Teacher of Music

This is a great opportunity to join a highly successful school as part of a friendly and very hard working department.  Established as a brand new school in 2002, we moved into our award-winning £30 million accommodation in 2005.  The school is located within easy reach of central London via the District Line and yet just minutes by car from the Essex countryside.

Last academic year JRCS achieved another set of outstanding outcomes at GCSE and A Level.  The school’s KS4 Progress 8 score is +0.45 which is significantly above national average.  This is a strong indication of the high quality of teaching and learning at the school.  Our Sixth Form provision is part of the Southern Consortium, working in partnership with four other local schools, to deliver a high quality Post-16 education for our students.  At KS5, the progress score was also positive with the average grade for A Levels a strong C+. 

We pride ourselves on being a truly inclusive school and this is actively underpinned by our motto ‘Success for All’.  Academic rigour runs alongside a commitment to extra-curricular activities and we offer our students a wide range of opportunities to pursue their studies both inside and outside the classroom.  Our extensive range of extra-curricular activities, together with trips to Rome, Berlin, France, Borneo, the WWI trenches in Ypres, skiing in the USA, and our highly regarded Duke of Edinburgh programme, is second to none and ensures all students get the chance to extend their academic, social and cultural experiences outside of the classroom.  New staff are encouraged to participate in trips.

The school’s most recent OFSTED report described the school as good with outstanding leadership and governance and outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural provision; this judgement was reinforced at our last Section 8 inspection in November 2017. 

The school prides itself on providing staff with the most appropriate and effective support to ensure that their professional development needs are fully met and that there is a high level of challenge in the opportunities they are offered.  Wednesday afternoons are devoted to CPD and the school has a very strong record of developing staff; nearly half of the Heads of Department and Heads of Year joined the school as NQTs, as did one member of the Senior Leadership Team.  Please visit the “join us as a member of staff” page of our award-winning website to learn more about what makes JRCS such a special place to work.

Music at JRCS

Jo Richardson has a vibrant, thriving and successful Music department, which endeavors to provide students with the best possible music educational experience. We are privileged to work with many outstanding musicians and provide many opportunities for our students to be involved in performances and events including community outreach projects.

Student participation in music throughout all Key Stages is strong and the school places an extremely important emphasis on music in the curriculum and in the wider life of the school. Both formal and informal concerts are a regular feature of school life.

The Music department is situated in a purpose built Music space on Beat Street. The facilities are fabulous; comprising three fully equipped teaching rooms each with 3 practice rooms. The department is extremely well resourced with a wide variety of electronic and acoustic instruments. The three classrooms are fully equipped with keyboards, sound systems, projectors and computers (all rooms with Macs running GarageBand), as well as a full range of tuned and un-tuned percussion instruments including a number of drum kits. There are an additional 4 practice rooms equipped with pianos and keyboards, a band room and a fully equipped recording studio.

In Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, Music is taught twice per fortnight to mixed-ability groups of 30 students.

In Key Stage 4 there are 24 students studying GCSE Music in Year 10 and 25 students studying the course in Year 11. The OCR specification is followed at KS4.

Performances are a regular occurrence at the school. There are two main concerts, a Winter Concert and Summer Music Night, which are always very popular with parents and staff. Other events include Instrumental Recital Evenings, Achievement Assemblies, and performances within the local community.

High quality induction, including a two week NQT school-based immersion programme in July, is available to all staff at JRCS as part of our strong commitment to continuing professional development.

JRCS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment The successful applicant will be required to apply for an enhanced DBS disclosure.

Closing date: Sunday 1st July 2018

Interviews: Friday 6th July 2018

Headteacher: Ges Smith

Patron: Rt Hon Baroness Betty Boothroyd

Castle Green, Gale St, Dagenham, Essex, RM9 4UN