Recruitment Information
Working at Stockport School
Welcome to Stockport School
Stockport School is a popular and over-subscribed school with year-on-year improving results that put us within the top 15% of schools for progression. Near the centre of Stockport, we are very much a community school; whilst our school building represents our traditional roots, our staff are focused on innovation, creativity and inspiring and empowering young people to achieve their best in curricular and extra-curricular activities.
Nationally recognized for our work with young people through a variety of awards and publications, we provide an extensive professional development programme to continue to seek out best practice and provide support and opportunities for colleagues at every level of the school.
We are committed to recruiting and retaining outstanding practitioners onto our teaching and support staff teams in order to ensure that our students achieve their very best and are led by happy, dedicated and highly skilled staff. This booklet is designed to give you a brief introduction to the school. If you are interested in working at the school, please check our website for vacancies, or if you have any questions email the Headteacher’s PA J. Richards Email or the Assistant Head for staff development R. Clifford Email.
Professional Learning at Stockport School
At Stockport School we believe in enabling our staff to grow as much as our students. Through a wide variety of tailored programmes and opportunities, we encourage and support colleagues to innovate, share best practice and lead, building passion for teaching and providing career progression at all levels.
NQTs
Our NQT programme is designed to provide formal and informal support as you build on the skills developed during your training and develop your interests in the wider school. Before arriving, we invite you to join us on an induction day in the summer term to meet colleagues and gain an understanding of the school, our community and the ways in which we are moving forward.
Once the term begins, you will have an Induction Mentor and Curriculum Mentor, and also a ‘buddy’ for more informal discussions. In addition to the induction programme, we have a professional issues meeting, providing an opportunity for NQTs and RQTs to come together and share experiences and ideas. A significant number of our Middle and Senior Leaders joined the school very early in their career and have been able to achieve career growth through the experiences that the school has offered.
Aspiring Middle Leaders
The Aspiring Middle Leader Programme is for colleagues who are interested in becoming future leaders in education. Alongside formal training sessions on areas such as leadership and management, coaching and quality assurance, colleagues have the opportunity to visit local schools and carry out their own leadership project. The project, new learning and reflection are supported by coaching from a senior leader in the school.
“I am more confident that I am able to manage and lead staff, inspiring and encouraging change and good practice. I feel I am equipped to measure the successes of these changes, and can reflect on these.”
“I really enjoyed the course and I have enjoyed working closely with people from across the school and consolidating my understanding of leadership.”
Extended Leadership Team
Experienced Middle Leaders are invited to join an extended Senior Leadership Team. Taking on a whole school responsibility and attending some of the SLT meetings provides those participating with a first stepping stone into senior leadership and the crucial experience required to gain a senior leadership role.
An Evidence-Based Profession – Teaching and Learning Team
In addition to our leadership programmes, we appreciate many colleagues would like the opportunity to share and develop their approaches to teaching and learning. Newly established this year is a Teaching and Learning Programme designed to provide the opportunity to explore current debates and ideas in education, carry out a research project and share best practice.
Your own interests
In addition to these formal programmes and further training opportunities in school, we encourage all our colleagues to take a lead on areas that interest them. Whether it is running sporting activities, teaching literacy to adults and children together in the community, or organising the staff pantomime, we recognise the value of the unique skills and interests of each colleague who joins us and are keen to work with you to find the best route to build and share your qualities.
Teaching and Learning at Stockport School
“There is a huge prize waiting to be claimed by teachers. By collecting better evidence about what works best, and establishing a culture where this evidence is used as a matter of routine, we can improve outcomes for children, and increase professional independence”.
Dr Ben Goldacre
We believe in enabling the best support for our students through engaging with the most effective teaching and learning strategies. At Stockport School, we place opportunities for this at the heart of our Professional Learning Programme. Key areas of focus are identified at the start of the year and developed in conjunction with staff.
In addition to INSET time and staff meetings, an opportunity to enable on-going focus on these developments, whether for further innovation, sharing best practice or reflection and evaluation, are the carousels and the Professional Learning briefing.
Carousels
These are voluntarily led by colleagues at any level in the school, providing a CPD opportunity and an opportunity to share good practice. From 11 sessions during the year, colleagues are asked to attend a minimum of 4 on nights which suit them. Examples of topics included:
- Maths-Bar Modelling – based on sharing research going on in the Maths Department and providing further time to explore pedagogy to meet the needs of the new GCSE
- International Schools – providing an opportunity for colleagues to support the application for the school’s International School status
- Growth Mindsets – a working group to look at how to capitalise on our understanding of Professor Dweck’s work
In addition to these teaching and learning sessions, some of the sessions have a physical or mental health wellbeing focus, for example, mindfulness, staff dodgeball and pilates.
Professional Learning Bulletin and Briefing
Our fortnightly bulletin draws together CPD opportunities, suggested reading, a key article or video about teaching and learning and reflection on how different issues raised in INSETs and staff meetings are progressing.
This is supported by a fortnightly briefing, focused on one issue in the bulletin and providing an opportunity to connect an idea, article or video to one of our development strands. Examples include: effective groupings and seating plans; top tips for questioning and effective feedback.
Teaching and Learning and Staff Wellbeing
We believe in ‘intelligent accountability’ and do not see the value of imposing over-prescriptive systems on the classrooms of our teachers. We see effective leadership of teaching and learning as supporting staff wellbeing; for example, we have recently been working with the Government Workload Review document on marking and feedback. Through the CPD programme and supportive quality assurance, we believe in building professional expertise to enable our colleagues to professionally select the most effective strategies for their department.
Research
Colleagues are supported in developing their own more in depth projects and many have worked with external agencies such as universities and the British Council on research projects.
Stockport School Community
We are very much a community school, with the majority of students living near enough to walk to school. However, we are also a truly comprehensive school and our students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. These factors provide us with the opportunity for our students and staff to work closely with our community in order to support each other.
In school, we have a strong pastoral system, with a full time Pastoral Manager for each year group, and an Assistant Head responsible for each Key Stage. All members of the school community are part of the House system, enabling students and staff to work together for the success of their House. In addition to providing opportunities for rewards and celebrating success, all Houses raise significant sums of money for charity during the year.
There are a wide range of colleagues involved in supporting staff work with students who may have specific needs. These include a ‘More Able’ co-ordinator, a SENCO and Learning Support Team and the Directors of Intervention, who are supported by the Intervention and Achievement Mentors. In addition to these roles, some colleagues have specific responsibilities in departments for working with key groups of students.
All colleagues are welcome to support the school extra-curricular activities. In addition to a wide range of sporting and music clubs and events, these currently include: coding club, drama technical team, science club, theatre trips, graphics club, reading groups etc. We also have some specific activities to either support young people in the school, or members of the community. Examples include:
- Sky Sports Mentoring – different projects providing leadership experience and community engagement for students.
- Dementia Friends – students training in how to support people with Dementia and supporting those with the illness at the Dementia café.
- Peer Mentoring – this takes place in a range of forms, for example, supporting younger readers, mentoring in sport and supporting gifted and talented students.
Welcome quotes from Stockport School Staff:
- “Welcome to Stockport School – friendly staff, great teacakes at break, always someone to help if you need it!”
- “Try to get to know the students beyond the classroom, their interests and aspirations – we have plenty of amazing students with hidden talents!”
- “If you are feeling swamped or stressed, or even a tiny bit worried, talk to someone, even to unload – we support one another – we don’t take anyone for granted.”
- “There are some amazing staff and students here: something funny or nice happens every day.”
- “It’s a fabulous place to work, after 16 years I’m still here!”
- “Don’t be afraid to take opportunities – if you want to run a trip, project or idea, speak to someone and get the ball rolling.”
“The best way I have found to continually get the best from the kids at Stockport School is to be consistently genuine yourself. Explaining to them what will benefit them and caring enough to help them do it, will get them on side time after time. We never stop learning as a teacher – so never stop asking for help! There is always someone who will be happy to help you at Stockport School.”