Head of Art - Beaminster School

Head of Art

This is an exceptional career opportunity for a colleague who is passionate about the entitlement of young people to a rich and varied Art curriculum, as well as a pivotal role for us in improving the life chances of pupils in our community. You will have an unwavering belief in the potential of every student, and a contagious enthusiasm for your subject which will excite and motivate all students to achieve their very best.

Working within a vibrant, supportive and highly successful school, we provide a unique environment in which both staff and pupils thrive. You will be a creative and innovative classroom teacher who is totally committed to the progress of all students in our popular and fully comprehensive school which stands in beautiful open countryside on the edge of Beaminster, a Dorset town with great charm and historic interest, just 6 miles from the World Heritage Jurassic Coast.

Our school values of Ambition, Service and Kindness represent our unwavering commitment towards our pupils and staff becoming the very best that they can be, achieving their full potential within an inclusive community that has a strong and unique sense of belonging; our pupils are expected to be ready to learn, to work hard and to celebrate their own and each others’ achievements. Our staff are devoted to providing the best education and pastoral care possible, and we are extremely proud of our students; this mix creates a school that is a real pleasure to work and learn in.

Over a number of years the Art department has provided a rich, broad and engaging curriculum that leads to high take-up at GCSE and A Level, as well as outstanding outcomes. As a school, we set our standards high in all aspects of our work, and place teaching and learning at the heart of everything that we do. This was affirmed by our recent Ofsted inspection (September 2023) that was a resounding ’Good’ in all aspects of our work.

Please refer to the Art Department information sheet for further details of all the different events and opportunities we are involved in and offer to students and the wider community.

We are committed to transforming the lives of our young people and believe that happy, valued and supported staff lead to better outcomes for our students, so have an absolute commitment to staff development through personalised induction and varied programmes for leadership, collaboration and subject development focused around high quality teaching and learning.

We have a joint Sixth Form with our partner school, the Sir John Colfox Academy in Bridport, offering a broad and developing range of courses including A Level Art. Sixth Form numbers are buoyant and our results are some of the best in Dorset.

Visits to the school are welcomed and encouraged, and the current postholder will be happy to meet with you. Please do get in touch if you would like to arrange this.

Closing date:  Tuesday 13^th May 2025

Beaminster School values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

Beaminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people; this is a commitment which we expect all staff and volunteers to share. The successful candidate will be required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service check in line with the Governments safer recruitment guidelines.

The pro rata salary shown is based on the number of hours and weeks worked and includes appropriate paid annual leave and bank holiday entitlements.

The salary quoted is the annual salary for the position at the time of advert. The salary will be paid in equal monthly instalments and will be adjusted at the start of employment and again if leaving part way through the school year to ensure the correct salary is received for the work completed in an academic year.

This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be established as part of the appointment process.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

Keeping Children Safe in Education

Beaminster School will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. This check will be part of a safeguarding check, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. All aspects of social media and internet searches will be conducted. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.