Strategic Inclusion Coordinator (Whole School)
- Job title: Strategic Inclusion Coordinator (Whole School)
- Job Type: Permanent, Part-Time (2 days per week), Term-Time + 3 weeks
- Salary: £9,923 per annum (FTE £30,000)
- Department: Strategic Inclusion
- Reporting to: Strategic Inclusion Lead
- Location: Highgate, London
- Start: ASAP
- Closing Date: 14 April 2024 at 9:00 am
Are you interested in working strategically to deliver inclusion (DEI) in an education institution working creatively and collaboratively to promote a true sense of belonging?
The strategic inclusion coordinator role is an amazing opportunity to work within a small inclusion team, and with staff across the School to embed strategy, processes, and celebratory initiatives related to inclusion. If you are passionate about making tangible positive change in an organisation we would love to hear from you.
THE DEPARTMENT
The strategic inclusion department at Highgate is one that works to foster inclusion for all staff and all pupils across the whole organisation. Our long term goal sees us working to make Highgate a truly inclusive community in which all members feel a true sense of belonging. Our department is uniquely placed to deliver on this goal by working strategically and collaboratively with all parts of the School; this includes working with departments such as HR, IT, marketing and comms, admissions, and a range of strategic inclusion partners.
The department work has an interesting and impactful portfolio of work ranging from implementing inclusion training and professional development, developing and updating the diversity calendar, creating digital and physical inclusion displays, convening inclusion meetings and working groups, and delivering events or talks aligned with strategic inclusion priorities or global diversity celebrations and dates of significance.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
The Strategic Inclusion Coordinator will report to the Strategic Inclusion Lead and will work will colleagues across the School to support Highgate’s long-term strategic inclusion aim and objectives. This role will suit someone with an interest in inclusion and in making a demonstrable impact for the School; it will also provide opportunities for professional (cross-sector) skills development in inclusion. This coordinator role is a School-wide role and is primarily (though not solely) focused on the activities that are colleague/adult/organisation-facing.
SIC responsibilities will include:
Operational
- To co-ordinate activities that embed inclusion into roles and departments across the school.
- To co-ordinate and develop Highgate School inclusion partnerships (i.e., Inclusive Employers corporate membership, ACEN etc.)
- To co-ordinate, in partnership with the Strategic Inclusion Lead, termly strategic inclusion meetings.
- To co-ordinate the administrative inclusion activities (e.g. SOCS calendar entries) and to keep abreast of national inclusion initiatives
- To work with the Strategic Inclusion Lead, HR and People team, and others to ensure inclusion related policy and procedures and up-to-date and easily adoptable by staff.
- To help track and monitor the impact and effectiveness of the inclusion work
- To support the work of the Strategic Inclusion Lead to achieve the School’s inclusion objectives
Training and Professional Development
- To attend relevant inclusion training or conferences and coordinate the dissemination of best inclusion practice from across the School, and from external sources to the School.
- To maintain an up-to-date log of staff attendance at inclusion-related training, webinars, and conferences.
- To function as staff expert for some inclusion areas (training is available for this).
- To maintain an up-to-date log of staff attendance at inclusion-related training, webinars, and conferences.
Communications
- To provide inclusion materials and updates for the different stakeholders via the different platforms e.g. staff internal, website, School Post letters, displays, social media and internal digital comms
- To work in partnership with staff to share best inclusion practice (i.e. inset sessions, meetings, newsletter comms etc)- this will include periodic sharing with Junior School and Pre-Prep as appropriate.
- To co-ordinate and support parent inclusion spaces and parent comms and updates re: inclusion (i.e., maintaining and updating Parent Portal)
- To co-author the termly inclusion newsletters – gathering examples of exciting projects, curriculum content, assemblies, displays and initiatives to share with colleagues across the School.
- Criteria
- How will these be tested or verified?
- Essential
- A commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- A willingness to participate in ongoing training and development across a range of inclusion areas
- The ability to work as part of a team
- Self-motivation and an ability to use initiative
- Organisational and project-management skills
- Flexibility and the ability to work across all levels and meet changing requirements
- Desirable
- Comms and marketing (skills or willingness to learn)
- Relationship and stakeholder management skills
- Presentation and training skills
Benefits
Location | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.
Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered with a generous 21% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 11% of this as additional non-pensionable salary, employees contribute a minimum of 5%.
Personal development | Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.
Leisure facilities | Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).
Lunch | A complimentary lunch.
Help with sustainable travel | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.
Family-friendly policies | Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks’ full pay, then 10 weeks’ half pay) and paid dependant leave.
Working at Highgate
A culture of community, kindness and belonging
Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.
Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.
In a recent ISI inspection (Dec 2021), it was noted that “Pupils show exceptional respect for, and appreciate diversity within the school and wider community, and their own and other cultures, demonstrating sensitivity and tolerance to those from different backgrounds and traditions.”
Staff wellbeing
Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.
The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.
We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.
More details about working at Highgate can be found here:
Charitable work and sustainability
As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible – through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham – an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.
Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.
As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.
Application procedure
- Closing Date: 14th April 2024
- Timing of interviews: w/c 22nd April 2024
Contact: Please contact the Recruitment Team
Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.
Inclusion
We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive. To enable us to make reasonable adjustments, please let us know of any disabilities (including neuro-divergence) when you submit your application.
Safeguarding
As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate’s Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. If in the course of carrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment. Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.
Please read before you apply
Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. DBS Privacy Policies
Please note that this role is ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not ‘protected’ (i.e. filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview. DBS Code of Practice
In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.