Work at Wilson's
Teaching and Learning at Wilson's School
Teaching an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, rigorous, well-planned in-lesson assessment and support has become a crucial element of our practice. An new version of the school’s Teaching Excellence Criteria has been produced and our Professional Learning is being adapted to place a greater focus on interleaving familiar and unfamiliar subject knowledge as well as ‘synoptic’ lesson-planning to enhance longer term learning.
We have therefore increased department training time, developing subject-specific pedagogy under the expert leadership of the Head of Department. All Heads of Department receive training in facilitating high quality Professional Learning.
Teaching and Learning Mentor for new staff
Professional development of all new staff (regardless of experience) is coordinated by an experienced Teaching and Learning Mentor. One-to-one discussions about classroom practice are planned in tandem with a programme of developmental observations. Our personalised approach to the Early Career Framework uses the self-directed resources from Institute for Education alongside adaptations for our unique school context.
Sharing Teaching and Learning Excellence
Maintaining a culture of Teaching and Learning development relies upon engendering a genuine interest in classroom practice. As well as our Professional Learning programme requiring all staff to share their practice in some way and to engage in Action Research, we also encourage members of staff to share good practice by opening the doors to their classroom for those in other departments.
Supporting New Middle Leaders
Any member of staff taking on a middle leadership role will receive support, guidance and, perhaps most importantly, a sounding board for ideas. New Heads of Department are allocated an experienced mentor.
Aspiring Middle and Senior Leaders
We are proud that so many of our staff have gone on to become middle and senior leaders within the school and beyond. As well as sessions focusing on how to prepare for a middle leadership interview, we also offer a programme for aspiring senior leaders, Developing a Whole School Mindset, involving problem solving exercises that mirror the challenges faced by school leadership teams.
Parents and pupils rightly expect consistently outstanding teaching at Wilson’s and so continuing professional development (Professional Learning) is at the heart of our school calendar and routines for teachers. Teachers receive regular feedback on their teaching, via developmental lesson observations and conversations about pupils’ work. There are also structured opportunities for teachers to review their own practice.
We strive to develop a culture of discussion and debate about teaching, presenting teachers with difficult questions in Professional Learning sessions and challenging dialogues when feeding back on lesson observations! We take a highly personalised approach to match each teacher’s expertise and enthusiasm with suitable training, and the Professional Learning programme continues to respond to the views and priorities of staff as expressed in annual whole-staff review meetings. Evaluating the impact of professional development and pedagogical approaches is core to our approach and all teachers are given an insight into high quality classroom research methodology.
We are always delighted to answer any questions about our approach to Professional Learning.
Thank you for your interest in coming to work at Wilson’s. We are looking for well qualified and inspiring teachers to join our outstanding School.
We provide excellent professional development and leadership opportunities. The School encourages teachers to join our talent pool. This will allow us to contact them directly should a suitable vacancy become available.
Those interested in joining the Wilson’s School talent pool should submit a copy of their Curriculum Vitae and a brief covering letter to teach@wilsonsschool.sutton.sch.uk
We would be delighted to speak further and indeed for you to visit us so that you can see how fulfilling teaching at Wilson’s can be.
Wilson’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The recruitment procedures include an enhanced DBS check, overseas police checks (where relevant), proof of qualifications and employment history references. The appointee’s responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young persons for whom s/he comes into contact will be to adhere to and ensure compliance with the School’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy at all times.
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