Job Introduction

We are looking for a dynamic, energetic, well qualified and highly committed teacher possessing excellent language and literary skills, capable of teaching Drama throughout the school, from September 2024. Experience in the delivery of the academic and practical aspects of KS4 and KS5 Drama is essential.

Drama is highly valued at Westminster, and we wish to build on existing high standards in the quality of productions, in the results for GCSE and A Level Drama, and in the overall delivery of the subject.

The department currently consists of the Director of Drama, the Head of Academic Drama, a full-time Theatre Technician and a full-time Stage Manager.

Drama is well catered for with a fully functioning theatre – the Millicent Fawcett Hall, and various other Westminster School spaces which can be repurposed for theatrical presentations.

The Drama department at Westminster produce a wide range of performances, including the biennial full-scale Musical, the annual Bilingual Play, the annual Student-Led Production, the Sixth Form Festival, the Elizabethan Festival, Shakespeare in the Garden, the Upper School Play and the Fifth Form Play.

Role Responsibility

The responsibilities specific to the post of Part-Time Drama Teacher are:

Academic Drama:

Teaching and Learning:

• Teach KS3, 4 and 5 Drama, as directed by the Head of Academic Drama.
• Have high expectations of all pupils so that they can achieve their academic potential.
• Inspire pupils and develop understanding through utilising expert subject knowledge.
• Provide clear written feedback and learning targets for all pupils within the agreed time span set by the Head of Academic Drama.
• Monitor and evaluate the quality of learning within each lesson.

Planning:

• Plan lessons which address the full range of learners’ needs.
• Plan for progression and design effective learning sequences which clearly develop understanding and skills.
• Participate with the Head of Academic Drama and other colleagues in developing appropriate work specifications, materials, and schemes. Take responsibility for the shared development of these schemes of work which develop cross-subject skills, knowledge and understanding.

Assessment:

• Work with colleagues to moderate all exam work, and other written work.
• Participate in the assessment and tracking of pupil progress towards academic targets and support interventions where there is underachievement.
• Keep to all report writing deadlines set throughout the year.
• Maintain an up-to-date understanding of teachers' professional duties and the statutory framework in which they work.
• Contribute to Drama Department policies including SEND and EAL strategies.

Co-curricular:

• Direct one co-curricular production during the 2024 – 2025 academic year, likely to be the Fifth Form Play.
• Take responsibility for directing specific scenes in the Senior School Production, as advised by the Director of Drama.
• Assist on other co-curricular productions including the Sixth Form Festival, The Elizabethan Festival, the annual Bi-lingual Play, the Upper School Play and Shakespeare in the Garden.
• Assist with any specialist areas (e.g. costume, props, choreography) in exam and co-curricular productions.
• Organise and/or assist with running school trips to theatre productions.
• Contribute to the day-to-day running of the department, including attending meetings and offering administrative support as appropriate.
• Offer additional, specialised co-curricular activities e.g. dance, playwriting, improvisation, monologues, duologues, scene study.
• Plan and deliver one Option and one Lower School Activity per term.
• Organise and liaise with external theatre practitioners and theatre companies who can offer specialist Drama workshops.
• Provide pastoral support for pupils during rehearsals and productions.
• Mentor and support, one to one, for pupils with specific needs who require additional support.
• Any other reasonable duties that arise to fulfil the objectives of the Drama Department.

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the attached person specification.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Package Description

Required for: September 2024

Location: Deans Yard - Westminster School

Contract: part-time, permanent

Hours of work: It is likely that the successful candidate will be employed over three days, for 15 periods per week, with 10 periods allocated to the teaching of academic Drama and 5 periods allocated to the planning, preparation and delivery of co-curricular Drama. This equates to 0.5 of a full timetable.

Salary: Westminster School has its own salary scale, and new members of staff are placed at a point relevant to their qualifications and experience. Details of salary will be discussed at interview with those candidates who are short-listed. The salary will be prorated to reflect the contract.

For this role, there is no fixed closing date. Applications will be considered on receipt and interviews may occur at any stage.

About the School

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Our teaching staff — the Common Room — are friendly and welcoming and all new teachers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here, both inside and outside the classroom. Common Room social events are regular and varied, with plenty of opportunity to socialise outside working hours.

It also does not matter where you come to us from. Some teachers come to us straight from university or having just taken a PGCE. Some have taught in independent schools before while others come from the state sector, or another industry altogether. The common ground is that all our teachers have a great knowledge and love for their subject and are willing to be fully involved in the life of the School and the lives of the children who study here. The School has a vibrant co-curricular programme that offers a wide range of opportunities beyond the academic curriculum. We welcome candidates who can contribute their energy and expertise to the co-curricular life of the School as well as the academic.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. However, we know we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is a selective day and boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 and girls aged 16 to 18. There are approximately 360 boys in the Lower School (Years 9 to 11) and 400 boys and girls in the Upper School (Years 12 and 13). One quarter of the pupils board, and the School is structured and run as a boarding school, with an extended day and week and a strong House-based system of pastoral welfare, for boarding and day pupils alike.

Westminster is an ancient school, whose origins can be traced to a charity school established by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey. Its continuous existence is certain from the early 14th century. Henry VIII personally ensured the School’s survival by statute and Elizabeth I, who confirmed royal patronage in 1560, is celebrated as the School’s foundress. Westminster is rare amongst long-established schools in remaining on its original site in the centre of London. Its proximity to Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and the use of the Abbey for its chapel, together with the stimulating diversity of the South Bank and West End, account in part for its special atmosphere and outlook.

The School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence both in this country and internationally. Central to its academic ethos is the dialogue between teachers and their pupils, whether in the classroom or in tutorials, inspiring enjoyment of intellectual enquiry, debate and search for explanation and the development of skills of rational, independent thought well beyond any standard examination syllabus. The desired environment is happy, busy and purposeful; the pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged, with plenty of opportunities to develop initiatives and to articulate and defend their views, in line with the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the School’s Charter. That tradition is fully committed also to the nurture of each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies - and to the preparation of young people for fulfilled private and public lives beyond School.

Westminster School