Teacher of Geography

AN INDEPENDENT CO-EDUCATIONAL DAY AND BOARDING SCHOOL FOR PUPILS AGED 7 TO 18 IN THE HEART OF SURREY

of Geography

Information for prospective staff

Teacher

About Freemen's

Our mission is to inspire our people to learn, to lead and to make a difference.

We believe that if we can motivate pupils and staff to always give their best, the School will continue to grow and thrive. Community engagement and our impact on the world beyond our walls are at the forefront of everything we do at Freemen’s.

The School was founded in Brixton in 1854 to provide an education for the orphaned children of Freemen of the City of London before moving to the present site, Ashtead Park, in 1926. We have a magnificent site with modern buildings alongside the original Main House set in a stunning 57 acres of parkland. This idyllic setting further supports the wellbeing of our students and staff, as being here, in the park, makes coming to work a pleasure. It looks striking in every season and we are lucky to have a vast array of wildlife living in our woods.

Today, Freemen’s is an independent day and boarding school for students aged 7-18, with a strong ethos of community and service in accordance with the values on which the School

was founded. We are proudly co-educational and have been since 1854, which was radical at the time, and we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible with our forward-thinking, progressive approach.

You can expect to be teaching highly able, personable and engaged students who are a pleasure to work with. Whilst stellar exam results and academic excellence are one of the outcomes at the school, that’s not all. Our curriculum ensures each individual finds a path which is appropriate for them, be that in the classroom, on a sports pitch or in one of the many co-curricular activities we encourage our young people to throw themselves into. That curriculum is built upon four pillars of the Freemen’s education: pastoral support, House activities, academic achievement, and our varied co-curricular programme (including sport) to ensure every student realises their potential. Crucially, we then spend time helping our students to understand who and why they are becoming the people they are.

Teachers at Freemen's embody our principles for excellent classroom practice, offering innovative and forward-thinking approaches and enabling us to be a beacon of learning and teaching. They are supported with a comprehensive programme

About Freemen's

of continued professional learning so there are always opportunities to develop and we stay abreast of change.

The emphasis in the Junior School is on Kindness, Honesty and Fun and the Senior School picks up that message with a pastoral programme that emphasizes the importance of a strong, supportive community in which every member, staff and student, feels respected, supported and valued. As a result, we are able to support our young people to successfully navigate the tests of life they face every day.

We do all of this in an environment where staff and students are helped to feel like they matter, feel supported, and enjoy access to a community of people and physical environment which is good for the body and for the soul.

The School is one of four independent schools managed by the City of London Corporation (The City). The City provides financial support in the form of bursaries and scholarships. Other links with the City of London and the Livery Companies are strong, which presents opportunities for staff to attend events at Guildhall and elsewhere in the City, as well as the possibility of gaining the honour of the Freedom of the City of London.

Transport links are good; the School is a mile from Ashtead station with regular services to Epsom and London and south to Leatherhead and Guildford. The M25 junction 9 is a sevenminute drive from the School.

Our Geography Department

Freemen’s Geography department is a strong and successful department.

The department is located in the Senior School building and has a suite of three Geography rooms equipped with interactive Smartboards.

The department has three full-time Geography specialists and extra support from staff who have a geography related-degree who teach some Key Stage 3.

We have received SGQM Award for several years and currently have been awarded Excellent in our fieldwork provision by The Geography Association. The department subscribes to several geography websites such as Geography Association, RGS and Cross Curricular Geofiles.

Online lectures are regularly attended by staff and students at Guildford GA and RGS in Kensington. All pupils at GCSE subscribe to Wide World and A Level students to Geography Review.

All pupils from Upper 3 (Year 7) upwards are given a school iPad and their use is fully

integrated into Geography lessons, using their eBooks in class and for homework. From Upper 4 (Year 9) upwards fieldwork data collection and presentation is completed using applications such as Digimaps and ArcGIS.

Every year group has a different fieldtrip, and it is an expectation of the successful candidate to attend all the fieldtrips including residential ones.

Fieldwork has included one-day trips to places such as Eastbourne and residential trips to Snowdonia and Barcelona. We also offer optional international trips every two years and we have most recently been to Japan and Iceland.

Currently our Geography provision is as follows:

At Key Stage 3 students cover a range of physical and human geography topics.

We use Progress in Geography KS3 textbooks for Upper 3 and Lower 4 as well as Geog. Collection. Students are introduced to the Enquiry Approach and complete their own investigations on Weather and conduct fieldwork enquiries on coastal erosion and sustainability. In Upper 4 students are introduced to GCSE Geography through the topics of Ecosystems and Urbanisation.

Our Geography Department

A residential trip is offered to study sand dune ecosystems and tourism impact in Dorset. Geography is a popular GCSE option with twothirds of the year group continuing with the subject.

At Key Stage 4 we are in the process of changing from AQA specification to Edexcel A specification and have three sets per year group.

All students complete physical and human topics and conduct a day trip in Lower 5 to Olympic Park, looking at regeneration. In Upper 5 we undertake a three-day visit to Snowdonia to study rivers and glacial landscapes and to conduct a river enquiry.

At Key Stage 5 we follow the AQA specification and have two sets per year group, making Geography a very popular A Level subject. Each teacher is expected to teach both physical and human topics at A Level.

A variety of topics are continued from GCSE such as Hazards and new topics are introduced too such as Desert Landscapes.

All students have their own device, and all students have an account set up in ArcGIS to conduct several pilot fieldwork projects in the local area before visiting Barcelona at the end of Lower 6 to conduct their NEA for five days.

Information about the role

Reporting to: Head of Geography

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Awareness of and compliance with all aspects of the School’s safeguarding policy. Staff will undergo initial and ongoing training and be responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of the students for whom they are responsible.

• Preparation and planning of lessons in accordance with departmental schemes of work.

• Demonstrating a range of teaching methods and keeping abreast of developments in their subject area; employing a range of teaching resources including the display of pupils’ work.

• Carrying out summative and formative assessment according to departmental and School policies. Recording assessment grades/reports etc. within deadlines set and keeping clear records.

• Setting and marking of class work, homework, examinations and coursework according to relevant School and departmental policies.

• Reporting to parents on progress at parents’ evenings or on reasonable request from parents.

• Recognition of the specific needs of each pupil and of classes. Setting an appropriately

challenging pace for lessons and adapting teaching methods to the needs of pupils.

• Establishing a structured learning environment conducive to learning and where pupils know that high standards are always required.

• Managing the classroom effectively with appropriate use of sanctions and rewards in accordance with departmental and School policies.

• Motivating pupils to learn and establishing a rapport with pupils conducive to learning.

• Attending departmental meetings and sharing departmental responsibility, including co-curricular support; attending staff meetings.

• Seek and undertake professional development to support individual, department and School development including School or departmental INSET

• Commit to maintaining a good working knowledge of the School’s IT systems and practising excellent information security habits.

• Contributions to the wider life of the School including the duty and cover roster and a significant commitment to the co-curricular programme.

• Teaching staff are expected to support school events, such as assemblies; and

Job description - Teacher of Geography

attend those events as required by the Headmaster, including: Open Day, Prizegiving Ceremonies, Parents’ Evenings, INSET Days and the Entrance Examination days.

• Staff are expected to play a full role in the pastoral life of the school, including taking a Tutor Group.

• Staff should ensure prompt attendance within school contracted business hours.

• Staff should ensure they wear appropriate business dress or, where appropriate, co-curricular clothing.

Other

• Actively seek to implement the City of London’s Occupational Health and Safety Policy in relation to the duties of the post, and at all times give due regard to the health and safety of both themselves and others when carrying out their duties.

• Reporting all accidents to the City’s Incident Report Helpline, details of which are on

Common Room noticeboards.

• Informing the Bursar of any concerns regarding Health & Safety and safe working practices.

• Teaching staff will read and act upon, or in accordance with, all the relevant school and departmental policies.

• Actively seek to implement the City of London’s Equal Opportunity Policy and the objective to promote equality of opportunity in relation to the duties of the post.

• To undertake any other duties that may reasonably be requested appropriate to the grade.

• Carrying out the normal supervision duties as laid down in School policies

• Staff will uphold public trust in the profession and the reputation of the school by maintaining the highest standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school. They will show tolerance of and respect for the rights of others and not undermine Fundamental British Values, including

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Job description - Teacher of Geography

democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. They will ensure that their personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils’ vulnerability or might lead them to break the law.

Person specification

• Staff should demonstrate a passion for, and expertise in, their subject and use that to inspire the students whom them teach. They should hold a good honours degree in a relevant subject, ideally a 2.1 or higher.

• To either, hold QTS and demonstrate a track record of success, or possess the willingness and ability become a qualified teacher.

• Someone with an awareness of, and a commitment to, the needs of young people in a school setting; someone who shares the School’s commitment to promoting the welfare of and safeguarding children.

• An enthusiastic and dynamic teacher and leader, able to motivate and inspire pupils and staff to achieve the highest standards.

• Someone who can build and maintain professional relationships, striking the right balance between formal and informal channels.

• Someone with good time management skills, able to cope with the demands and life of a busy leading independent school.

• An effective communicator.

• Someone with good digital skills and the ability to deal with the administrative routines.

• Someone who can demonstrate a love of learning and who seeks to develop their professional practice.

"This friendly, grounded and well-run school takes the pressure off getting academically bright young things into senior schools and seems to a knack of making challenging work seem fun."

The Good Schools Guide

Professional expectations of staff

Safeguarding

Staff will be kind, fair and respectful to students and each other, challenge others when they are unkind, unfair or disrespectful and have the highest regard for the students’ safety and their safeguarding duties, whether on or off the school premises.

Appearance

Smart professional dress, or appropriate co-curricular clothing, at all times.

Availability

Prompt attendance during the School’s operating hours and a commitment to completing School business is expected.

Awareness and use of Freemen’s policies

Staff will be able to access and use policies as necessary, and read and act upon them appropriately.

Behaviour

Staff will establish Freemen’s as a place of learning and will determine clear boundaries of behaviour, based on mutual respect and trust. Staff will have high expectations of students and will manage their behaviour effectively.

Collective responsibility

Staff share collective responsibility for Freemen’s standards, reputation and property, should treat them with respect and care, and insist others do likewise.

Communication

Staff will expect high standards of communication from students and will, in turn, demonstrate accurate, timely and appropriate communication when dealing with students, parents and colleagues.

Ethics and behaviour

Staff will uphold public trust in the profession and the reputation of Freemen’s by maintaining high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside School. They will be respectful and tolerant of the rights of others, including colleagues, and not undermine fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. They will ensure that their personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils’ vulnerability or might lead them to break the law.

Learn, lead and make a difference

Leaders

Staff will be leaders in the School, exercising good judgement and modelling the behaviour and habits that are expected of the students.

Learners

Staff will show and share a passion for their subject or discipline(s). They will seek to develop as professionals and as specialists, will be open to feedback and will seek opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and engage with relevant research.

Planning

Teaching staff will have a sense of where the lesson fits within the scheme of work and plan well-structured lessons using an appropriate range of pedagogies.

Use of feedback

Staff will seek to use feedback for themselves and if appropriate, their students and will complete assessments and reports in a timely fashion in the appropriate manner and style.

How to apply

Applicants should send a letter of application and a completed application form to the Headmaster via CLFS-Recruitment@ cityoflondon.gov.uk, by 9am on Monday 18 March quoting reference 065/298. As a day school with boarding we may have opportunities to join our boarding community with some roles coming with accommodation. Please do let us know in your application if you are interested.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interviews that will take place on Friday 22 March, though candidates are asked to note that Freemen’s retains the right to interview and appoint at any time during the application process. Candidates can expect to be interviewed by members of the Senior Leadership Team, meet members of the department and students, tour the school, teach a lesson, and discuss how they will help Freemen’s achieve its mission and aims. Depending on the post other tasks may also be required.

Freemen’s acknowledges receipt of all applications, if you have not received confirmation of the safe receipt of your application within two working days please call the school or email CLFS-Recruitment@ cityoflondon.gov.uk to check on its status.

The successful candidate must be able to satisfy the City of London’s health requirements and a confidential medical assessment by the City of London’s Medical Officer is required. City of London Freemen’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all employees to share this commitment. The successful applicant must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the

post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (Enhanced Disclosure).

"Friendly was the single most uttered word used to describe the school by students, while parents report that their offspring are happy. ‘Kind’ and ‘non-judgemental,’ we also heard, with support on tap."

The Good Schools Guide

Your benefits

Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS)

Contributory defined benefit

Family friendly

Significantly enhanced maternity, adoption and shared parental leave entitlement

Free lunch and refreshments

The option to join Supper Club at a subsidised rate

Fee remission

Up to 50% fee remission subject to the normal entry requirements.

Cycle to work scheme

Up to £3,000 salary sacrifice

Season Ticket Loan

Free parking on site

Access to on-site facilities

City of London benefits:

• CityBenefits - discounts and cashback.

• Wellbeing resources.

• Sponsorship to become a Freeman of the City of London.

Sports and Leisure:

• Discounted gym membership.

• Free use of the fitness suite.

• Staff social and sporting opportunities including pilates, yoga and five-a-side football.

• Free staff swimming and weekend family swimming for staff.

Learning and Development:

• Funding to obtain QTS/PGCE.

• Tailored CPD for all colleagues that includes a thriving internal CPD programme, as well as a range of external opportunities such as Masters and PhD support, Enquiring Teachers Programme and Chartered College qualifications.

Wellbeing:

• Up to 2 days’ paid leave for volunteering.

• Cash back on private health care treatment.

• Access to on-site Medical Centre.

• Staff Wellbeing Committee.

• Confidential Employee Assistance for staff and their families.

• Emergencies-only approach to out of hours email.

"A down-to-earth, friendly school that’s comfortable in its own skin rather than relentlessly trying to show off its most polished side – and is all the better for it. Just the ticket for parents after a high-quality, stress-free route for their academically bright sons and daughters from age 7 right through to 18. Almost unique around here."

The Good Schools Guide