Our Offer to Staff
Why work at King Charles I School in The Four Stones Multi Academy Trust?
The Four Stone Multi Academy Trust understands that happy, well-motivated and well trained teachers make the most effective teachers. Teaching is a demanding and pressured job and we are always striving to remove barriers and find ways to make life that little bit easier. Whether that’s making sure that you have time to have a cup of tea during the day or ensuring that you have access to the best professional development – it all counts! The quality of our teachers’ experience of working here is a priority for all if us. We want teachers to enjoy their time at school and thrive professionally. The following underpins our beliefs and aims:
"Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to.”
Richard Branson
The Four Stones Multi Academy Trust is a great place to work – hardworking students, outstanding behaviour, research based teaching, committed staff and excellent facilities. We believe that a successful school is founded upon communication and team work and so staff contributions are essential in helping us move our schools forward. We recognise the importance of being heard and feeling valued and are relentless in our quest to ensure that our teachers are supported during their time in The Four Stones Multi Academy Trust.
Here are some of the ways, already established, recently introduced or planned, which makes The Four Stones Multi Academy Trust an excellent place to work.
Professional development
Professional development
- A commitment to your professional development and growth whether you are in your first few years of teaching or have been teaching for 20 years or longer.
- Regular planned CPD sessions that are led by colleagues, conducted in small groups to aid discussion and designed in house taking into consideration the school priorities and the views of the staff.
- Access to recognised training and leadership courses such as the National Professional Qualifications in Leadership and other accredited courses with travel expenses covered.
- Part payment of fees towards further qualifications such as masters and doctorate programmes.
- Opportunities for promotion. We are always looking for different ways and opportunities to promote colleagues within our schools.
- Opportunities to join working parties such as the Action Research Team or the Teaching and Learning Leaders.
- Opportunities to work at other schools within the MAT.
- Appraisal that is project based, driven by you and focussed on enabling you to become the best teacher or leader you can be.
- Cross-school working for at least two training days a year to share best practice.
- Opportunities to work as an SLE and as part of our School to School support team.
Helping you through the day
Helping you through the day
- Coffee and tea is provided in the staffrooms at break time and available at other times.
- Food is always provided on training days, parents’ evenings and at other evening events as well as at those times of year when you need it most, such as just before a holiday.
- Part days and early closures to give staff a break before special evening events or an early start to their holidays.
- A highly visible senior leadership team on hand to support you before, during and after the school day.
- Provision is put in place to support those who are travelling between sites, such as dedicated travelling spaces, hot drinks in travel mugs and senior leaders on hand to supervise students for the final five minutes of lessons to enable staff to still have the full break time.
Safeguarding your time
Safeguarding your time
- Removal of ‘potential cover’ from timetables except for staff who are under their allocated number of lessons.
- Removal of pointless, time wasting displays. We are currently in the process of removing all display boards from classrooms and corridors.
- No time wasted on routine admin tasks. Departments such as reprographics, finance and data are all on hand to support teachers as well as additional help in organising school trips.
- Weekly admin support for middle leaders.
- Automated rewards and simple one click recording of achievement points.
- Use ParentMail and ParentPay to ensure that tutors are not required to collect money or reply slips.
- Staff break duties scheduled on days where they are either free before or after break.
- There is no expectation for staff to answer out of hours emails. Guidance has been issued to support staff in dealing with communication via email. The use of personal mobile phones to pick up emails is discouraged.
- Centralised detentions staffed by our achievement leaders.
- A training day in December dedicated to marking the Year 11 mock examinations.
- Training days that are calendared with a view to alleviate pressure at key times in the year.
- Year 11 and Year 13 summer lesson time is safeguarded to provide you with extra training time.
There when you need us
There when you need us
- A designated member of the senior leadership team in charge of staff wellbeing and workload.
- A half termly staff forum so that staff can highlight issues and concerns and we can move the school forward together. No issue is too small!
- We offer an employee assistance programme that offers a wide range of support from emotional support and counselling to financial and legal advice and information.
- Attendance at funerals and graduations is always agreed to.
- Paid family leave for carol concerts, Christmas plays etc…
- Flowers to mothers of newborns and very poorly staff.
- Identification of pinch points during the year and consideration of this when creating the yearly calendar.
Other
Other
- No performance related pay on the main and upper pay ranges.
- Flu jabs are offered annually.
- Recognition of birthdays.
- Pre-planned and published calendar so that staff can plan in advance.
- Planners and diaries provided free of charge.
- There are no prizes for looking busy or staying late - work in a way that suits you and make sure you make time for yourself and your family.
- Access to the on-site gym and sports facilities.
- Pay portability when arriving from other schools.
- Staff long service recognised at our annual awards ceremonies.
For further information on how we are working to reduce workload, please see Tackling workload to improve wellbeing.
TEL: +44 (0) 1562 512880
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