Birmingham City Council
Mayfield School is looking for an experienced teacher to lead our sixth form provision. Our school is a special school for 310 pupils aged between 2 and 19 with a wide range of special educational needs and disabilities, including PMLD, cognition and learning needs and autism. We currently have 80 students in our sixth form, in years 12 to 14.
We are proud to be a Unicef Rights Respecting School, on a journey to achieve the gold award. The school is split across two sites - Wheeler Street in Lozells (co-located with Holte School and Lozells Junior and Infant School and Nursery) and Heathfield Road in Handsworth. Successful applicants can be asked to work at either site depending on the needs of the school.
We welcome applicants with mainstream or special school experience but experience of working with post 16 students with SEND would be an advantage. At Mayfield School, curriculum leaders are valued and their CPD is supported and invested in. Several members of our existing leadership team were middle leaders in curriculum roles before being promoted to the leadership team. We recognise that working with young people with SEND can be challenging and a full programme of training and support is offered.
We expect all teachers to adopt creative, innovative, and highly personalised approaches to engaging young people in learning and enabling them to make progress. This is a joyful and rewarding job and one where you can really make a difference to the lives of young people and their families.
In expanding our team, we are looking for experienced reliable, consistent, positive and solution focused people who will seek every opportunity to provide rich learning experiences for our pupils, who have the experience to support and develop other staff, and who can show personal resilience and a commitment to children’s universal rights.
Applications are welcomes from qualified and experienced teachers who have experience of working directly with children or young people in any setting and who are willing to work with others as part of a strong team. Special school experience is not necessary providing you understand Mayfield’s cohort and have a willingness to learn and a dedication to securing positive outcomes for all pupils. This post is unsuitable for ECTs.
We are currently oversubscribed in our sixth form and have 80 pupils on roll. Our sixth form provision is split across our two sites on Wheeler Street (approx. 50 pupils) and Heathfield Road (approx. 30 pupils), where pupils attend 4 days per week (Monday- Thursday). Of those we have on roll, less than 5% of pupils joined us as post-16 transfers, whilst the remaining number chose to continue their post-16 study with us beyond year 11. Our sixth form caters to a wide range of SEND, including autism, PMLD and cognition and learning. In our most recent Ofsted inspection, the sixth form curriculum was praised for its ability to provide pupils with the precise skills and knowledge they need in adulthood.
With an increasing focus on independence, pupils are encouraged to learn about employability, making the most of their leisure time and how to resolve problems. Pupils leaving our sixth form do so after year 14 to access a range of destinations and provisions, reflective of its diverse cohort. Some pupils access apprenticeship or traineeship opportunities, some continue in further education, whilst others access adult social care settings.
Pupils in the sixth form are working between pre-entry level and level 1. They follow accredited and non-accredited pathways, with some gaining qualifications including The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Life Skills Challenge awards, Personal and Social Development certificate, Sports Leadership award and Arts Award. The sixth form leader is class-based and released for management time equal to that of curriculum leaders in comparable posts.
The class that the successful candidate will be attached to could be at either site, working with pupils with varying SEND. A recent welbee staff survey showed Mayfield as being in the top 20% of schools showing that risks of work-related stress and staff wellbeing are effectively managed and controlled. Our team tell us that they value the in-house training offered by the school and welcome the professional development opportunities available to them.
This post will involve working with pupils who have persistent differences with social interaction, social communication and understanding emotions. Mayfield pupils need clear boundaries and consistent support with engagement, learning, emotional regulation, sensory needs, and behaviour management. We are proud to be part of Education Impact Academy Trust where "better never ends". In addition to the salary, we offer a benefits package for all employees through BSHF and regular opportunities for professional development and growth through the school and as part of the Trust.
About this Role: The curriculum leader will take lead responsibility for providing leadership and management to secure:
- high-quality teaching
- effective use of curriculum budget & appropriate resources
- improved standards of learning and achievement for all
We can offer:
- a collaborative and inclusive culture
- a committed, hardworking team who strive to provide the best education for all students
- comprehensive induction and probation support and regular opportunities for professional development and growth
- we offer 10 staff training days across the academic year; one or two of these days may be aggregated which means you complete training outside of normal working hours in twilight sessions
- Employee Assistance Programme via BHSF - free totally confidential support
- access to discounts and offers via BHSF
- access to a generous pension scheme known as the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) for support staff or Teachers Pension Scheme for Teachers
- generous annual leave entitlement for support staff based on length of service, starting at 29 days pro-rata, rising to 32 at 5 years’ plus service and 34 following 10 years’ plus service
- Teachers annual leave is in line with Teachers Pay & Conditions
- onsite parking at all schools
- we are the only Trust to provide SEN Allowances to ALL roles who work with students, including Teachers, TA’s, Care Assistants, Pastoral Care, Guides, Drivers
If you are determined, ambitious, hardworking and you meet our requirements, then we would love to hear from you.
Informal conversations are warmly welcomed. If you would like to arrange an informal visit please email hr@mayfield.eiat.org.uk
Please download job description and person specification and apply online
Please note that only Trust application forms will be accepted.
We will not read accompanying Curriculum Vitaes or accept them instead of an application form.
If you have not heard from us two weeks after the closing date, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to necessary pre-employment checks, including: an enhanced DBS; Prohibition check (where applicable) Childcare Disqualification (where applicable); qualifications (where applicable); medical fitness; identity and right to work. All applicants will be required to provide two suitable references. An online search will also be carried out on all shortlisted candidates.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. Which means 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. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.
