I start this ‘Whistle’ with positive energy for the future; the weather is improving, daffodils are blooming and spring is in the air in time for the Easter break next week. I am writing with an optimistic tone since our schools have gone above and beyond in securing a safe return for our students. 

Secondary schools are now in week 2 of return with LFD test centres being run smoothly and professionally. Hopefully, we are well on our way to the new new with classrooms full of children. 

Over the past few months we have been revisiting our WeST values. It’s an immense task which has led to lots of conversations in different groups. I look forward to seeing how our values piece concludes. 

Best wishes, 

Rob Haring, CEO

Continuing recent articles to introduce the School Improvement Team, this week sees the spotlight fall on Nicola Dowling, Secondary Learning Practioner: Geography :-

Nicola commenced her teaching career in the Black Country, having completed her PGCE, then MA in Education at the University of the West of England (UWE). Nicola embarked on her first teaching post in the West Midlands where she was part of a whole-school improvement team and completed a Master’s in Education to develop research-informed practice in the school. After three years, Nicola embraced a new challenge as Head of Geography at a large secondary school in Worcestershire and shortly afterwards was appointed as Trust Improvement Leader for Severn Academies Educational Trust (SAET).

In this role, Nicola relished the opportunity to develop partnerships with both primary and secondary colleagues and worked closely with senior leaders across the Trust, as well as outside organisations, to drive improvement. Nicola returned to Devon in 2019 and commenced the role of Assistant Team Leader at Ivybridge Community College. Nicola soon returned to the role of Head of Geography and was also appointed as Geography Lead Practitioner for WeST. Nicola was delighted to become a Lead Practitioner for WeST where she is now able to draw on her prior experience to support the scaffolding of even stronger outcomes in the Trust.

A long-held interest in supporting wider-school improvement led Nicola to recently acquire a secondment to Assistant Principal (Quality of Education). This role requires strategic leadership in key areas including teaching and learning and literacy, whilst also developing knowledge and understanding of leadership in other areas. This role complements the Lead Practitioner role well and she has relished the challenge that this role has brought, particularly in such extraordinary times for education. 

Nicola Dowling, Secondary Learning Practioner - Geography. 

Recruitment update:

We are delighted to inform you of the following exciting career opportunities within our Trust:- 

Clerk to Trust Board & Governance Officer- Working as part of WeST’s Core Services Team, this role will support the Company Secretary (Chief Financial Officer) and Clerks of Local Governing Boards in ensuring the effectiveness of corporate governance, and the Chair of the Trust Board and Chairs of Trust Committees with committee administration. The ideal candidate will have a background in providing governance and high-level administrative support to senior leaders/managers within a highly regulated framework. Full training and development will be provided to the right candidate to progress successfully in this role. For more information go here. Completed applications should be submitted to recruitment@westst.org.uk by midnight (GMT) on Monday 12th April 2021.

WeST staff are also able to apply for this position as a 12 month secondment with the prior agreement of their line manager. Further details of the secondment and how to apply can be found here. The job description is available here. 

HR Officer/Advisor - The post holder will provide advice and support on a broad range of employee relations matters helping to ensure timely progression of queries and cases in line with Trust policies, employment legislation and best practice guidance. Stakeholder management is key and there will be a high level of interaction with customers at all levels in the provision of advice and guidance. You should be qualified to at least Associate CIPD level, with demonstrable experience of providing advice and guidance about employee relations issues in a customer facing HR environment. You will be a strong team player with the ability to work on your own initiative and make judgements within the boundaries of the role, along with a knowledge of a broad range of HR practices and procedures acquired through training and experience. For more information go to our website here. Closing date for applications: Friday, 9 April, 9.00am.

The Learning Institute is seeking to appoint a part-time HR Administrator who will be work in a fast-paced environment and undertakine the full range of contractual administrative and payroll/pension-related tasks.  The post holder will be the first point of contact for contractual and payroll queries, liaising with our payroll/pension providers and acting as the lead administrator for The Learning Institute recruitment, selection and on-boarding.  The HR Administrator will work closely with the Trust HR Team and provide a range of employee related administration including updating and maintaining employee records. For further details please go here. Completed applications should be submitted to recruitment@westst.org.uk by midnight on the 29th March 2021.

Plymstock School are looking for an ICT NETWORK MANAGER - required as soon as possible. Permanent - 37 hours per week x All year round (52 weeks). Grade G (SCP 26-29) £30,451 to £32,910. Plymstock are looking to recruit an ICT Network Manager to develop and implement the ICT service and support function for the school collaboratively with Westcountry Schools Trust (WeST), as required by the Senior management team. The post holder will manage the optimisation of the day to day delivery of ICT services and support through a managed service model. Closing Date: 9am - Tuesday 20 April 2021. Interview Date: Thursday 29 April 2021 

 For further information please visit Plymstock's website here.

Class Teacher Vacancies Required for September 2021:-

Full Time Permanent – MPS 1-6 

Full Time Temporary One Year Fixed Term MPS 1-6

Oreston Community Academy are looking to appoint enthusiastic and motivated Class Teachers.  These are on a full-time permanent basis or full-time fixed term temporary contract for one year. To apply for either position, please complete an application form that can be found on the school website here and send completed application forms to admin@oreston.com. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. Closing date: Tuesday 20th April at 9.00am. Interview date:  Wednesday 28th April. 

South Dartmoor Community College and the Atrium have the following vacancies:- 

Head of Modern Foreign Languages - This is a full time, permanent position. The successful candidate will work closely with the Senior team and fellow Heads of Departments to deliver high quality lessons and opportunities to Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 students. For more information and to apply for this post, please visit here. Closing date: Friday 23 April 2021 at 8.00 am. Interviews will be held during the week beginning Monday 26 April 2021.

Director of Keystage - This is a full time, permanent position, with the Key Stage (3 or 4) to be determined on appointment. The successful candidate will work closely with the Senior team, Heads of Department and Year Leaders to ensure every student reaches his/her full potential. The successful candidate will be a hard-working individual; a teacher with high expectations and an unwavering determination to get the best outcomes for students. For more information and to apply for this post, please visit here. Closing date: Friday 26 March 2021 at 8.00 am. Interviews will be held during the week beginning Monday 29 March 2021.

Assistant Head Teacher - This exciting opportunity has arisen through the new, closer affiliation of the two schools and the continued drive to raise standards. The role will suit an experienced middle or senior leader with an aspiration to progress ultimately to Headship. S/He needs to be able to demonstrate exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills, as well as a clear vision for the role. The successful candidate will have considerable experience leading high performing teams and achieving the very best student outcomes. For more information and to apply for this post, please visit here. Closing date: Friday 26 March 2021, 8.00am. Interviews will be held during the week beginning Monday 29 March 2021.

South Dartmoor Community College & the Atrium are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will require an enhanced DBS check.

Stowford School are looking to appoint a Teacher. Stowford are looking for someone to join their team who will teach full time and demonstrate passion and enthusiasm for achieving both the best for the children in their class and playing their part in our successful staff team on our forward journey.  The role is specifically to support the school in COVID catch up. Please go to the website here for more information. Closing date:  9am on Thursday 25th March 2021.  Interviews will be held on Tuesday 30th March 2021.  Stowford are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS disclosure is required for this post. 

Coombe Dean School are seeking to recruit an outstanding Careers Mentor to join their team. This permanent position will be 37 hours per week, 38 weeks per annum. Grade D £20,493-£23,080 pro rata. The role will involve you working within the school’s Pastoral system to provide impartial careers education, information, advice and guidance to students, to advise on the delivery of quality careers education ensuring students have a wide range of opportunities and experiences provided to explore Key Stage 4, Post 16 and Post 18 pathways. For more information, go here. Closing date: 29th March 2021 09:00 AM. Coombe Dean School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Therefore, the successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Chaddlewood Primary School would like to recruit a Primary Teacher for a full time position from September 2021. You will have the drive and enthusiasm to provide the best possible learning opportunities, inside and outside of the classroom, for our children. If you can enrich our teaching team with enthusiasm, ideas and a passion for making children’s school experience exciting and challenging then we would welcome your application. Please visit our website here for further details and a downloadable application form. Closing date: Friday 30th April 2021 at 9am. Interviews will be held in the week beginning 17th May 2021. Chaddlewood is committed to safer recruitment of teachers and the welfare of our children. Any offer of a post is subject to excellent references and an enhanced DBS check.

Have you completed a Staff Status Declaration form in the last month?

For those of you who have completed a form for your school, college or business unit a big thank you! 

If you have not yet completed a Staff Status Declaration form for your school, college or business unit in the last month please use the link to the refreshed form emailed to you recently by your school, college or business unit. Even if you don’t think your status has changed. It will help with their plans and inform safe systems of work.

Please then use the link again to provide an update each time your availability status changes.

Thank you for your help with this.

Congratulations to Matt Stace and Amy Chivers  

Matt Stace, the Deputy at Chaddlewood Primary School and Amy Chivers, the Deputy at Woodford Primary School have successfully completed their NQPH's course recently and passed with flying colours. 

Huge congratulations to both Matt and Amy for this amazing achievement!

HR Update

Guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable is changing from 1 April:

 

Please go here for the clinically vulnerable letter guidance from gov.uk. 

From 1st April clinically extremely vulnerable people will no longer be advised to shield and can return to the workplace. It is still recommended they continue to take extra precautions to protect themselves while the virus is spreading in our communities and this includes working from home if this is possible. Within WeST this may be feasible in a limited number of exceptional cases within the context of risk assessments and with the agreement of senior leaders, however, as a rule, staff will be expected to resume attendance at work. Arrangements should be made to ensure that CEV staff returning to school are familiar with the local Toolkit and Risk Assessment and that their own individual Risk Assessment is reflective of current circumstances. The ‘Maintaining Staff in WeST Schools and Business Units’ document has been updated accordingly along with the individual risk assessments (please go here for appendix 1 and here for appendix 2). The arrangements related to pregnant employees remains unchanged as noted in the documents.

Armed Forces Day Virtual Badge Competition 2021

The Royal British Legion is launching a virtual badge competition this year. The winning creation will be displayed on Plymouth’s Armed Forces website.

Entry should be sent digitally (a clear picture or scan of the drawing) to MKC Heroes – mkcheroes@britishlegion.org.uk by 21st May 2021. 

Please go here for the entry form. 

It would be good if our schools could encourage an in- house competition too. Entries can then be shown through a future issue of the Wednesday Whistle!

There is a new summer programme with over 200 free courses for Devon adults that is now available. Whether you are looking to pick up a new hobby, increase your wellbeing and combat social isolation, or trying to improve your English, maths or job prospects, there are many options for you. Be quick though, as courses are filling up fast!

The courses and workshops available are below in subject categories: 

  • Art and craft
  • Wellbeing and mindfulness
  • Creative writing and poetry
  • Modern foreign languages
  • Digital skills and IT
  • Learning for work 
  • English
  • Maths
  • Courses for adults with learning difficulties and disabilities
  • Family learning

If you have any questions about the courses or the enrolment process please get in touch here. 

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