classrooms were completed in 2011. It is an attractive campus with wide corridors, it does not feel cramped and we are surrounded by playing fields, a wooded area and open land.

Our Students

We are an 11-16 school (having previously been an 11-18 school). Students start school in Year 7 with overall levels of attainment that are above the national average.

Our students have a positive attitude to school. The vast majority attend regularly, enjoy lessons and the wide range of other activities provided. In and around school there are high standards of the pupils’ behaviour and politeness. The students speak warmly of the support they receive at Baines and the great majority are confident, polite and friendly young people. They are demanding in that they expect and want to do well, and come to the school with high expectations supported by their parents/carers. We are an over-subscribed school. Our older students are role models who are thoroughly and actively engaged in the work of the school, the quality of what we do and contribute to supporting us in our aim of continual improvement.

The young people of Baines School undertake significant work for charities and there is a varied offer of enrichment activities in which all staff and pupils are actively encouraged to take part. We are the largest school contributor to the Teenage Cancer Trust in the country (over £100,000 so far) and hold the national record for the largest team entry in the Race for Life.

Our skilled and dedicated support staff represent a further strength within the school. These colleagues offer wide-ranging and expert support to some of our most vulnerable young people and they actively engage in the full spectrum of school life both in the classroom and beyond.

We look forward to hearing from you

Clare Doherty

Headteacher