Assistant Head of Junior Sport

Assistant Head of Junior Sport

The Schools are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher to work closely with our Head of Junior Sport to lead the development of our dynamic and successful sports program.

We are looking for a person who has a personal commitment to sport and a passion for passing on their enthusiasm and expertise to children, both to those naturally gifted in sports as well as those who may need more guidance and encouragement, instilling a lifelong love of sporting and physical activity and an understanding of the benefits of fitness and participation.

Junior School Sport

Sport is an important part of life at the Junior School. The provision for sport has expanded rapidly over the last six years with a programme that aims to cater for all pupils no matter their ability. In KS2, all pupils take part in fixtures against schools from across the North East as well as HMC tournaments. Pupils are encouraged to attend a range of co-curricular clubs and participation is high: members of the sports team are expected to contribute to this programme. This year has also seen our inaugural junior ski trip to Les Menuires and a mini sports tour to Edinburgh. 

At the Junior School, we strive to create opportunities for all the children to play sports at an appropriate level in a competitive environment with a focus on learning and development. We aim to develop each player’s physical, social and emotional skills through sport.

Our overriding objective is to ensure that each child leaves the Junior School with a love for sport and physical activity and that sport has made a significant contribution to them becoming well rounded individuals. 

Sporting fixtures take place throughout the week across the North East. Throughout the year, the sports team also runs inter-house competitions and whole school events, such as swimming galas and sports days. These are important parts of the school calendar which we are always looking to improve and develop.

We have had some notable successes in sport in recent years with U11 Girls Hockey coming 2nd in the In2Hockey North of England finals and winning the HMC NE Girls Hockey Tournament in 2022. The boys followed this up by getting to the North of EnglandIN2 Hockey finals this year. The Boys football team won the HMC NE Football Tournament and the ISFA U10 NE Football Tournament in 2023. We have introduced girls’ rugby, cricket and football to the school and the girls recently made it to the finals of the Newcastle City Football Cup. In our summer sports, the girls’ cricket team won the Newcastle Cricket U11 Tournament and the HMC NE Girls Cricket Tournament in 2022. The U11 boys won the team event at the Newcastle City Athletics meet in 2022. However, all of this success is a by-product of our philosophy of ensuring all pupils get as many opportunities as possible to play. Our biggest success each term is ensuring that all pupils in KS2 get at least one opportunity per term to play competitively with other schools. This is something that we would want the new post holder to continue to promote and develop.

Junior School co-curricular programme 

The Co-curricular programme at the Junior School is vital in enhancing children’s skills and enjoyment in learning and there are many clubs providing this. These clubs range from drama and dance to warhammer, from hockey to rugby, from athletics to cricket, from football to irish dancing, from art to science, from karate to fencing and from computing to chess. 

As a school we feel it is important to inspire and enthuse children’s creativity and imagination – whether they be in music, drama, dance or sport – whilst recognising the value of traditional academic subjects and the importance of these to their successes in the future. The potential candidate would be expected to contribute extensively and enthusiastically to this program.

Job description

The successful candidate will be required to:

• Take an active role in the strategic planning of our sport program;
• Monitor and evaluate the quality of sport provision in the Junior School;
• Support the coordination of the curricular and co-curricular programmes for PE and games in the Junior School, including the production of schemes of work and framework for assessment;
• Support the Head of Junior Sport in the organisation and day-to-day running of the Junior School sports program for the benefit of all pupils;
• Teach games and PE across the Junior School alongside other specialist sports staff;
• Actively contribute to the process of planning, preparation and organisation of fixtures, communicating to all stakeholders effectively using the School’s systems (specifically SOCS Sport and Co-curricular);
• Contribute to the production of sport-related material for the school’s social media channels and the School magazine;
• Take an active part in the leadership of teams and co-curricular activities;
• Support the organisation of matches, galas, tournaments and competitions at inter- & intra-school level both during and after normal school hours;
• Represent the Junior School at games related meetings and conferences (e.g. HMC sports meeting);
• Play a lead role in the planning and leadership of tours and residential trips;
• Be involved in the management of the Junior Sport budgets; 
• Attend such occasions (e.g. open days) as are deemed part of the annual cycle of the school year;
• Undertake duties as directed by the management of the Junior School;
• Attend such after school meetings as the Head of Junior School might consider necessary for the efficient running of the school.

Specific Requirements

• A proven track record of delivering outstanding games lessons.
• A strong drive and passion for physical education and its role in developing confident, healthy and active young people.
• The successful candidate should have experience in teaching and/or coaching a variety of sports, specifically rugby. A willingness to run clubs, lead teams and referee matches is essential.
• To be well-organised and calm under pressure.
• To have a good sense of humour and be a team player.

General

• Maintain strict confidentiality of all information belonging to the Schools. It is important, and a condition of employment, that all information of any kind is treated as confidential and not disclosed or used other than as authorised and in the proper performance of the Schools business.
• Take responsibility for their own professional development, continually keep updated and contribute to the Schools as a learning organisation.
• To contribute to the Health and Safety of pupils and other staff in accordance with Health and Safety regulations and DSE legislation.
• Comply with the policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person
• Be aware of and support differences and ensure equal opportunities for all.
• Contribute to the overall ethos/work/aims of the Schools.
• Develop constructive relationships and communicate with other agencies/professionals.
• Recognise your own strengths and areas of expertise and use these to advise and support others.
• To undertake any other duties and responsibilities, which do not change the character and purpose of the post as directed by the Head of Junior School.

Person Specification

The successful applicant should possess the following experience, qualifications and qualities:

• Hold 5 GCSEs (or equivalent) grade A-C/ 9-5 or equivalent in English and mathematics;
• Have successfully completed education to A level or equivalent;
• A university degree in a sports-related discipline;
• Excellent subject knowledge that can stretch the most able and interested pupils;
• A willingness to contribute to collaborative planning and revision of schemes of work;
• A desire to play an active role in the provision of co-curricular activities, which includes running teams across several sports (please highlight previous experience of this in your application);
• An ability to use ICT as a teaching resource and for administration, preferably experience with Google Suite;
• A reflective practitioner;
• Provide inspirational teaching which conveys the value of effort and dedication to achieving goals;
• A “pupil centred” teaching approach – someone who makes it a priority to know the pupils they teach very well and uses a variety of teaching techniques in order to ensure all pupils achieve their very best;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Able to work as part of a team;
• Able to work with confidence under pressure and remain calm;
• Creative and enthusiastic to work with children of all ages across the primary phase;
• Very organised and able to use own initiative and judgement to solve problems;
• Able to meet the physical demands of the post.

Ready to Apply?

1. Please read the Application and Recruitment process on our website along with the Recruitment and Privacy Notice.
2. Complete the Employment Application form.
3. Complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring form.
4. Email your completed application form along with your covering letter to hr@dameallans.co.uk by the closing date and time.

The closing date for applications is noon on Friday, 12 May 2023.

Terms and Conditions

This is a permanent role starting September 2023 or as soon as possible afterwards.

Hours:

The post-holder will be required to work during term time as needed in order to discharge their responsibilities and to support the wider objectives of the Schools.  

Additionally, they may be required to work during school holidays on duties linked to the role, for instance in leading and supporting sports trips and tours.

Salary:

The salary will be commensurate with the skills and experience of the candidate.  Details will be discussed at the interview.  Dame Allan’s staff are paid on our own pay scales which are higher than national scales.

Benefits:

The Schools operate a fee reduction package for children of staff members, subject to their meeting the Schools’ admissions criteria.

All staff may join the School’s pension schemes.

All staff receive free school lunches.

Access to the Employee Assistance Programme.

All staff are eligible for free eye tests.

Access to Cycle to Work scheme. 

School trip travel opportunities.

A formal contract, detailing terms and conditions, will be extended following completion of all safeguarding/ pre-employment checks.

Questions

Please direct any questions to the HR department:

Email:  HR@dameallans.co.uk

Phone:  0191 275 1500

Thank you for your interest in applying to work at Dame Allan’s Schools.

The Schools are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Applicants must undergo child protection screening, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.