Depute Head Teacher - Kings Park Primary School

Job Description

DHT4 - £64,776

Fixed Term until 21 April 2025

Full Time

Currently, Midlothian has 6 secondary schools, 30 primary schools (19 of which have nurseries) and 2 stand alone nursery schools. Our special school, Saltersgate, provides support for children with a range of physical, social, emotional, behavioural and learning difficulties. The schools range in size from our smallest primary school with around 20 children to our largest secondary with over 1200 pupils. We have a diverse range of school catchments, from rural to urban settings. We are fortunate to have a growing number of new build schools, with 13 of our primary schools and 1 secondary having been built within the last 10 years and several new builds planned.

King’s Park Primary School is a non-denominational school that was built in 1903 and serves the Dalkeith community. The school is built next to King’s Park and the children have access to this for leisure and to enrich their learning opportunities. The school has a roll of 494 children from P1- P7 and offers 94 full time ELC places. The roll is diverse and includes pupils from all 5 quintile data zones and this range is also reflected in each year group.

Our school consists of three buildings within the grounds. Our Junior building comprises of ELC-P3 learners, a library, Support for Learning classroom, learning hive and a dining hall. Our Senior building comprises of P4-7 learners, our School Office, a gym hall and Nurture Room. We have a temporary unit which hosts one of our P7 classes.

Our school is part of the Dalkeith Learning Community and most of our P7 learners transition to Dalkeith High School with some moving on to Lasswade and Newbattle High School. We are strengthening our links with Dalkeith High school and have good links with the other primary schools in our learning community. We have a number of children transitioning into P1 from a range of Partner Providers as well as our own ELC.

We have continued to focus upon developing effective partnerships with parents, carers and the wider community. We recognise the important role that parents and carers play in their child’s learning and development and we offer a range of opportunities for parents and carers to share in their child’s learning.

Our Senior Leadership Team consists of our Head Teacher, 2 Depute Headteachers and 2 Principal Teachers. We are looking for someone with commitment and integrity who demonstrates kindness, honesty, courage and wisdom within a team. They will be able to demonstrate their ability to support an ethos of professional engagement and collegiate working to ensure consistently high expectations of all learners. As there are 2 Depute Headteacher vacancies, the remit for the post will be based upon the experience, skill set and strengths of the successful candidates. Both remits will include leadership of change, self-evaluation for self-improvement, raising attainment and achievement, ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion, transitions and partnerships.

Interviews will take place week beginning 9 October 2023.

Requirements

Pre Employment Checks/Requirements for Teaching Positions

If you are successful, our offer of employment will be conditional on satisfactory completion of pre-employment requirements, such as medical screening, two written references, one which must be from your most recent/current employer, verification of your original qualifications and your eligibility to work in the United Kingdom. Registration with the General Teaching Council and a satisfactory PVG check for Regulated Work with Children will also be essential.

General Teaching Council Scotland

Teachers applying for permanent posts should be fully registered with the General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS). For further information on registration please visit: www.gtcs.org.uk

Regulated Work with Children

This post is considered Regulated Work with Children, under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act, 2007. Therefore, it is an offence to apply if you are barred from working with children.

Successful candidates will require a PVG Scheme membership for Regulated Work with Children. You will be required to join the Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme Update check prior to commencing employment with Midlothian Council, the cost of which will be met by you. The fee for a Full PVG Scheme Membership is £59. You will be required to re-pay this amount to the Council by salary deduction over 6 consecutive pay periods. The fee for a PVG Scheme Record Update is £18. You will be required to re-pay this amount to the Council by salary deduction over 2 consecutive pay periods. If your employment concludes before the amount is re-paid in full, the outstanding balance will be deducted from your final salary. If you are an existing employee the Council will pay the cost of the Application Fee.

In your application we ask for information under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. We ask you to disclose any unspent convictions. Disclosures should be made by writing to or emailing the Employment and Reward Manager, in confidence, giving details of the offence(s), penalty and date(s) of conviction. Applicants should note that failure to disclose a conviction which is subsequently advised through a Disclosure Scotland check may result in the withdrawal of any offer of appointment.

Having a criminal record will not necessarily debar an applicant from working with Midlothian. Decisions regarding suitability for positions of trust which are subject to vetting will be dependent on the nature of the position, together with the circumstances and background of the offence(s).

For further information on the PVG Scheme please visit: www.disclosurescotland.co.uk

How to Apply

Please apply on-line. Facilities are available at all public libraries in Midlothian.

If you have difficulty applying for this post or in accessing the attached documents, or if you have a disability and reasonable adjustment is required, please call 0131 271 3063 to speak to a member of the Recruitment Team stating the post reference number.

Closing Date

Monday 2nd October 2023