Visiting Music Teacher - Piano

Job Description:

We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and experienced Visiting Music Teacher to join our thriving Music Department for the upcoming session. The successful candidate is expected to deliver progressive programmes of study tailored to the individual pupils’ needs, whilst encouraging participation in the department’s extensive extra-curricular programme in both Junior and Senior Schools. An interest in teaching pupils from P4 to S6 would be an advantage, as well as the ability to teach a wide range of styles from traditional repertoire through to musical theatre is essential.

There are several sizable music events in the Heriot’s calendar in which the VMT’s play a pivotal role: two concerts a year in the Usher Hall, one at Christmas for predominantly Senior School pupils and one with only Junior School performers in May. Major concerts also take place in the Queen’s Hall, St Cuthbert’s Parish Church and St Giles’ Cathedral. Other events in school include a Junior School Music Festival, Senior House Music Competition, as well as many other internal and external events throughout the year. The school presents pupils for both ABRSM and Trinity exams, entry for either board being at the discretion of the VMT. In addition to “Grade” exams, VMT’s also play an important part in preparing pupils for the Performing element of SQA exams.

Main Responsibilities

Please see full job description attached

The Ideal Candidate

Hours of Work: The VMT is expected to deliver a minimum of 30 lessons per pupil, per session during term-time. Lessons take place on the school campus between 7.30am and 4.00pm, and should each last 30 minutes. VMTs are free to determine their own hours of work and availability, subject to the availability of teaching spaces.

Additional Information

Heriot’s is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment.

This post is considered Regulated Work with Vulnerable Children and/or Protected Adults, under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 and the successful candidates will be required to obtain membership of the PVG scheme.

Please note that parking is not available on our campus

George Heriot’s Trust is an Equal Opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all sections of the community.

George Heriot’s School is governed by George Heriot’s Trust, Scottish Charity number SC011463

About the school/organisation

George Heriot’s School

It might be difficult to imagine a school you haven’t seen, situated in the shadows of Edinburgh Castle on a World Heritage site, echoing the Castle’s turreted structure in its striking main building, The Wark.

George Heriot’s School foundation stone was laid in 1628, thanks to the vision of early philanthropist, goldsmith and court jeweller George Heriot. George Heriot’s vision, inspired by what he had witnessed at Christ’s Hospital School, was to create a school for fatherless children. The school opened its doors in 1659 and expanded in the 1800’s to create a further 18 out-schools for the children of Edinburgh, educating many thousands of children before the advent of the 1872 Education Act, when schooling became managed by the state.

The school has survived Cromwell’s troops, two world wars and evolved in its nine-acre city centre site to become today the leading independent school in Scotland, as voted by The Sunday Times in 2021. Heriot’s is a modern and vibrant hive of co-educational learning, with 1,668 children from a ge 4- 18 filling its corridors, turrets and learning spaces to study the Scottish curriculum, learning to question, to respect rights, to develop confidence in their own voice and above all, leaving with a skill set to carve their place in the modern world.

Herioters today go on to become actors and writers, advocates and scientists, doctors, researchers, public servants and more, many continuing the legacy of its founder by supporting the school’s Foundation.

As Scotland’s oldest independent school, on the cusp of celebrating a 400-year anniversary, the school is a good example of widening access. Fees are kept comparatively low (approximately half the level of two other Edinburgh independent schools), with 31 children studying at the school on full bursaries and 61 children attending through the Foundation, set up by George Heriot to educate the fatherless bairns of Edinburgh. Any child who has lost a mother or father through! bereavement, and lives within a defined local area, is entitled to apply to study at George Heriot’s. Over the years, some 4,400 children have studies at Heriot’s through the Foundation. The school provides £1.3 million to bursarial support each year.

A selective school, the academic standards at Heriot’s are high . .. it is a school for children for whom academic success is important and as such, pupils are encouraged to try their hand at all that is on offer. The study of traditional SQA subjects at National, Higher and Advanced Higher level is complimented by specialist classes in less mainstream areas such as choreography, current affairs, surfing, robotics/AI, Lego, debating, creative writing, and Highland Dancing.

In the Nursery, the school has dedicated teachers, delivering high quality learning experiences to promote creativity, curiosity, independence and kindness. Weekly specialist lessons include Physical Education, Music, Outdoor Learning, Resilience, Mindfulness, Story Massage, Philosophy, Science and Technology. Philosophy is taught from Nursery to Primary 7 using the P4C method, with parents attending the school’s workshops to develop their own philosophical thinking. Heriot’s is the only school in Scotland to have achieved a Gold Award from the SAPERE organisation, which recognises the high standard of teaching and participation in this subject.

There are many advantages to teaching children Philosophy. It improves literacy and language skills, encourages children to develop articulacy and self-expression, nourishes concentration and thinking skills and invites young people to be effective in collaboration, group work and reasoning. The Learning Enhancement team delivers a programme which incorporates Philosophy, Resilience, Teambuilding and Mindfulness, setting up good habits for life! .

In Senior School, there is a choice of 34 examined subjects for pupils to study, from human biology to psychology, mandarin, politics, economics and graphic communication, to name a few.

Heriot’s has recently been awarded its third consecutive gold award for being a UNICEF Rights Respecting School. The rights of every child are central to school life, including promotion of rights respecting attitudes and language across year groups, from diversity, equality and inclusion lessons to pupil-led assemblies celebrating Diwali, Black History Month, Dyslexia awareness and more. Receiving the recent award from Independent School Magazine is a tremendous fillip for the school, according to Principal Gareth Warren: ‘’Third party recognition of what we do gives us encouragement that amongst 700 schools UK-wide, we are achieving something special. Today we look to the future to ensure the content of curriculum, the pupil experience we offer and the availability of a compelling extra curricular offer remain at the forefront of our agenda’’.