Every school will tell you that they are a special place to work, so it’s important to read on to see what the justification is for such a statement. As the Head of School at Holyhead, I’m not necessarily going to be the most objective author in theory, but what I might lack in that respect, I’d hope to make up for in terms of my experience of this school having worked here for over 20 years from a novice NQT to the person who greets you here and now!

1: Do you share our values?

If you work here, you are passionate about social justice and will see yourself as part of not only the school community you work in, but the one that it serves in Handsworth. You show your care for the wellbeing and futures of the young people you work with here through your words and actions every day, as well as through your commitment to excellence by wanting to be the very best you can be in your role, taking every opportunity we will commit to give you to develop professionally and personally. 

Decision making is informed by evidence and research, and is rooted in integrity. We communicate with honesty and do things because we believe it is morally right. We expect everyone to treat each other with respect, not only in the way that we communicate, but importantly in a way where we don’t see a hierarchy of ideas. When you work here and can see problems, you will be encouraged to contribute ideas and solutions and we will listen when you’ve got them. 

2: Recruitment and Retention!

Many of our staff have been here for a long time, and/or like myself, they started their teaching careers at Holyhead. To say that no one ever chooses to leave would be manifestly false and ridiculous, but in a profession where opportunities are widely available and many choose to leave the job completely within their first few years, then there must be something about Holyhead that keeps people here for so long. 

We recognise and reward the commitment of our staff through Long Service Awards at 10 / 20 / 25 years, so if you join us and stay the course you’ll benefit materially as well as in many other ways too!

3: A school community starts with the staff

We would describe ourselves as a friendly and welcoming school, but you’d expect that wouldn’t you? The school is a genuine community though, one which in the words of John Tomsett (who visited us in November 2022 to conduct an intensive review of the school’s culture) “is remarkably strong… where students and staff feel part of something very special”.

We have an active Staff Rep Group who ensure that staff voice is taken into account with all aspects of policy and practice, and we continue to rebuild the social connections that make a workplace more than just a place where we work, after the challenges of the COVID years. If you have a willingness to get involved and join in, you will find many others like you!

4: A culture where we all want to learn and get better

Creating the conditions where we can all get better is easy to say and more challenging to do. We’ve invested heavily in teacher development in recent years as a major school improvement priority (it will always be one!), be it in terms of providing high quality CPD both in-house or through external partners including Ambition and InnerDrive Academy, or through developing capacity to provide non-judgmental instructional coaching which is built around making lasting improvements. Building a culture where we don’t fear making mistakes when we try things is important, as is an emphasis on teachers taking more responsibility for their own practice through our use of Teaching Walkthrus.  

We want you to want to grow when you come to work with us, and that will include opportunities such as access to National Professional Qualifications alongside a range of other courses, including through the Central Region Schools Trust, and subject knowledge enhancement through our membership of the Princes Teaching Institute. 

5: What about the students?

I’ll leave this to John Tomsett again as the objective observer of our school:

“The greatest strength of the school is its students, who are an incredibly convincing manifestation of the cultural norms associated with CRST. They are respectful, considerate, happy, hard-working, accepting, engaging, and just generally delightful!”

Our students are also full of character, they are vibrant, inquisitive, occasionally lively and most importantly, they value the relationships they build with teachers at the school. 

It would be entirely disingenuous to say they are all angels, schools after all are a microcosm of society, but students at Holyhead form a bond with members of staff at the school, such is the emphasis we place on relationships. This doesn’t mean we accept or excuse poor behaviour or manners, but we look to build opportunities for our young people to grow from the mistakes they make, whilst celebrating their successes with them at every chance we get.

Our students build relationships and trust with teachers who are firm and fair, and show through their deeds and words that they genuinely care. A sense of humour goes a long way, but an ability to explain yourself and demonstrate your love for your subject will take you further! 

Could we be the right place for you? 

The context of the community we serve is such that the majority of our students are at an educational disadvantage when they come to us, be that through below average reading ages, significantly above national average Pupil Premium rates, or having English as an additional language. When we talk about having a passion for social justice, it comes through the determination to do everything we can to improve the life chances of all of our students, regardless of their starting point. 

It’s not easy, and it does require a level of emotional investment as well as the willingness to go the (somewhat cliched) ‘above and beyond’, but it is made possible by making workload reduction part of our commitment to staff, and by a genuine team ethos where we work together and treat each other like a work ‘family’.

Teaching isn’t a profession for the faint hearted, but I can honestly say that teaching at Holyhead is for the wholehearted and the kind hearted. It’s a rewarding place to work in many ways. By all means read our Ofsted reports and look at our website, but if you think this might be the place for you then come and visit us first. We are open and honest, and we want to continually get better to do more for the young people of Handsworth. If you are that way inclined and this sounds like it might be right for you then get in touch and we hope to hear from you soon.