Note for Applicants – Teaching Roles
Please read the following notes before completing the application form.
Great Barr School is committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and expects all those working in the School to share this commitment. The School’s recruitment and selection processes comply with national and local guidance on best practice. All applicants should be aware that successful applicants for any post in the School will be required to undertake an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check prior to commencing employment.
Pre-Interview Visits
It is common for teachers to wish to look around a new school either before submitting an application or before attending for interview. Given the size of our School, it is very difficult for us to resource such requests. However, we recognise that successful recruitment depends as much on the ability of candidates to assess the employer effectively as it does on the ability of the employer to assess the candidates.
With this in mind, candidates who are invited to attend for interview will also undertake the following activities to ensure that they are able to obtain a full and realistic picture of the School:
We believe that this provides candidates with a far better opportunity to find out about the School than is afforded by a pre-interview visit.
Completing the Application Form
The School does not accept CVs or application forms for other organisations (eg. Birmingham City Council). Such applications will not be considered.
It is important to give the short-listing panel the best impression you can. Where applicants have fully completed the application form and included a well written, tailored letter of application (not a standard letter), the short-listing panel will see that the person is enthusiastic about and committed to the post for which they are applying and has taken the time and effort to complete a good application. Incomplete applications or those without a letter of application are unlikely to be considered.
Correspondence Address: Please enter the address at which we will be able to write to you over the coming weeks regarding your application. If you are currently at a temporary address which you will be leaving shortly, please give details of when you are due to move and of the address at which you wish us to correspond with you from that date in your covering letter.
Telephone Numbers: Please include the full area code for landline telephone numbers. We often find that a mobile number enables us to contact you more quickly and this is particularly helpful if we need to arrange interviews at short notice.
Email Address: It is preferable that any email address supplied is one which you check regularly, preferably daily, as we may wish to use this to contact you at short notice.
Work Permits: In order to be able to employ you, we will need to see evidence of your right to work in the UK. All holders of European Union passports are entitled to work freely in the UK. Citizens from outside the EU may be able to work in the UK if the employer is able to obtain a work permit for them or if they have an appropriate visa or alternative form of permission. In order to be able to apply for a work permit, the School would have to be able to demonstrate that, having advertised the vacancy at a national level, no suitable EU applicants were available for employment.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS): If you do not have QTS, you may still be eligible for consideration for the post. The School may be able to help suitably qualified candidates to gain QTS through programmes such as the Graduate Teacher Programme. Teaching & Learning Responsibility points (TLR’s) cannot be held by teachers who do not have QTS. If you have QTS, you may be asked to provide evidence at your interview.
NQT Induction: The School has a well established NQT induction programme which is regarded by the local authority as an exemplar of good practice. We are therefore able to support new entrants to the profession in completing their statutory induction period.
Referees: In seeking references, the School is most interested in the views of current and recent employers.
For those leaving full time education or teacher training, a reference from your college and at least one from a school in which you did a significant placement will be most desirable.
If you are not currently working with children, one of your referees should be the last employer with whom you did work with children.
References from relatives or friends will not be accepted. You should state clearly the ‘capacity’ of any referee – ie. their relationship to you, eg. College Tutor etc. You should also declare any family or personal relationship you may have to any referee.
Whilst there is a space on the application form for the telephone numbers of referees, the School will not seek telephone references. Only references written on headed paper are likely to be accepted, though these may be faxed or emailed by referees to the School prior to the interview for purposes of speed. We are most likely to make initial contact with referees by email so it is helpful if you can supply their business email address, not a personal email address.
You should be aware that employers will be asked for information on disciplinary proceedings or warnings, particularly those related to your conduct with children, even where warnings have expired for the purposes of further disciplinary action. You may therefore wish to give details about any relevant issues in your covering letter.
The School will aim to obtain all references prior to interview.
Chronological Data: Great Barr School is committed to equality of opportunity and to the principal of non-discrimination on any grounds including ‘age’. Great Barr School is also committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure that decisions made during the recruitment and selection process are compatible with the need to protect the welfare of the children in our care. The dates requested in the Date of Birth, Employment Record and the Record of Formal Education & Training sections will be used solely to identify significant gaps in an applicant’s education/employment history and to enable the School to verify the identity of the applicant and the accuracy of the information supplied.
Previous employment: Applicants just leaving full time teacher training may enter details of their school placements in this section, marking each clearly as ‘placement’. However, the School is interested in all other previous employment experience whether related or unrelated to teaching; candidates should therefore ensure the record provided is complete and accurate.
Record of Formal Education & Training: If you are invited to interview and are successful in being appointed to the post, you will be required to provide proof of relevant qualifications (degree, PGCE, QTS etc) listed on your application form in the form of original certificates.
Disclosure of Previous Convictions: All schools are now obliged in law to seek an enhanced check from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) for ALL staff employed in schools. Any offer of appointment will be subject to receipt of a report from the CRB which is satisfactory to the School in all respects. Because of the nature of the work for which you are applying, this post is exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions Order) 1975. Applicants are therefore not entitled to withhold information about convictions, including cautions, reprimands, warnings or bind-overs, which for other purposes may be considered as ‘spent’ under the provisions of the Act. In the event that you are appointed to work in the School, any failure to disclose such convictions will result in your summary dismissal. Any information provided will be treated in confidence and will be considered only in relation to an application for positions to which the Order applies.
If you are on List 99, disqualified from working with children or subject to any sanctions imposed by a regulatory body (eg. The General Teaching Council), you should also declare this.
Declaration: Applicants are advised to read the declaration carefully before signing it and are reminded that providing false information will lead to rejection of the application, summary dismissal if already engaged, and possibly a referral to the Police in certain circumstances.
Covering Letter: All applications should include a covering letter. Those without such a letter will not be considered by the short-listing panel. In your covering letter, you should seek to demonstrate how your skills and experience match the requirements of the post and the School. Look carefully at the Job Description and the Essential and Desirable Requirements. Illustrate your points with real examples of things you have done, either at work or in your personal life, which have helped you to develop the necessary skills or which demonstrate the complexity of skill you are able to utilise.
You might also explain why you are particularly interested in working at Great Barr School, what you hope to gain from the experience and what you hope to offer.
Your covering letter should be no more than three sides of A4. Remember that if your letter is accurately written, well organised, concise and tailored to the needs of the post for which you are applying, you will make a better impression on the short-listing panel.
Return of Completed Application Forms: As you proceed through the process of applying online, at Step 2 you will be given instructions on how to email your application to the School. The email address for the return of applications is secretariat@greatbarr.bham.sch.uk.
Alternatively, you may wish to post your application to:
C M Abbott
Headteacher
Great Barr School
Aldridge Road
Great Barr
Birmingham
B44 8NU.
You may also hand deliver your application to Reception during school hours.
Remember, you must attach BOTH:
The next steps: Once the advertised closing date has passed, applications will be considered by the short-listing panel. It is unlikely that the School will be able to consider your application if it arrives after the closing date. Candidates who are short-listed will be invited to attend an interview. Unfortunately, due to the large volume of applications we receive, it will not be possible for the School to write to applicants who have not been short-listed. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date, you should assume that you have not been successful in your application.
We look forward to receiving your application and to welcoming you to our School.
Thank you for your interest in working with us.