BSN Assistant Headteacher - Student Leadership and Well-Being

Assistant Headteacher – Student Leadership and Well-Being We have an excellent opportunity for a creative thinking leader to join our Senior School Voorshoten (SSV) as Assistant Headteacher and carry forward and develop our values in the areas of student leadership and well-being, our House system, and our co-curricular programmes. The position begins in late August 2018, during an important point in the Leadership. We have already appointed two new Deputy Headteachers, who took up their positions in April and for the new term, our SLT will also include four Assistant Headteachers. This will provide an ideal situation for collaborating on new initiatives for improvement.

Our Assistant Headteachers have successful experience of leading and managing change and demonstrate highly effective leadership, including school initiatives with measurable impact. They regularly show characteristics of outstanding teaching; are outward-facing and a motivating presence with staff, students and parents. They display a range of personal characteristics such as warmth, patience, empathy, humility and resilience, which are associated with outstanding leaders; and inspire respect and commitment and are able to generate buy-in to initiatives.

General responsibilities will include:  Evaluating school performance and identifying priorities for improvement.  Promoting excellence, equality and high expectations for all students.  Driving forward the school’s vision, leadership and direction.  Ensuring a safe and productive learning environment which is engaging, motivating and inspiring for all students.  Undertaking day-to-day management, organisation and operational tasks.  Line managing subject areas or key posts.  Participating in lesson observations and other quality assurance activities.  A high profile in classrooms and learning environments, corridors and social spaces. Touring the school site regularly taking the necessary action to ensure the schools ethos is maintained and any areas of concern are followed through on and dealt with.  Being in contact with senior colleagues and the Headteacher at all times during the school day.  Continuing self-development and participate in training and development activities.  Covering the duties of other senior colleagues as and when required.

Specific responsibilities will include:          

Development of the House system ECO group work Health and well-being of students and staff Student leadership Student Award ceremonies Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities Educational Visits Whole School Environment and display SLT support Yr 7 Ownership of SDP priority area

Expectations will include:  Leadership which is credible, purposeful, fair and collaborative  A clear vision for continued school improvement within BSN  An ability to lead and manage change in whole school priorities  Positivism, optimism, enthusiasm and an absolute commitment to teamwork Line Manager: The post will be line managed by a Deputy Headteacher.

Mission and Governance  The BSN was founded in 1931 as a not for profit ‘Association’ and its mission is to provide education in the British tradition with an international perspective. This mission makes the BSN somewhat different from many other schools; we are here to serve our clientele – the international professional community in The Hague region, so we are not defined by a fixed number. Meeting this mission has required both flexibility and vision, we have successfully adapted to meet both growing student numbers and also the developing aspirations of the international community.

Accreditation  The BSN is a leading member of COBIS and an international member of HMC. It has IB accreditation for both the IB diploma and the IB Career related Certificate. The school’s recent excellent inspection report by ISI (2015), attests to its quality.

The BSN Group of Schools  The BSN group of schools are based in and around The Hague. Our 3 Junior Schools and 1 Senior School are home to 2300 students, aged 3–18. Approximately 30% of our student body is British with 70% coming from over 80 other countries. Support for EAL is therefore important and well developed. Our Senior School curriculum is based on the National Curriculum for England & Wales but has been expertly adapted to meet the unique needs of our international student body. 

BSN students achieve outstanding results and success in all fields and at all ages, with our Sixth Formers ultimately gaining entry to top universities around the world. Nevertheless, we successfully operate a non-selective entry policy and we are proud to provide education to students of all abilities. Our Additional Educational Needs department provides excellent support for a range of additional needs and we employ, where needed Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) to give support to individuals.

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Through our Language Centre we provide a range of courses for both adults and children in both the international and local Dutch community (approximately 1600 registrations per year). The centre offers everything from intensive Dutch or English courses to CELTA teacher training – alongside running after-school language classes and a very successful Summer Activities School.

Our Client Community  Over the years we have developed strong relationships with a wide range of major international corporations, with large international organisations (both UN and EU) and many national embassies.

As The Hague continues to attract inward investment and further build on its remarkable success as the ‘International City of Peace and Justice’, we anticipate the recent growth of the school is set to continue. Student numbers at The BSN continue to climb as the high reputation of The BSN amongst the international community prevails. 

Our students are drawn from the families of internationally mobile professionals; and while we cater for all abilities, the overall motivation, aspirations, level of parental support and standards of student behaviour are high. A great deal of effort is put into making arriving families feel welcome and supported and in maintaining close contacts at a high level with representatives of client organisations.

Our Staf  The BSN employs almost 700 full and part time staff. They come from all over the world, though the largest numbers are from the UK – bringing considerable experience of the British educational tradition. A significant number – especially support staff – are recruited locally. 

The recent growth of the school has resulted in a good balance between local experience and new ideas, and the age distribution is a perfect ‘bell curve’. Arrangements for staff training and professional development are very strong – with good links to UK and international school networks.

How to apply: Please complete our online application form, and, in a letter of application of no more than 2 sides of A4 addressed to Mr Topping, Headteacher, please indicate:  

How your recent experience has prepared you for this role.

Your thoughts about how you will know that your leadership is effective

Applications should reach us by Sunday 6 May 2018