Head of Year (Dean of Students)

The Role:

The Head of Year (Dean of Students) is responsible for ensuring appropriate expectations of student behaviour while at school.  This includes student supervision, guidance and discipline, as needed. The Dean of students is responsible, with the Assistant Principal, for the day-to-day behaviour management within the small school.

The Head of Year (Dean of Students) is expected to provide leadership on issues of routine and ritual implementation, behaviour and parental involvement as well as holding Learning Family Leads to account for their actions with students. The overarching goals of the position are to encourage and support positive student alignment and behaviour and to engage parents in the success of their children, when needed, through improving Globe Growth within the small school.

 Key Responsibilities:

• Demonstrate outstanding leadership qualities and articulate clear values and moral purpose
• To create a culture of success and rewards that motivates and inspires students in their small school
• To work closely with the small school teams to ensure that students demonstrate positive behaviour and that the teams are aligned to Ark Globe Culture Pyramid
• Effectively implement and monitor student attendance in the small school to ensure absence rates remains low
• Ensuring that Learning Family Leads (tutors) consistently deliver pastoral programmes and initiatives
• To develop relationships and behaviour plans with those students who need help by coaching, mentoring and supporting these students towards increasingly positive behaviour
• To supervise break and lunch and the small school during lessons

 Key tasks:

• To support students in progressing their ‘Globe Growth’ scores, by organising and facilitating Prep sessions for those students who require intervention in their behaviour for learning
• To work alongside the Assistant Principal in developing an innovative pastoral curriculum, including assemblies, to encourage behaviours and attitudes that increase life chances through the development of social, emotional and cultural capital
• Act as a positive role model to staff and students
• To develop and implement a plan for parental engagement
• To address parent concerns as they arise and where appropriate liaise with multi- agencies with the support of the Assistant Principal and DSL/DDSL

Other:

• Undertake, and when required, deliver or be part of the appraisal system and relevant training and professional development
• To undertake any other responsibilities as directed by the Executive Principal

Person Specification: Head of Year (Dean of Students)

Necessary qualification criteria:

• Qualified to degree level and above
• Qualified to teach and work in the UK

Knowledge, skills and experience:

• Experience of understanding how to improve and sustain and effective behaviour policies in a challenging school
• Experience of having worked to support the significant success of others.
• Experience of working with staff to improve their behaviour management in and out of the classroom
• Experience of Safeguarding /Child Protection of staff and students in and out of the classroom

Behaviours and attitude:

• Model professionalism and high expectations at all times
• Demonstrates resilience, motivation and commitment to driving up standards of achievement
• Evidence of the skills and competencies to develop effective relationships with parents, the community and other stakeholders

Leadership and Management:

• Contributed to and deliver the vision for the school so that it is owned by all staff, students and parents
• Effective leadership of pastoral care and student well-being to achieve improved outcomes for students
• Lead on projects and programmes that have ensured challenging objectives have been met
• Genuine passion and a belief in the potential of every student
• Motivation to continually improve standards and achieve excellence

Teaching and Learning:

• Consistently teaches excellent lessons that motivate, inspire and improve student attainment
• Use regular assessments to monitor progress and set targets, and respond accordingly to the results of such monitoring and apply this process to your line management
• Ensured that all students, irrespective of their starting point, made exceptional academic progress.
  

• Commitment to equality of opportunity and the safeguarding and welfare of all pupils
• Willingness to undertake training
• This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants. 

 Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.

• Salaries 2.5% higher than main pay scale.
• Twice as many training days as standard.
• Generous pension scheme.
• Access to Ark rewards – a scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers
• Interest-free loans – up to £5,000 available for season ticket or to buy a bicycle.
• Gym discounts – offering up to 40%.
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme – providing free, confidential counselling, legal advice and a range of different support.

We are a mixed all-through school that caters for children from nursery age through to sixth form. We have the highest aspirations for all our children to ensure they are prepared for university and inspired to be leaders in their community. We offer our students a first-class education based on high quality teaching and experiences outside of the classroom.  

Our school was recognised by the Government in its Parliamentary Review as an example of good practice in education and we are ranked in the top 10% of schools nationally. All of our sixth form students received a university offer with 73% of those being a top 3rd university.

We pride ourselves on the relationships our staff have with our students, caring for them throughout their education. We also work closely with families to ensure that all our students are committed to learning and develop the character necessary to take advantage of all the opportunities we provide.