Chair of Governors - Casual

Barton Court Grammar School, Canterbury

• Ref:KCC886-5444-245S
• Posted:06/01/2022
• Pay:N/A
• Start Date:March 2022
• App Close Date:28/01/2022 at 09:00
• Interviews:TBC

Advert

Barton Court Academy Trust (BCAT) is a multi-academy Trust which was established in 2017. It currently consists of two secondary schools: Barton Court Grammar School, an 11-18yrs, mixed selective school in the heart of Canterbury, rated “Good” with many outstanding features by Ofsted in February 2020, and The Charles Dickens School, an 11-16yrs mixed non-selective school in Broadstairs, which came out of special measures in June 2019 and is a rapidly improving school. The Trust is also opening Barton Manor School, an 11 – 18yrs non-selective mixed school in the heart of Canterbury, on the former Chaucer School site, in September 2022 to Year 7.

The Role

The Chair of the Local Governing Board is a leadership role that provides clear direction to the Board who work as a team to challenge, support and contribute to the strategic leadership of the School. See the “Role of Chair in one of BCAT School’s Local Governing Body” document for more details.

We require an experienced school governor to join our already established and experienced Board of Governors of Barton Court Grammar School to provide leadership as Chair. We seek someone who can offer additional experience and expertise and can provide challenge and support from a different perspective. Previous experience as a School Governor is essential and previous experience as a Chair of the Board or Chair of a Sub-Committee is desirable.

The role of Chair of the Board is a voluntary one, requiring a high degree of commitment and confidentiality.

It is expected that the Chair of the Board will be able to participate fully in the work of the Local Governing Board and where possible in the life of the school. An average of 4 – 6 hours a month in order to fulfil the following expectations is required:

• To Chair 6 Board Meetings a year, each lasting approximately 2 hours, there is an expectation to have read’ documents sent in advance for the meeting
• Monitoring Visits in school 2-3 times per year
• Attend 6, one-to-one, meetings per year with the Headteacher
• Be available to Chair, or contribute as a member of a panel that may be convened to hear complaints, exclusions as required.
• Form a strong team of governors who have a thorough understanding of their role; lead 1:1 annual reviews, ensure training and development needs of the Board are met.
• Governor professional development which includes, but not exclusive to: an induction programme run by the NGA, Chair training programme run by the NGA, annual online training to include Safeguarding, Prevent and GDPR and a governor training event 1 x ½ day in the year
• Invitation to school events on an ad-hoc non-compulsory basis
• Attend the Trust Board Meetings for Finance (4 times per year) and Quality Assurance Committee Meetings (3 times per year)

If you feel the role of Chair of Governor is one that you could contribute to, then please send your CV and a brief personal statement giving information about your skills to clerk@bartoncourt.org

Information about the school

Barton Court Grammar School is an 11-18 years, selective, co-educational, Grammar school in Canterbury, Kent. The School is highly popular and is oversubscribed.

Mission Statement (Support, Inspire, Achieve)

“At Barton Court Grammar school students are supported, inspired and challenged to achieve their very best in all that they do in order to reach their full potential and academic excellence. Students develop into independent and resilient learners who ae able to succeed in an ever-changing and technological world. When they leave Barton Court, students are articulate, confident and principled young people who have made a positive contribution to their school and the wider community.”

The School has an excellent reputation in the local community and was recognised by Ofsted under the new demanding Ofsted framework, in February 2020, as Good with outstanding features in Leadership & Management, Personal Development and Behaviour & Attitudes. It is an extremely exciting time to be joining the School; the School appointed a new Headteacher in January 2020 to work with the Executive Headteacher on the next phase of the School’s development.

Our focus is on achieving excellence in all that we do to support outstanding outcomes for all our students. This is evident in the way our community of students, parents, staff and governors all work together to provide an engaging learning environment so that each student thrives and achieves their full potential.

Subjects across the School benefit from having a team of highly competent and charismatic middle leaders. Exciting and innovative teaching is enabled by the scaffolding of colleagues’ skills through comprehensive continuous professional development which encompasses everything from bespoke workshops to the opportunity to observe colleagues, including our Leadership Team. Entirely committed to education, our facilities are second to none and include a shared Sports Hall and gym with Canterbury Christ Church University, a new block built in January 2018 which consists of 7 new Mathematics classrooms, 3 state-of-the-art Science Laboratories, new Kitchen/Servery and Canteen.

Excellence in teaching and learning is at the heart of our school. In February 2021 the School was re-accredited for the 2nd time as an Advanced Thinking School in recognition of the outstanding work we do in cognitive education. A Thinking School is “A learning community in which all members share a common language; where thinking strategies and tools are used across the curriculum and teachers and students have sound understanding of metacognition; where all students are developing and demonstrating independent and cooperative learning skills; where the school generates high levels of achievement and an excitement and enthusiasm for learning” (Thinking Matters) We are extremely proud to be the only Thinking School in Canterbury and East Kent and one of a few Advanced Thinking Schools in the UK.

Job Contact Information

• Name:Roberta Light
• Address:Longport, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 1PH
• Telephone: 01227 464600
• Email: rlight@bartoncourt.org

Fax: 01227 781399

Documents

Below are documents that have been added to this vacancy.

• BCAT Information Pack
• BCAT Governors Handbook Sept 2021
• The Role of the Local Governing Body