St Helen’s School Hiring for Singing Teacher (January 2023) Job at Northwood, South East England, England , UK Full Time

SINGING TEACHER

REQUIRED FOR JANUARY 2023

This is a superb opportunity for an experienced singing teacher to join our

thriving Music Department.

Thank you for showing an interest in this post. We hope that the following

information about St Helen’s and associated description will help you to decide

that this is an application which you wish to pursue.

WELCOME TO ST HELEN’S

St Helen’s is a large, thriving all-through school and many of the girls who

leave us at the end of Year 13 have been with us since Nursery or Reception.

We are ambitious for every single girl: that she achieves her potential; that she

leaves us to embark upon an exciting and fulfilling future, able to deal with

whatever life throws at her with a calm, inner resolve, and a sense of fun; that

she is ready to go out into the world and make a difference. St Helen’s has a

long tradition of academic excellence which encourages girls to pursue

intellectual curiosity beyond the curriculum. Our GCSE results put us very

securely into the top 50 independent schools in the country each year (28th in

2022), and we are ranked 30th for A Level’s in the Telegraph League Table of

UK Independent schools 2022. Sixth Formers go on to established, high-
ranking universities including Oxford and Cambridge, with more than a third

studying STEM subjects. However, we give our girls much more than just

academic success; our co-curricular programme is rich and varied, and our

pastoral care ensures that every girl is valued and cared for.

Within easy reach of central London, our school is set in 21 acres of lovely

grounds and, just as we are proud of our students’ academic achievements

and their personal development, we are also proud of our facilities and

buildings. We have invested over £20 million in a building programme over the

last five years and have plans to do more.

St Helen’s has a warm and lively atmosphere that makes it a really exciting

place to work. Our staff and our girls look out for each other and encourage

each other to be the best possible version of themselves. As such, you will play

a vital role in supporting the school in the next stage of its journey and I look

forward to receiving your application.

Alice Lucas, Headmistress

THE SCHOOL

St Helen’s is an academically selective independent girls’ day school of more

than 1100 students aged 3-18, set in beautiful green space in Northwood,

Middlesex.

It draws pupils from a wide area of north-west London, Buckinghamshire, and

Hertfordshire with easy access by Underground from central London.

Our aims are:

• To provide each and every girl with the opportunity and means to

achieve academic excellence.

• To provide our students with the personal skills, emotional resilience,

and the confidence to achieve their full potential through a varied, rich

and challenging co-curricular programme.

• To know, value and respect all girls as individuals so as to best support

them on their journey through the school.

• To ensure that the girls are ready to play a full and active part in their

communities and in an interconnected digital world.

Our students achieve high academic standards, and we encourage them to

develop lifelong skills in a diverse range of areas, both within and outside the

curriculum, and to pursue their individual ambitions. The school is proud of its

tradition of providing a balanced and forward-looking education through which

its pupils can become confident, independent learners and leaders in their fields,

their professions, and their communities. Attention to the individual child is at the

heart of everything we do and shapes the pastoral care, teaching and learning

and the co- curricular opportunities on offer at St Helen’s.

THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT

Music plays a central role at St Helen’s, with four class teachers across the

Prep and Senior Schools, a Music Administrator, Performing Arts Technician,

and a team of 17 visiting music teachers led by the Head of Instrumental and

Vocal Music. Senior Music is based in a new purpose-built space, opened in

2019, which includes two classrooms, a Music Technology suite equipped with

a fleet of iMacs, a Recital Hall, a Recording Studio, and 14 practice rooms.

Pupils in Years 7 and 9 take one 55-minute lesson each week, with Year 8

pupils taking three periods per fortnight; diverse and bespoke schemes of work

are based around a practical core, with key strands of Music Technology and

Band Skills featuring through the Key Stage. GCSE Music is a popular option

(Edexcel) and numbers taking A Level Music are increasing; in the coming year

the Department will be transitioning from OCR to Edexcel.

Co-curricular music is thriving at St Helen’s, with a large number of girls

participating in activities on a weekly basis. We offer a plethora of co-curricular

ensembles including multiple orchestras and choirs, jazz groups, Soul and Pop

bands and a variety of chamber and smaller groups. There are many

performance opportunities for ensembles and choirs throughout the year,

including a large-scale Ensembles Concert (featuring around 200 performers)

and a Chamber Concert in each term, two Pop Concerts, a Carol Service and a

variety of Solo Showcase concerts held every few weeks. Music Tours are

being integrated back into the calendar post-pandemic, and the Department

will be taking 100 pupils to perform in Paris in July 2022. The Department

maintains an excellent relationship with Merchant Taylor’s School and each

year stages a Joint Concert, in which the combined choirs perform a large-
scale choral work (most recently, Faure’s Requiem). A combined musical takes

place every other year (most recently, Chicago).

Each week, over 250 individual music lessons are taught by the visiting music

staff; this has been augmented recently with fully funded instrumental schemes

which have enabled many new learners to get started with a new musical

instrument.

THE POST

St Helen’s is seeking to appoint a Singing Teacher to work in our Music

Department based in our beautiful new School of Music. We are looking for a

Classical singer who is also able to teach some Musical Theatre and Pop.

This role is likely to require one and a half to two days of teaching per week,

term time only (including INSET Days), depending on pupil numbers in

January 2023.

REPORTING

Instrumental and Vocal Teachers report to the Head of Instrumental and Vocal

Music.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Teach individual singing lessons to pupils across St Helen’s School as

allocated by the Head of Instrumental and Vocal Music. You are expected

to prepare and teach 30 music lessons to individual pupils over the course

of the school year.

2. To enjoy teaching music in a wide range of styles, focusing on Classical

repertoire.

3. To direct at least one choir in either Junior or Senior School (from

September 2023).

4. Arrange timetable for music lessons in consultation with the Head of

Instrumental and Vocal Music, main curriculum teaching staff and parents.

5. Keep registers with clear pupil attendance details utilising our Music

Department Management software.

6. Complete one cycle of reports and one online parent’s evening annually.

7. Attend mandatory training and department meetings as requested.

8. Carry out other reasonable duties as directed by the Director of Music.

Other Duties:

9. Promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people and

ensure compliance with the School’s Child Protection & Safeguarding

Policy.

10. Support and promote the School’s ethos, aims and objectives.

11. Implement responsibilities as set out in the School’s Health & Safety

Policy

HOURS

The role is likely to require one and a half to two days of teaching per week,

term time only (including INSET Days), depending on pupil numbers in January

2023.

PAY

£41.37 per hour

contributions

• 50% fee remission for eligible staff children ( pro rata for part time staff)

• Access to the School’s swimming pool and fitness suite

• On-site parking and excellent public transport links

• Free lunch and refreshments

• Generous occupational sick pay

• Competitive pay

• A commitment to professional development

• A beautiful working environment – the School is set in a conservation site in

excess of 20 acres.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Closing date: 8am Wednesday 23rd November 2022

To apply: please complete our online application form found on our School

Website: Work for Us – St Helen’s School (sthelens.london)

Please apply as soon as possible as shortlisting/interviews will progress up

until the closing date. Should a suitable candidate be appointed, we reserve

the right to close the advert early.

Due to the volume of applicants, we receive, if you do not hear from us within 4

weeks of the closing date, please assume we will not be progressing your

application further on this occasion

THE SELECTION PROCESS

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to the school where they will be

interviewed by the Director of Music and Head of Instrumental and Vocal

Music. They will also be observed teaching.

St Helen’s school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of

children and young people, as detailed in Part 3 (Safer Recruitment) of the

KCSIE 2022 guidance document. Applicants will be asked for proof of right to

work in the UK and undergo child protection screening, including checks with

past employers and the disclosure and barring service.

If you have any queries about this position, please contact the school at:

[email protected]