Teacher of English (Fixed Term Maternity Cover)
Monk's Walk School, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, AL8 7NLThis job expired on 19 October 2021 – see similar jobs
Job start date
1 January 2022
Closing date
19 October 2021 at 12pm (midday)
Date listed
5 October 2021
Job details
Job role
- Teacher
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Subject
- English
Working pattern
- Full time, part time
Contract type
- Fixed term - 1 year fixed term maternity cover
Full-time equivalent salary
- Teachers' Pay Scale
Teacher of English (Fixed Term Maternity Cover) job summary
Teacher of English
Full-time, fixed-term maternity leave cover January 2022 to December 2022
Teachers’ Pay Scale
Monk’s Walk is a high performing, oversubscribed school seeking to appoint a Teacher of English to help raise standards even further. Outcomes in English are very strong and English and Media Studies are popular options at A Level.
More details about us can be found on our website and/or Facebook page (Walk School Official). The candidate information pack for the post is under the vacancies tab on our website and will give you full details about the school, the post and how to apply.
If you would like an informal conversation about the post or would like to visit us in advance of applying, please contact Matt Grinyer, Deputy Head, at Magriny@monkswalk.herts.sch.uk. Matt is the member of SLT with overall line management for English.
Applications should be returned to recruitment@monkswalk.herts.sch.uk by noon on Tuesday 19 October 2021.
It would be great to hear from you.
Monk’s Walk School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All shortlisted applicants will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check.
Commitment to safeguarding
Safeguarding at Monk’s Walk takes precedence over any other activity in the school. It’s vitally important to us that students feel safe in school so they can learn and thrive. As part of the recruitment process, we will ask about safeguarding students and obviously questions about candidates’ suitability to act as tutor. References will be sought and an enhanced criminal records check will be undertaken for this position.
Upload additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About Monk's Walk School
- School type
- Academy, ages 11 to 18
- Education phase
- View all Secondaryjobs
- School size
- 1421 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report (opens in new tab)
- School website
- Monk's Walk School website (opens in new tab)
- Email address
- recruitment@monkswalk.herts.sch.uk
- Phone number
- 01707322846
We are a mixed school of about 1,380 11-18 year old students in Welwyn Garden City, a Hertfordshire new town on the outskirts of London. Transport links are superb – direct rail links to London in less than 30 minutes; M1, A1(M), M11 and M25 all minutes away. WGC is a pleasant place to live – it even has John Lewis! The school is situated in a greenbelt area in the prosperous northwest corner of the city. Our grounds are magnificent and the view from the school is lovely. In September 2020 we opened a new teaching block to replace one of the more rundown ones.
Monk’s Walk is a genuinely comprehensive school, although the intake profile is changing – the prior attainment of students coming into the school is rising. The number of students with learning challenges is below the national average, with 11.6% supported at school action plus or with an Education and Healthcare Plan (EHCP). Our support for students with SEND is a real strength of the school.
We have a small number of blind or partially sighted students who receive specialist support. We also work very closely with Knightsfield School, a special school for deaf children on our campus.
Parental confidence in the school is high; there were 690 applications for 236 places in Year 7 for September 2021, with 200 of those as first preference. Each year we hear appeals for students wishing to join the school.
The school has an extremely effective behaviour policy and in general behaviour is very good indeed. Our students want to learn and our parents are, on the whole, extremely supportive. Attendance is high. Our aim is for our students to be co-operative, courteous and kind.
There is a genuine ‘buzz’ around the school and we have a very strong reputation in the city. In February 2018, the school was judged once again by Ofsted to be ‘good’ - please read the inspection letter which can be found on our website (or on Ofsted’s) should you wish to apply. We were really pleased with the comments made by inspectors.
GCSE exam results in 2019 were strong. In the basics, 47% of students gained a strong pass in English and Maths and 76% a standard pass. This puts us well above the national average. Our attainment 8 was 52.5 and progress 8 +0.11. Results in English at GCSE and A Level are very good indeed.
In terms of progress, disadvantaged and SEN students do better in the school than they do nationally. BAME students attain very well and have good progress, as do each of the ability groups. Girls’ and boys’ attainment until 2019 had been exactly the same, in 2019 boys fell behind a bit so we are working on that. We pride ourselves on the fact that Monk’s Walk is an inclusive school.
The school has about 252 in the sixth form and this is the largest sixth form the school has ever had. We are also a member of a consortium with four other schools which provides a wide range of opportunities for students. Monk’s Walk has the largest sixth form of the five schools and currently we have 74 guest students in Year 12 and 65 in Year 13. At Monk’s Walk we concentrate on providing A Level only (with the exception of iMedia), with decent numbers of students studying the facilitating subjects. Vocational programmes can be taken at Oaklands College or in other consortium schools.
Sixth form results are good and improving, but our ambition is for them to be even better. In 2019 our average point score per entry was 34.09, above national.
We are very proud of the destinations of our sixth form students. In 2021 all students who applied made it to their first or second choice university, high quality apprenticeship or employment. Students access a range of universities, including six to Cambridge in 2021.
We do not pursue academic achievement at the expense of the wider development of the individual, however. Form tutors, heads of year and heads of house all have important roles in the social, personal and academic support of individuals. Our house system is strong, providing a range of all-ability competitions and activities for mixed age groups. Recently we have become the first school in the country to have a recycling machine with the credit going as house points. All members of staff are allocated a house.
Unfortunately, some schools are making cuts in creative subjects such as Art, Music, Drama and PE and even some DT specialisms. At Monk’s Walk, these subjects are strong as we see these areas providing important learning opportunities for our students. All of these subjects are running at GCSE and A Level.
We have a full orchestra (as well as other musical groups), thriving Art, Music, PE and Sport and an outstanding Drama department. Members of other departments involve themselves in extra-curricular activities in Music, Sport and Drama.
Knightsfield School (a special school for deaf children) is co-located with Monk’s Walk School. We have an outstanding partnership arrangement; at key stage 3 Knightsfield students join classes in Art. A few students are also integrated into GCSE groups. Knightsfield students join ours for lunch every day in our canteen in B Block. One of our music teachers teaches at the school.
The school became an academy in September 2012. The decision to convert was purely pragmatic and trustees have no intention to make changes to teachers’ pay and conditions beyond those made as part of national agreements.
Induction, training and continuing professional development have a very high priority in the school. All staff have an induction programme on joining the school.
Arranging a visit to Monk's Walk School
To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email recruitment@monkswalk.herts.sch.uk.
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