Teacher of Humanities at Beaminster School

Humanities Teacher

(A Level Psychology / KS3 and KS4 RS)  

We seek to appoint a dynamic, highly motivated and inspirational Humanities teacher, with experience of teaching A Level Psychology and an ability to deliver RS to KS3 and KS4, to become a valued member of our team.

Applications from ECTs are welcome.

Over the past few years the Humanities department has undergone a period of rapid improvement with an exciting and successful transformation in learning and teaching. As a collaborative team, who work together efficiently and will always support each other, we are actively seeking to appoint outstanding and innovative teachers to join us and help shape our journey from good to outstanding. We offer personalised induction and support programmes for new staff, with many opportunities for ongoing professional development.

This is an excellent career opportunity for a colleague who firmly believes in the entitlement of young people to a rich, engaging and stimulating Humanities curriculum. Working within a vibrant and highly successful department, you will be an outstanding classroom teacher who is totally committed to the progress of all students in our popular and fully comprehensive school.

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. You will:

• Engage, inspire and enthuse students through a genuine passion for your subject and for learning
• Have high expectations of student achievement and behaviour
• Be a great classroom practitioner
• Be forward thinking, creative and well organised
• Be enthusiastic, resourceful and fully committed to securing student progress.

This popular and successful 11–18 school – we are currently oversubscribed in several year groups and 3^rd in Dorset for results - 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.

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 Psychology, Sociology, History, Geography, Philosophy and Ethics.

Visits to the school are welcomed and encouraged, and the Head of Humanities will be happy to meet with you.

Please do get in touch if you would like to arrange this.

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.

Dear Colleagues

Thank you very much for your interest in this post, and we hope that the information provided encourages you to make a formal application. We can offer you the rare opportunity of working in a small, rural, vibrant school community, situated in a delightful part of Dorset close to the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage site.

We are seeking a committed and inspiring teacher to join our supportive and successful Humanities team.  We are at an exciting point in the development of our curriculum and are working closely together to innovate our department.

The Humanities team consists of seven members of staff with their own laptop and a projector in each of the six rooms, plus regular access to computer rooms. The department is well resourced, and as a school we are always looking for new and innovative ways of delivering learning.

At Key Stage 3 all classes follow our ambitious scheme of work which uses a variety of resources. Across the department we use an enquiry-based approach that incorporates different activities including active learning and participation.  We also provide trips to Corfe Castle, Lyme Regis and Cheddar to enable students to learn outside of the classroom.

Our PSRE programme is compulsory for all of Key Stage 4, with the vast majority sitting GCSE RS, and nearly all students choose to follow either History or Geography as one of their options.

We run a variety of clubs within the Humanities department, including Humanities Champions promoting Humanities across the school, along with support sessions for students. Students are also offered enrichment opportunities such as the KS4 Berlin trip and the Western Front trip.

We have a Joint Sixth Form with the nearby Sir John Colfox Academy in Bridport, with staff from both campuses sharing teaching and working closely together on the planning and delivery of Sixth Form courses. Students travel between the two school sites as required, but staff teach only at their base school. At A Level, we currently deliver Psychology, Sociology, History, Geography, Philosophy and Ethics.

This year, our team improvement focus is how to make learning stick. We aim to reduce the cognitive load for students whilst focusing on the key aspects of learning, thereby aiding retrieval. We are enjoying exploring and developing our Teaching and Learning to incorporate this, with a renewed focus on linking learning across the curriculum and effective use of recall to embed learning.

All teaching staff are also form tutors who play an important role in the wider life of the school.

Our most recent Ofsted inspection (September 2023) reflected the aims and ethos that we promote as inspectors said:

“Beaminster School is a community that pupils, parents, staff and governors are proud to be a part of… Adults know pupils well as individuals. As a result, pupils get the help and support they need.”

We hope the details supplied will give you all the information you need, but should you have any further questions, or would like to come and visit the school, please contact the Head’s PA, Mrs Nicola Chalkley: [email protected] or 01308 862633.