Visiting Music Teacher – Piano
- Job title: Visiting Music Teacher - Piano
- Job Type: Casual, no guaranteed hours, 1-1.5 days per week
- Salary: £37.85 per hour
- Department: Music
- Reporting to: Director of Music
- Location: Highgate, North London
- Start: September, 2024
- Closing Date: 17 June 2024 at 9:00 am
We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced piano teacher to join our thriving department from September 2024. The successful candidate would be teaching one-to-one lessons to pupils across the Junior and Senior Schools. There are currently approximately 1 – 1.5 days of teaching available, on an employed basis.
In order to be successful in this role you must have a passion for teaching children, excellent organisational skills and the flexibility to work in a busy school music department.
The successful candidate must possess a qualification in their instrument to at least degree level or hold a BA or equivalent in academic music. A teaching qualification would also be highly desirable.
The Department
Highgate has a long and distinguished musical tradition: former pupils include John Rutter CBE, Sir John Tavener, Howard Shelley OBE, Jan Latham-Koenig and Daniel Hope. The Senior School Music Department has its base in Dyne House at the heart of the School.
The Music Department has three offices/teaching rooms for the full-time staff, twelve teaching/practice rooms, five classrooms (including an IT music suite and a keyboard room), and a recital/rehearsal room, as well as a 300-seater auditorium refitted with the latest technology in acoustic design.
Individual music lessons are given in all the usual instruments and singing. Over 55% of the School’s pupils have music lessons, either inside or outside the School and approximately 45% have lessons in school. About 650 lessons are given per week. A number of pupils attend the junior departments of London music colleges and participate in the New London Children’s Choir, and National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
The Music Department is a thriving and busy department with numerous choirs and ensembles. Recent pupil performances include Schumann Symphony 4, Rutter Gloria and Anything Goes the Musical.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
- To teach 35-minute piano lessons to each pupil once a week
- To provide 30 music lessons to each pupil across the academic year
- To teach all elements of piano playing in a stimulating manner
- To provide a considered programme of study tailored to each individual pupil that allows for continuity from lesson to lesson
- To prepare pupils to perform in concerts and in other events
- To have experience in preparing pupils for exams
- To ensure that each pupil is aware of his or her practice requirements for the next lesson and is supported in following those requirements
- To write reports to parents or carers once a year on each pupil’s progress or to attend visiting music teachers’ parents consultation evening twice a year
- To make weekly teaching timetables which work on a lesson rotation system
- To stay up to date with emails to parents involving timetabling, attendance and other relevant matters
- To engage positively with the annual VMT Continuous Professional Learning Programme
These duties and responsibilities are intended as a guide. They are not exhaustive: the Visiting Music Teacher will be expected to undertake any reasonable task or responsibility as required by the Director of Music.
- Criteria
- How will these be tested or verified?
- Qualifications and Professional Bodies
- Must possess a qualification in their instrument to at least degree level or hold a BA or equivalent in academic music
- A teaching qualification would be highly desirable but not essential
- Skills and Experience
- Experience in teaching individual piano lessons at a high level to all standards
- The ability to teach piano in a holistic fashion, which appreciates the connection between technique and musicianship
- The ability to explore all elements of music, including note-reading, in an active and stimulating fashion.
- Personal Attributes
- A passion for teaching
- An ability to relate well to both pupils and other members of the Music Department and the School
- To communicate effectively with parents and carers as necessary
Benefits
Location | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.
Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered – 26% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 16% 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 including hot meals, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and dessert.
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: 17th June 2024
- Video Interviews: w/c 17th June
- In Person Interviews: June 27th and 28th
Contact: The 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.
We are aware that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in independent education institutions and we’re working to doing what we can to redress this. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people from minoritised ethnic and racial backgrounds, people with a disability and/or neurodiverse applicants (including those with a ‘hidden’ disability, LGBTQ+ people, as we are working to make our staff body more representative of the UK and London population.
We are also aware that many highly capable prospective candidates nonetheless rule themselves out of applying for positions because they may underestimate their own ability to do the role. With this in mind, we strongly encourage applications from anyone who is prepared to learn and develop professionally on the job and would like to stress that past experience of working in education, or admissions is not required.
If this application process doesn’t support your needs and you would like to discuss additional support to apply, please contact Recruitment@highgateschool.org.uk
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 KCSIE 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 Policy
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.