Visiting Music Teacher – Cello
- Job title: Visiting Music Teacher - Cello
- Job Type: Casual work, no guaranteed hours
- Salary: £37.85
- Department: Music
- Reporting to: Director of Music
- Location: Highgate, North London
- Start: ASAP
- Closing Date: 22 September 2023 at 5:00 pm
Highgate seeks to temporarily appoint an experienced music teacher (specialising in cello) to cover individual lessons in the Junior School and to provide weekly group tuition cover, on the Junior Strings Project under the HeadStart programme on Wednesday afternoons. The role requires the music teacher to provide pupils with a rounded musical education through the medium of the teacher’s instrument and its range of repertoire.
The Department
Highgate School was established in 1565 by a Royal Charter of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the First. Sir Roger Cholmeley, our Founder, was granted Letters Patent to found ‘a grammar school…for good education and instruction’. Today Highgate is a flourishing coeducational independent school which includes the Senior School for pupils aged 11-18; the Junior School for pupils aged 7-11 and the Pre-Preparatory School for pupils aged 3-7. There are currently in the region of 1,550 pupils at Highgate and the School employs approximately 400 full-time or part-time teaching and support staff.
The School is situated in one of the most attractive and sought after areas of North London, only a short journey from Central London and adjacent to Hampstead Heath. The hilltop site in Highgate Village is the historic site of the Senior School. A few hundred yards along Hampstead Lane in Bishopswood Road lie the Junior and Pre-Preparatory Schools and the extensive playing fields, adjacent to the open spaces of Kenwood and Hampstead Heath. The Northern Line underground station is a short walk away and it is four miles to Central London.
Working at Highgate offers the opportunity to be part of a vibrant and welcoming community, committed to academic excellence and the highest standards of pastoral care for its pupils. The Governors consider the development of excellence in the education offered to the pupils to be the underlying purpose of activities undertaken by all staff.
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 and the Disclosure and Barring Service.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
- Experience in teaching individual lessons, group instrumental lessons, general musicianship and musical games
- Experience of the Essential String Method and Sheila Nelson’s approach to string teaching.
- The ability and desire to emphasise the encouragement of basic musical skills, physical ease with the instrument, and the enjoyment of playing through group tuition and ensemble playing.
- The ability to teach initial musical development, working imaginatively with pulse, rhythm and pitch to lay the musical foundations for tuition on string instruments in subsequent years.
- The ability to explore all elements of music, including note-reading, in an active and stimulating fashion.
- An understanding of the place of music in a school such as Highgate and support it in their teaching.
- Criteria
- How will these be tested or verified?
- Qualifications and experience
Essential
- Must possess a qualification in their instrument to at least degree level or hold a BA or equivalent in academic music
- Experience in teaching individual lessons, group instrumental lessons, general musicianship and musical games
- Experience in teaching individual Cello lessons.
Desirable
- The ability and desire to emphasise the encouragement of basic musical skills, physical ease with the instrument and the enjoyment of playing, through group tuition and ensemble playing.
- The ability to explore all elements of music, including note-reading, in an active and stimulating fashion.
- An understanding of the place of music in a school such as Highgate and support it in their teaching
- Personal Attributes
Essential
- Setting the highest professional standards of dress, punctuality and politeness and be prepared to demand the same of their pupils
- Must have an ability to relate well to both pupils and other teaching and administrative members of the Music Department and the School and communicate effectively with parents as necessary
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.
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).
Holidays | Generous holiday allowance of 33 days (including bank holidays) for full-time staff. Most holidays will be taken during school holiday periods.
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: 22nd September 2023
- Timing of interviews: w/c 11/09/2023
Contact: Recruitment Team are happy to answer any questions about this post.
Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.
Apply hereInclusion
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.
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.
In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.