Job Description
Full-time or part-time, non-residential, temporary position, starting June or September 2023.
A committed and practising Catholic with a vocation for fostering young people’s exploration of their faith, and for providing pastoral support for all people – regardless of their beliefs, is sought to support the spiritual leadership of this unique school community.
Our employees are inspiring and creative, transforming the futures of intelligent pupils who experience challenges in their learning due to literacy and language-related difficulties, by empowering them.
www.morehouseschool.co.uk
The School:
Nationally celebrated, More House School provides an exceptional, mainstream education for intelligent boys with Specific Learning Difficulties and weakness in their developmental language skills. Providing a transformative education repeatedly recognised as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted over more than a decade, we offer a specialised learning environment for 490 day and boarding boys from Year 4 to Year 13. Our pupils are taught to recognise their strengths and develop their self-belief so that they achieve independence and extraordinary results at GCSE, BTEC and A Level, above the national averages. A majority progress to university. Class-sizes are small, with a maximum of 15 pupils.
About this post:
Owing to maternity leave, an inspiring and dedicated Catholic chaplain is sought to provide spiritual leadership, advising and supporting the Headmaster in fostering a caring and thoroughly inclusive shared community bearing witness to God’s love and mercy. Pupils and employees come from a wide social background, with a majority of pupils’ placements being funded by more than thirty different local authorities. The school’s Catholic population, as a percentage, is broadly similar to that of the national population; the school welcomes boys and staff-members of any faith, and those with no faith. The curriculum provides an insight into many different major religions, and pupils learn to understand and to respect those of different cultures and beliefs.
A practising Catholic, our chaplain will coordinate the chaplaincy provision that is rooted in the Catholic foundation of the School, but supports the diversity of the School’s population. With the large and beautiful School chapel as a base, the chaplain will provide a witness to God’s love and mercy in diverse aspects of School life.
A key member of the School’s pastoral team, the post-holder will lead in preparing School services, including Mass several times a year and whole-community Easter and Christmas services. They will lead and support assemblies, and will provide support to the academic function of the School by acting as a cover-supervisor or teacher where needed. Like all teaching and pastoral staff, they will share in the roster of pupil-supervision duties at break and other times. A more formalised teaching element may be available for the right candidate.
A comprehensive induction programme is offered, and ongoing professional development is supported through INSET days and training opportunities, in which staff-members are expected to continue their professional development and practice, supported by excellent internal and external opportunities.
The above list of duties is not exhaustive, and the post-holder may be required to perform such other duties as may be, from time to time, deemed necessary by the Headmaster. This is a non-residential post.
The above list of duties is not exhaustive, and the post-holder may be required to perform such other duties as may be deemed necessary by the Bursar or Headmaster from time to time.
Relationships:
- The post-holder is responsible to the Headmaster in all matters, and reports to the Deputy Head (Pastoral) in respect of pastoral matters.
- The successful applicant must also interact effectively on a professional level with colleagues in order to support them pastorally and spiritually, and seek to establish and maintain supportive and productive relationships with all.
- The Chaplain fosters links with local parishes, including St Joan’s, Farnham, and with the Diocese, engaging with the Diocesan chaplaincy support network.
Person specification:
Qualifications:
Essential:
- Be a baptised and practising lay-member of the Roman Catholic church committed to the spiritual and personal development of children and young people, and able to provide a reference from your parish priest.
Desirable:
- A degree in theology or religious studies, or other experience or evidence of further or higher-education study that suits you to the chaplaincy role in the Roman Catholic Church.
Skills and Experience:
Essential:
- Experience of committed engagement in youth work as part of the Church or other organisation.
- A good sense of the Church’s liturgy, able to recruit and enthuse pupils to become involved in supporting and leading School worship.
- Confident in leading large and small, formal and informal, groups of pupils and adults.
- An articulate speaker with presence and the ability to present, credibly and enthusiastically, the challenges of the Gospel.
- Good administrative and organisational skills, including scheduling events, making bookings, arranging itineraries and timetables, obtaining and conserving resources, delegating responsibilities and providing clear briefings and instructions. You will be able to demonstrate a high standard of written and spoken English, and competent basic I.T. skills.
Desirable:
- Experience of working within a school environment.
- Experience of supporting young people with literacy and language-processing weaknesses to access God’s word.
- Experience of organising an event, or coordinating others.
Personal Attributes:
- A good listener, able to display patience and understanding. You will be approachable, extending friendship to all, but demonstrating a secure understanding of how to maintain appropriate, professional relationships with all adults and children within and associated with the School, in accordance with the School’s Code of Conduct and values.
- You enjoy the company and challenge of children and young people and have an easy and humorous manner which combines openness and engagement with challenge and formality. You may have experience of working with children and young-people.
- You may have the freedom and willingness to work flexibly, including occasionally in the evenings, and to arrange your working days to ensure you have entitlement time off but are available for School events as necessary.
- Strong and secure personal commitment to the School’s ethos and aims, promoting the best possible outcomes for pupils. Commitment to promoting confidence, aspiration and a sense of self-efficacy amongst our pupils.
- Professionalism and reliability, able to demonstrate sound judgement and decision-making skills, appropriate to an adult working within the children’s workforce.
Hours:
Full or part-time will be considered, working generally during the working week (8.20am to 4.30pm/5.30pm Monday to Friday inclusive) during term-time, but also attending school events outside these hours from time to time, including in-service training (INSET) days towards the beginning or end of school holidays.
(Note: academic terms are typically shorter than those in the state-maintained sector, and School holidays are therefore significantly longer).
Attendance at School events outside these hours from time to time, as well as Founders’ Day and INSET days towards the beginning or end of School holidays.
Remuneration and support:
- Annual salary, paid in monthly instalments: extremely competitive and in accordance with qualifications, experience and recognised skills;
- Pension;
- Sick-pay;
- Employee Assistance Programme;
- Free on-site parking within the School’s beautiful grounds;
- Excellent lunchtime meals at no cost in the School’s refectory (three meals a day for residential staff);
- Free use of the School’s recently-refurbished fitness gym facilities;
- Comprehensive induction programme offered including fully-funded and nationally-recognised L3 SEND Award, and ongoing professional development, including further specialist qualifications, supported through INSET days and training opportunities.
Safeguarding:
This role is deemed to be one of working in regulated activity, meaning that the post-holder may expect to come into unsupervised contact with children and young people frequently in the discharge of their duties on-campus. As such, the expectations of conduct, required of all adults working at More House School, apply to this position, as does a full Safer-Recruitment vetting process of any appointee. A key responsibility of all adults working within the School is that of ensuring the effective safeguarding of all children and young people, through adherence to the School’s policies; full-training is given.
To Apply:
Please visit our website and complete the online application form More House School – Teaching and Therapeutic Staff Application Form.
Interested candidates are welcome to make an appointment to visit the school for an informal visit.
Closing date for applications: Sunday 4th June 2023
Interviews expected to be held on: TBC
This post is subject to an Enhanced DBS clearance and the receipt of satisfactory references before a formal job offer is confirmed.
More House School is firmly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Temporary contract
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Discounted or free food
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
Schedule:
Ability to commute/relocate:
- FARNHAM: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)
Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 04/06/2023
Reference ID: Catholic Lay-Chaplain (temporary)
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