Dean Valley Community
Primary School
Headship Appointment
Information pack
This Information pack contains:
 Welcome from the Chair of Governor
 A copy of the advertisement
 The Person Specification for the role
 A brief outline of the school and surrounding area
 An introduction to Cheshire East Council
 Information on the application and selection process
 A summary of the safeguarding policy (as a separate
document)
Albert Road
Bollington
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK10 5HS
01625 572767
Dear Applicant
On behalf of the Governing Body I would like to thank you very much for your
expression of interest in the post of Head Teacher at Dean Valley Community
Primary School.
The Governing Body want to appoint a Head Teacher with excellent interpersonal
skills, combined with outstanding leadership and organisational skills, who is capable
of building on the many strengths of the school as it continues on its journey towards
‘outstanding’.
The closing date for applications is the 22nd February 2013 and successful short
listed candidates will be contacted on the 5th March 2013. Interviews will take place
on 19th and 20th March 2013. As part of the interview process candidates will be
required to carry out a number of activities over two days and further details for this
will be confirmed to all short listed candidates.
Visits to the school are warmly welcomed and can be arranged by contacting the
school on 01625 572767.
If you feel you have the qualities that our children, parents and staff are looking for,
then the Governing Body look forward to hearing from you.
Our school places the highest priority in keeping people safe and all applicants will
be subject to stringent recruitment and vetting procedures.
I hope the enclosed information will prove useful to you.
Yours faithfully
Maggie Swindells
Chair of Governors. Dean Valley Community Primary School
Advertisement
Dean Valley Primary School
Albert Road
Bollington
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK10 5HS
Tel: 01625 572767
Website: http://www.deanvalley.cheshire.sch.uk/
Headteacher
Group 2
Salary range L12 - L18
NOR 183
Required for September 2013
Dean Valley Community School is a ‘Good School’.
“Pupils enjoy school. All parents who completed the questionnaire agree pupils are
happy and they would recommend this school to others” (Ofsted October 2012).
“Pupils say they enjoy their learning because it is fun and they are expected to work
hard” (Ofsted, October 2012).
Due to the retirement of the present Headteacher, the Governors are seeking an
outstanding, dynamic practitioner; someone who has the energy and skill to take our
happy school forward, who will inspire our school community and who has an
absolute commitment to excellence and ensuring children enjoy learning.
We can offer you:
;
 Friendly, hardworking and enthusiastic children;
 A dedicated, committed and professional staff team;
 Supportive, aspirational governors and parents;
 A school that is an intrinsic part of its community
Visits to the school are warmly welcomed. Please telephone the school to arrange
an appointment.
Our school community places the highest priority on keeping our children safe.
Applicants for the post will be subject to stringent vetting and induction processes.
Application forms and further details can be downloaded from the TES website or
obtained from: The School Governance Team, Children’s Services, Delamere
House, Delamere Street, Crewe, CW1 2LL. All applications whether submitted
electronically or by surface mail should arrive with The School Governance Team by
12 noon on Friday 22nd February 2013.
Telephone 0300 123 5036 e-mail: schoolgovernance@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Closing date: Friday 22 February 2013 (Noon)
Short listing: Monday 4 March 2013
Interviews: Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th March 2013
Person Specification
Please complete the standard application form in this pack. We are unable to accept
your CV.
The following are essential criteria for this position and should be evident in your
application form:




Qualified Teacher status
Evidence of regular and appropriate professional development
Experience across the full Primary range
Proven senior leadership experience
In addition, we would like you to tell us why you are the right person with the right
skills to enable our school to become outstanding, ensuring that every child achieves
his or her full potential.
We suggest that this should require no more than three sides of A4.
In particular, we are looking for you to evidence that you are someone who:









puts children first and is able to motivate a dedicated team of staff to
ensure children receive the very best possible education
will foster our children’s love of learning and with a proven track record as
an outstanding teacher who delivers excellent outcomes for pupils
will have the ability to think strategically through building, communicating
and implementing a shared vision of excellence in all we do
is able to access, analyse, interpret and use appropriate data to monitor
pupils’ progress, set and achieve ambitious, challenging goals and targets
and identify areas for improvement with the focus on every pupil achieving
their full potential
has a proven track record of how to use ICT as a tool for enhancing
teaching and learning
is forward thinking and sees opportunities in the changing future structures
of schools and can demonstrate an ability to manage change effectively to
improve the school
can communicate effectively with parents, pupils, staff and the wider
community
can provide evidence of your capacity to manage the complex
requirements of a busy primary school
can demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the Headteacher’s
role and how your proven experience to date will enable you to fulfil it
A Brief Outline of Dean Valley Community School
The Governors at Dean Valley Community School want to appoint an inspirational
school leader who will build on the many strengths of our successful school. We
want a leader who can demonstrate the vision, commitment and capacity to continue
to lead the school community on its journey to becoming ‘outstanding’ school.
Dean Valley is a one form community primary school in the heart of Bollington that
currently provides a good education for 183 children. It is a happy school with
dedicated staff who strive to achieve the best for each child in their care, valuing all
their contributions. The staff and governors aim to make learning interesting and fun
and offer a curriculum which builds on the children’s existing knowledge and
promotes confidence and independence.
At Dean Valley Community School children develop within a happy, caring, secure
and stimulating environment. The majority of the classrooms are open plan and
children are organised into seven classes. Special Needs provision is supported
through the deployment of a specialist part time teacher. Planning, Preparation and
Assessment time is covered by a creative arts specialist. The school grounds are
spacious, attractive and benefit from the recent addition of a pond and wildlife area.
The school provides extended services having full “wrap around care” (7.45am –
6.00pm) and has a privately run day nursery on site (4 months – pre-school). As well
as providing a “one stop drop” for families we ensure that the whole family is
nurtured, cared for, stimulated and educated on our site.
In recent years, the school has been able to set balanced budgets principally as a
result of the cushioning of brought forward surplus balances. For the academic year
ending summer 2013, no carry forward is anticipated. A budget deficit is therefore
anticipated for the subsequent year; the quantum of which could be up to 5% of the
budget itself. However, the funding reform proposals should have a positive impact
on the school's funding overall. Applications for places at the school suggest that
first choice requests will be maintained at close to 30. The school enjoys the services
of an experienced, highly qualified bursar.
The Staff and Governors work closely as a team with parents and families to enable
the children to enjoy learning, achieve success and become contented and fulfilled
young people.
Our Aims

Create a well-managed and organised environment where high quality
teaching and high quality learning can take place effectively.

Provide a broad, balanced curriculum which is well planned,
differentiated and stimulating, enabling all children to reach their full
potential.

Provide opportunities for social, physical, moral, spiritual and intellectual
development.

Develop enquiring minds, freedom of expression and creativity within
our children.

Develop caring responses by promoting healthy, social attitudes of
tolerance, respect and understanding for all people.

Have a partnership in which parents and the community are involved in
the achievement of our school’s aims
The Governors wish to appoint a Headteacher who will not only maintain the secure
strategies which have ensured the school was judged to be a ‘good’ school in
October 2012 but someone with the knowledge, skills and understanding to work
with a dedicated team to build on this success in order to provide our children with
the very best an excellent school can offer.
Bollington
Bollington is a village of some 7,000 people, and originated as a farming community
changing into a mill town with the industrial revolution. Two significant mills remain
which have been turned into the offices of many diverse and vibrant businesses. Part
of that heritage saw the existence of a large number of pubs per head of the
population, some of which have now been turned into successful restaurants.
Bollington has its own independent and unique character with a strong village loyalty,
insisting on having its own Mayor and Town Council at the time of merging with
Macclesfield Borough Council which has stood it in good stead with the recent
devolving of powers from Cheshire East Council. It has numerous clubs and facilities
provided by the Arts Centre and has its own very popular Leisure Centre run by a
Charitable Trust. It also has its own Medical Centre.
It nestles at the foot of the Peak District National Park and has historically interesting
and beautiful countryside on its doorstep which has added to its popularity as a
desirable place to live. www.happy-valley.org.uk is a source of a wealth of good up
to date information.
Cheshire East - a great place to live
Cheshire East Borough Council is nearly 4 years old and was formed when the
former County Council was split in two; it has a residential population of
approximately 363,000 residents. Our neighbours include North Staffordshire,
Manchester, Cheshire West & Chester, Stockport and Warrington.
First impressions of Cheshire East are often of leafy lanes and wealthy households.
The reality is that it is a diverse area with many differences in income, employment
and health. Figures that really show this include the life expectancy across the area.
In parts of Macclesfield the average life expectancy for a woman is 94, but in areas
of Crewe it is 77 – a huge difference of 17 years. Household income also differs,
ranging from £65,000 in parts of Macclesfield to £18,000 in parts of Crewe.
Cheshire East Council has a responsibility to ensure that all its services meet these
different needs and that the way services are delivered across the area are
developed and shaped to ensure that all who need them benefit from them. Our plan
sets out how we will do this, who will be involved and how we will know if we have
improved services for local people.
There are 80,000 children and young people aged 0 to 19, representing 22% of the
total population of the area. In 2011, 7.5% of the school population was classified as
belonging to an ethnic group other than White British compared to 22.5% in England
overall. 5.7% of pupils speak English as an additional language. Polish and Urdu are
the most recorded commonly spoken community languages in relation to the school
population. 0.2% of pupils are of black African background.
Cheshire East has 150 schools comprising of 1 nursery school 123 primary schools,
9 secondary schools, 8 academies (2 primary 6 Secondary), 1 Free School and 4
special schools. A secondary pupil referral unit opened September 2011. Early
Years’ service provision is delivered predominantly through the private and voluntary
sector in over 170 settings; there are 22 local authority maintained nurseries and 1
Nursery School.
Young people perform well. They exceed the average for maintained schools in
England at GCSE and A Level. We have many schools that are good or
outstanding.
The application and selection process
Asylum and Immigration act
If successful with this application you will be asked to confirm, in advance of taking
up the appointment, that you are eligible to work in the United Kingdom. In order to
establish this you will be asked to provide us with documentation showing your
National Insurance number or provide copies of Tax Forms P45 or P60 or, if this is
not possible, other evidence of your entitlement to work.
Removal expenses
The Governing Body is unable to offer assistance with removal expenses.
Protection of Children
Governors are mindful of our overriding duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of
children and young people. We are committed to a fair, thorough and consistent
approach to recruitment and selection and believe this to be the most effective way
of ensuring the delivery of quality services and of keeping children safe.
We will follow procedures that comply with employment law, relevant education
legislation and codes of practice, other relevant national requirements and which aim
to achieve best practice.
Applicants for the post will be subject to stringent vetting and induction processes.
The holder of the post will be required to work with children under the age of 18 in a
position of trust, and is therefore exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
1974. The successful candidate will be subject to an Enhanced Criminal Records
Bureau Check. The appointment is subject to satisfactory clearance under the
procedure.
Acknowledgement of applications
Your application will be acknowledged; please contact us if you do not receive an
acknowledgement.
The application process cont’d and key dates
Applications must be completed on the standard application form included in this
pack and completed in full. CV’s will not be accepted.
Candidates are reminded to outline on a separate sheet of paper how CPD
completed in the last 5 years has benefited their professional competence.
A letter of application no more than 3 sides of A4 standard font size 12 should also
be included. Candidates should outline how they meet the requirements of the
person specification in addition to the following:► What qualities, strengths and teaching experience you would bring to the role;
► Any anticipated requirement for professional development and support.
Prospective visits to the school prior to application are strongly encouraged.
Please contact the school to make an appointment (01625 572767)
Application forms should be addressed to: The School Governance Team, Children’s
Services, Delamere House, Delamere Street, Crewe, CW1 2LL.
Telephone 0845 1410110
E-mail: schoolgovernance@cheshireeast.gov.uk
and posted in time to reach this office by noon on: Friday 22 February 2013
Short listing: Monday 4 March 2013
Interviews: Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th March 2013
The formal visit to the school will include an opportunity to meet the children and the
staff and is part of the interview process.
Shortlisted candidates will be expected to make a short presentation on the day of
interview as part of the application process. They will also undertake a formal
interview and complete competency based exercises.
Subject to ratification by the full Governing Body, the successful candidate
will be offered the post on day of interview.
Shortlisted candidates who have not been successful will also be contacted as soon
as possible. Candidates should therefore be prepared to leave contact details with
the Governing Body.