Vice Principal

Heanor is a small town, situated on the edge of the Peak District National Park and the Derwent Valley World Heritage site within easy reach of Derby, Nottingham and the M1. The school is located in the south-west of the town and its catchment area includes most of Heanor and nearby Loscoe, along with the rural parishes of Smalley, Shipley, Horsley Woodhouse and Morley. The school is popular, with a number of our students coming from outside the catchment area.

At Heanor Gate Spencer Academy, we are very proud of our strong reputation in the community. We will endeavour to continually improve in all aspects of the education we provide and become an outstanding school that everyone can be proud of. Our new school ethos of ‘Aspire, Learn and Achieve’ will permeate throughout everything we do and is a shared vision that every member of the school community can buy into. We will insist on the very highest standards for all of the students in our care.

Our aims for the school are to DEVELOP ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL and to CREATE A CULTURE OF ASPIRATION. This is what we all firmly believe in and strive to achieve at all times.

Heanor Gate Spencer Academy has a genuinely comprehensive intake. The eclectic mix of backgrounds makes for a lively, friendly and engaging atmosphere. Parents, visitors, supply teachers and student teachers regularly comment on the calm, purposeful and welcoming environment. Staff and students enjoy working here and as a consequence low staff turnover and a low permanent exclusion rate are defining features of the school.

Teaching and learning is fundamental to our success. We aim to offer the highest quality opportunities for teaching and learning and to develop our staff as outstanding practitioners. We have a clear structure to support teaching and learning in school and robust systems of monitoring and reviewing the success of each curriculum team.

As one of the first converter Academies in the country, a Leading Edge and a co-founder of Challenge Partners we are at the forefront of innovation, individualised learning and teaching excellence. Our designations as an approved Academy Sponsor, National Support School, Teaching School and licensee of the National College’s leadership development programmes reflects the extent of our contribution to system-wide improvement and builds on our excellent reputation for the training and development of teachers and leaders.

A key component of our everyday work is, of course, ensuring that high quality learning is experienced every day within the school; by every student, in every subject and in every lesson. Alongside this we recognise that all students have a range of social, emotional and personal needs that may require support. To this end, Heanor Gate School also gives great weight to the importance of an effective induction programme and on-going guidance for each student in order to try to ensure that each young person is both happy and successful with an Achievement team and tutors that will challenge and support every student to reach their potential.

We value our staff as an essential part of our success and are committed therefore to providing outstanding opportunities for staff development, not only through high quality Inset days, but also within curriculum and pastoral teams and through the Teaching and Learning Coaching Team. All middle and senior leaders are offered the opportunity to take part in NCSL initiatives. There is a dedicated programme of support and continuing professional development for NQTs. In addition, we work in partnership with a number of local universities for Initial Teacher Training and are committed to supporting these beginning teachers in their career.

The success of any school is of course dependent on the contribution made by everyone connected with the school.  We are very lucky to have staff who are hard working, committed and willing to go that extra mile, parents who are very supportive and work with the school to ensure their children strive to achieve their best, governors who have the best interests of the school at heart and are actively involved with the school and students who are proud of the school. All of these are a major factor in the school’s success.

We are looking to appoint a talented, committed and hard-working individual who will make a difference to the lives of young people. You will be expected to get involved in all aspects of school life and establish yourself as a valued colleague in the school community.  If you are up to the challenge then we look forward to receiving your application.