Job Introduction
We are looking to appoint a new member of our Maths department. This post has arisen because a Maths teacher is relocating to another part of the country. It is a fantastic opportunity to join a creative and passionate team of experienced subject specialists. The Maths department secures strong attainment and progress but is equally proud of the positive experience that students have in their classrooms. It is committed to continuous improvement and is therefore eager to welcome new teachers to the department.
The successful candidate will be able to enthuse students with a love of Maths. They will be student-centred, passionate, reflective and hard working. They will be collaborative in approach, keen to work with colleagues to share the best practice and resources.
Wyvern College is a popular and happy school, where staff and students feel valued and appreciated. Students are polite, hard-working and well behaved. They are keen to learn and they achieve well above national expectations. Staff morale is high; turnover is low and there is a strong sense of team work and community. Staff are proud of their college and genuinely excited about the next stage of its development. Leaders and Governors are held in high esteem. We have on-site nursery and gym facilities with staff discounts. People rarely leave Wyvern and those who do, often return!
Wyvern is a 11-16 mixed comprehensive school, serving the communities of Fair Oak, Horton Heath, Bishopstoke, Durley and Upham and the surrounding area. Increasingly, families from outside the catchment area are seeking Wyvern places for their children. Consequently, it is oversubscribed.
Closing date for applications: we will invite candidates in for interview upon receipt of sufficiently strong applications.
The Maths department is accommodated in its own suite of 10 classrooms, including a computer room, as well a departmental office; all are located together on the upstairs “Maths floor” of the two-storey building, overlooking the playing fields and sports’ courts.
The Maths team comprises of 16 teachers and is led by the Curriculum Leader, together with 2 Deputy Curriculum Leaders and two other Maths TLR Posts holders. There is therefore a management team running the department which reflects the fact that this department is in every sense of the word, a true team: harmonious, unified and supportive of each other. It is clear to anyone who knows the college staff well that the Maths department runs the college! Both the deputy head teachers of the college are Mathematicians; three of five the Pastoral Leaders (heads of year) are and so is the college’s Professional Tutor for the ECT programme of support.
Maths staff are highly collaborative, working together to produce high quality resources to ensure strong and consistent implementation of curriculum plans. The staff shared area contains long term, medium term and short term curriculum plans and schemes of work, together with lesson-by-lesson resources to support effective implementation. However, staff are free to create their own resources too, in order to achieve the learning objectives set for each week and to adapt and personalise for specific learning needs in the classroom. The high quality centralised resources are there to help reduce planning time but creativity and innovation are also encouraged. The Maths team has also adopted a policy of live marking which has also cut down on the volume of book marking and members of the team work together to innovate the curriculum. The international Maths programme Numeracy Ninjas was invented here at Wyvern by the current Deputy Head teacher when he was Curriculum Leader of Maths
The college timetable operates a two-week cycle of 50 one-hour lessons. For years 7-11, students have 8 hours of Maths per fortnight. Students are organised into two “sides of the year”. At KS3 (years7-8) there ae 5 classes on each side of the year: at KS4 there are 6 on one side and 5 on the other. Students are set according to attainment and ability on both sides of all year groups.
Safer Recruitment
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.
