Working With Us
Harris Academy Chobham is always on the lookout for inspirational and influential staff. Most of all, we are on the lookout for potential colleagues who like our students and want to help them succeed. In order to help our staff have the best possible experience and achieve a proper work- life balance, we have put into place a range of measures to benefit both our teaching and students services colleagues.
These include:
- An extra week of holiday for all Chobham staff. This takes the form of a two-week half term in October. We work fewer days than most other schools.
- Outstanding professional development both at Harris Academy Chobham and through the wider Harris Federation
- Excellent promotion opportunities
- A constant dialogue about workload and how to manage it most effectively. We have regular workload audits, and frequent campaigns to tackle unnecessary work and identify quick wins
- Rapid and effective support with any student behavioural issues arising
- A high-quality staff induction programme
- Marking protocols devised by departments themselves
- Manageable and flexible lesson planning expectations
- Clear communications and manageable deadlines. We only ask staff to do what is necessary and avoid complication and confusion. Harris Academy Chobham is an exceptionally well-run school
- Learning walks rather than formal lesson observations. These are not graded
- Nursery on site
- Flexible and part time working encouraged whenever possible
- Additional time for leadership responsibilities
- Focus on effective outcomes rather than time spent
- High levels of administrative support for all teachers
- Ongoing celebration of staff excellence
- Generous Harris rewards and benefits package, including an extra £2000 annually for Main/Upper Payscale Teachers working in our Academy.
We place high emphasis on staff wellbeing at Chobham. This helps colleagues to be happier and more effective in their work. Staff are regularly consulted about their wellbeing and the outcomes of these consultations have a direct and rapid impact upon the Academy's approach to supporting staff wellbeing.
We understand that while it is incredibly rewarding, teaching is also a physically and emotionally wearing job. We want Harris Academy Chobham teachers to be as fit and fresh as possible and to know that the school as a community really cares about how they are. We have tried to put these principles into practice with a number of initiatives which we think give Chobham teachers one of the best wellbeing packages to be found anywhere. These include:
- A meeting free week every half term
- An extra week of holiday with a two-week half term in the Autumn
- A late start or early finish for every teacher on one day each week
- A staff mindfulness programme led by trained colleagues and supported by a free mindfulness app
- Subsidised gym membership
- Staff fitness and exercise classes
- Guest speakers on wellbeing
- Regular special events such as comedy nights
- Staff discounts at shops and restaurants in the local area
- Access to the Harris Federation's staff counselling service
Our staff are regularly consulted on the wellbeing services the school provides and we always try to respond to staff suggestions. In this way, staff feel empowered and get more of the services they really want. We are very proud of our wellbeing programme at Harris Academy Chobham and hope you will agree that it shows our commitment to making the school an exemplary working environment.
Main Areas of Responsibility
In your role you will:
- Support students in their learning, establishing productive working relationships and providing feedback
- Support teachers by teaching groups of students, planning lessons and administering and marking tests
- Support the curriculum by delivering learning activities in line with local and national learning strategies, and selecting and preparing resources necessary to lead learning activities
For a full list of responsibilities, please download the Job Pack.
What We are Looking For
We would like to hear from you if you have:
- Experience working with children of relevant age
- Experience of working with students with additional needs
- Experience of delivering literacy and reading/writing recovery programmes
- Evidence of fulfilling the Higher Level Teaching Assistant standards and or ability and potential to fulfil them within the first 6 months of the role
- Relevant qualifications that help demonstrate evidence towards the above
- Excellent numeracy/literacy skills – equivalent to at least NVQ Level 2 in English and Maths
- Relevant qualifications at A level or equivalent to at least NQF Level 3
- Evidence of specialism in specific curriculum areas or areas of particular learning difficulty
- Qualifications relevant to subject area they will be based in
- Training in relevant learning strategies e.g. literacy
- Specialist skills/training in curriculum or learning area e.g. bi-lingual, sign language, ICT Qualifications and experience relevant to the subject area they will be based in
A full person specification is available in the job pack.
Applying for this Position
Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.
In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, electric car scheme, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.