English & Performing Arts Department
Teacher of Drama
Application Information Pack
November 2013
A Message from the Principal – Mrs Kerry Inscker
I am delighted that you are interested in pursuing a career at South Wolverhampton and Bilston
Academy. SWB Academy opened in September 2009, sponsored by the City of Wolverhampton
Academy Trust and since then has been on a transformational journey and has become the first
choice secondary school across the area for parents and students alike.
In September 2012, we opened our fantastic new £25milllion state-of-the-art building as part of the
part of the Wolverhampton BSF Programme, in Dudley Street, Bilston. The new building has
10,000 square metres of space. It has a wide choice of learning environments of various shapes
and sizes. These include 4 huge themed ‘skill zones’ with exciting furniture layouts for small and
large group work, an engineering hub, a professional lecture theatre, a science ‘super lab’, a
training kitchen, drama and music studios, a Costa Coffee Shop and a selection of dedicated
classrooms, ICT Rooms, seminar rooms and other spaces. In addition, we have a state of the art
office space for admin staff and student support services.
For September 2013, we were significantly oversubscribed, and recently underwent a very
successful full Ofsted Inspection (report available from Wednesday 2 nd October on our website).
We are determined to make SWB Academy a beacon of excellence in our community, where high
aspirations and creativity are embraced! Our aim is to become one of the top performing
Academies in the country with a national reputation for innovation which impacts positively upon
the lives of our students.
If you would like further information, an informal chat about a post or you would like to visit us
please do not hesitate to contact my Assistant Principal (Sixth Form & Community), Martyn
Palfreyman on 01902 357687 or by email mpalfreyman@swbacademy.org.uk.
If you have high ambition, high expectations and drive, if you are dedicated to contributing to the
high quality provision we have at SWB Academy and if you want to be part of an innovative,
vibrant and successful school I look forward to receiving your application,
Kerry Inscker
Ethos and Values – Staff and Students
Our motto is “Learning for Life, Securing Success”, based upon values of achieving the best
possible academic results, whilst nurturing students to have access to a wide variety of
experiences and opportunities and master the skills they need to secure happy and successful
lives.
This motto extends to staff also. SWB Academy has a strong focus upon providing opportunities
for staff and promoting professional development and well-being. Many members of our teaching
and support staff have achieved promotion within the Academy to secure leadership posts and
pursue career paths not previously open to them. In addition, our personalised professional
development opportunities mean that staff are supported to become outstanding practitioners
within their area of expertise.
Further Information: Drama Teacher
SWB Academy is committed to all students achieving the best possible outcomes in all subjects,
and having a broad range of opportunities including roles within productions, theatre visits and
participating in community events.
The English and Performing Arts Department
This role is based in the Performing Arts team. The team is located within the English &
Performing Arts Department led by Donna Hughes (Director of English). This role will directly
report to the Assistant Director of Performing Arts, Chris Griffin. There are 10 members of staff
within the department, 2 of whom are performing arts specialists. Members of the English
teaching team currently contribute to the teaching of drama, however, it is our intention to recruit a
drama specialist to provide this teaching. An ability to contribute to the teaching of English to
Years 7, 8, and 9 would be a distinct advantage. Full support and training will be given.
Resources
The Performing Arts Department is extremely
well resourced, both in terms of learning
materials and physical spaces. The department
invested a significant amount of funding through
the academy “Resource Wish List” programme
prior to the move to our new building and has a
generous budget each year. Seven dedicated
English classrooms and a large English/maths
classroom make up the heart of the department.
The location of these close to the Boardroom Skill
Zone, including Sir Alan Sugar style meeting
room for student use, means that this innovative
area is regularly used by English staff when
undertaking independent or group activities.
There is a professional lecture theatre,
performance hall, drama studio, recording studio,
music rooms and other spaces providing a huge
resource to the department.
ICT
As you would expect, all classrooms have the latest spec of Interactive White Boards. All teachers
are provided with a personal laptop and iPad to support their role. In addition, the English
Department has access to class sets of laptops, net books, iPads to use at their discretion. All
students are issued with iPods to support their learning, for example by accessing English Pod
Casts, our 35,000 book virtual library and our Virtual Learning Environment, FROG .
Curriculum
All students are expected to study Performing Arts through to the end of Key Stage 3, and we offer
very successful drama, music and performing arts courses at KS4 and KS5, as the academy
becomes established in the new building we hope that Performing Arts will become an even more
thriving area for study and enrichment.
Support for this role
The successful candidate will join a thriving academy with a strong focus on CPD and support.
There is a personalised CPD programme and all new staff undergo an extensive induction
programme. For NQTs, there is a dedicated programme of support to ensure the focus is on
successfully completing the induction year. The post-holder will be line managed by the Director of
English/Assistant Director of Performing Arts, the department is also line managed by an Assistant
Principal.
Opportunities
 Develop your passion for Drama in a supportive department and academy, with the freedom to
explore new and innovative ideas.
 Develop the students’ passion for Drama through an exciting Enrichment Programme including
after school clubs (the nature of the clubs are decided by individual staff!) and visits.
 To work in an academy where staff are valued and listened to – we share ideas and concerns
to make our academy a fantastic place to work.
Come and see us to find out more, we would be delighted to
welcome you!
To arrange a visit contact Martyn Palfreyman (Assistant Principal)
Email: mpalfreyman@swbacdemy.org.uk