Job Description
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We are seeking to appoint aDirector of Catholic Life and Personal Development (Preparatory Divisions) to lead the development and delivery of Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEE) across Years 1-6 in the Preparatory Divisions.. The post holder will ensure that the curriculum meets and exceeds the Religious Education Curriculum Directory and the National Curriculum expectations and supports pupils' personal development, wellbeing and mental health.
The role includes coordinating the delivery of Relationship and Sex Education (RSE), ensuring that it reflects Catholic teaching and values. The Director of Catholic Life and Personal Development (Preparatory Divisions) will also work closely with the Subject Leader for Religious Education, the Heads of Division and Class Teachers to maintain high standards of teaching and learning.
Alongside their curriculum role, the Director of Catholic Life and Personal Development (Preparatory Divisions) will work alongside our Chaplaincy Department to support the planning of liturgies. In addition, the post holder will fulfil the full responsibilities of a Preparatory Division Class Teacher, with their own class to teach. The successful candidate will be a practising Catholic, contributing to aspects of the Catholic life of the School.
Key Responsibilities:
PSHEE and RSE (Years 1-6)
- to promote the teaching and learning of PSHEE and RSE throughout the PreparatoryDivisions, considering and exceeding the requirements of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory and the National Curriculum
- to be responsible for the implementation and management of the curriculum area
- to update any relevant sections of parent handbooks, PSHEE policy and the website
- to prepare any documentation required for inspections and diocesan inspections
- to work in collaboration with the Subject Leader for RE to ensure that the RSE curriculumis delivered effectively and in accordance with Catholic teaching and values
- to take responsibility for the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors (including selection, training,assemblies, meetings, hosting events for other schools, display board)
- to arrange and deliver well-being and mental health weeks
- to report to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT)
Planning and Assessment
- to create an annual long term, Curriculum Overview Plan for each year group, in whichlove and sexual relationships are rooted in the Catholic Church's teaching
- to ensure that effective medium term and weekly plans (in collaboration with classteachers) are in place, which have high expectations of pupil progress, and to provide feedback to the Heads of Division
- to ensure that pupil progress is tracked, monitored and discussed with the Heads ofDivision
- to monitor the subject and its delivery through book scrutiny, learning walks, lessonobservations and the tracking of assessment data
- to implement a curriculum which adheres to the Diocesan guidance for the teaching of PSHEE and RSE
Subject Development - to offer support and advice to colleagues and to lead regular training sessions for staff bothat New Hall and at our sponsored primary school/s
- to arrange curriculum evenings and workshops for parents, including online safety events
- to support parents and carers by providing material to be shared with their children athome
- to keep up to date with current issues in the subject through self-directed reading, coursesand in-service training
- to raise the profile of the subject within the Preparatory Divisions
- to devise a three-year Subject Development Plan and review yearly
Working in Partnership - to assist NHMAT schools by identifying resources, initiatives and subject events whichcan be shared
- to propose to the Heads of Division ways in which the subject delivery and developmentat New Hall School could be shared with NHMAT schools
- to undertake any other appropriate responsibility as may be required to develop thestandard of the subject
Person Specification Essential:
- to be a practising Catholic or in the process of undertaking the Rite of Christian Initiationfor Adults (RCIA) programme
- to be able to contribute to the spiritual and prayer life of the School, and moral and faithdevelopment
- to be a well-qualified university graduate
- to have Qualified Teacher Status of Early Years, Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2
- to have a strong understanding of PSHE/RSE curriculum delivery and pupil wellbeing
- to demonstrate the ability to plan strategically and meet deadlines
- to demonstrate the ability to analyse data and use evidence to improve teaching andlearning
- to demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively withcolleagues, parents and senior leaders
- to demonstrate willingness to contribute to the wider co-curricular life of the school
- to understand the importance of promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children
- to have excellent communication skills, including a high standard of spoken and writtenEnglish
- to be willing to participate enthusiastically in all aspects of boarding school life
- to have the ability to relate effectively to pupils and to motivate them
- to have integrity and the ability to give clear and consistent witness to the School's values
Desirable:
- to have experience as an extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, a Reader and/or an AltarServer
- to be able to work collaboratively with other departments and the Chaplaincy Team toensure the Catholic ethos and Gospel values of New Hall are prevalent throughout the curriculum
- to have experience leading or coordinating a subject area within a primary or preparatoryschool
- to have experience delivering staff training or professional development
- to have experience organising whole-school initiatives or curriculum events
- to have knowledge of inspection processes and curriculum evaluation
- to have experience in pastoral leadership responsibilities
Information about the School
New Hall is a Catholic independent boarding & day school for girls and boys aged 1-18. New Hall School operates the highly successful 'diamond model', where students are educated in co-educational classes from ages 1 to 11 and at Sixth Form. However, from ages 11 to 16 they are taught in single-sex lessons. Click on one of the four diamonds below to find out more about our divisions.
The main benefits of the 'diamond model' and five years of single-sex teaching, derive from the ability to tailor pastoral and academic provision more sensitively and expertly to the needs of young people going through the physical, emotional and social upheaval of adolescence. Young teenagers are liberated from the negative peer pressure of having to perform in mixed classes. The gender stereotyping of subjects is also removed. Girls and boys follow an identical curriculum and do not learn to perceive subjects as being more suited to either girls or boys.
The Sixth Form experience at New Hall is about expanding students' horizons, both in their specialist areas of study and, more generally, in terms of their personal development.
From the moment New Hall students first travel up the mile-long, tree-lined avenue that leads to the grand façade of the former Tudor palace, they will be given individual opportunities to grow, learn, be challenged and to develop into confident young men and women. New Hall is set in an idyllic and convenient location, on the outskirts of the City of Chelmsford, Essex, just 30 minutes by train from London and within easy reach of all major London airports.
As a Catholic independent boarding & day school, at New Hall with every student we aim to educate the whole person: academically, creatively and socially, in a community which also nurtures the spiritual dimensions of human life.