ST HELENA GOVERNMENT
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR
TEACHER TRAINING ADVISER
1. Background
1.1 The island of St Helena is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom located in the South Atlantic approximately 4,000 miles from the UK. The Government is largely internally self-governing, and comprises a Governor (who is appointed by the Crown) and Executive Council, which has the general control and direction of Government, and a Legislative Council. The Governor retains responsibility for internal security, external affairs, defence, the public service, finance and shipping.
1.2 The island’s population is around 4,500 and it has a typical small island economy with a high import dependency, a narrow economic base, a large public sector (around 736 staff), and significant outward labour migration. St Helena receives UK Government financial assistance to support recurrent and capital expenditure as part of their obligation to ensure that the reasonable needs of the population are met. .
1.3 The overall vision of the St Helena Government (SHG) is
“Strengthened community and family life through vibrant economic growth, with opportunities for all to participate, within a framework of effective government and law.”
To support this vision there are three National Goals:
· A vibrant economy providing opportunities for all to participate
· Strong community and family life
· Effective management of the environment
A new vision and mission has been agreed for the Public Service, which will be incorporated in future plans and strategies:
Vision – A great place to work and serve the people of St Helena
Mission – Provide Services that are responsive to the needs and expectations of the people of St Helena, by taking account of their views in decisions on the design, delivery and performance of services, and by working with our colleagues to create an environment that encourages everyone to do their best.
1.4 In November 2011 Her Majesty’s Government agreed to fund an airport. Construction is complete and the airport is currently undergoing certification with commercial flights expected to commence before 21 May, the official opening date. The major construction activity leading up to this will significantly enhance St Helena’s economic prospects and have a dramatic impact on the island community, bringing a period of accelerated social and economic change. Achievement of the Goals and Strategic Objectives will require sound management and transformation of the public sector to make it a professional, modern, and flexible organisation able to initiate and respond to change.
1.5 SHG is implementing a modernisation programme that will enable the Public Service to improve its delivery of the government’s developmental objectives. Central to this programme has been the re-structuring of Government functions and directorates. There are currently five directorates reporting to the Chief Secretary who is the head of the Service; Education and Employment, Health, Safeguarding, Environment & Natural Resources and Corporate Services. The Police Service reports to the Governor.
Education & Employment Directorate
This is a very exciting time to think about joining the Education and Employment Directorate in light of the ongoing development of the Island. Through the construction of the airport and the resulting changes to the local economy, new opportunities are being created for the young people of St Helena.
Whilst there has been a history of underachievement and migration away from the Island there are signs that these past trends are now reversing. We are seeing a number of families returning to the island as employment prospects increase. Good progress is being made in ensuring that the island’s educational system is complementary to the changing skill requirements of the emerging economy.
To assist St Helena to progress this change agenda, a significant programme of financial and educational assistance continues to be processed by the UK government through the Department for International Development (DFID). This support programme provides good opportunities to further develop continuing professional development for the children’s workforce and an ambitious programme together for raising attainment.
There are currently four schools on the Island: one secondary school (Prince Andrew School) and three Primary Schools, Harford, Pilling and St Pauls, each with approximately 100 pupils.
The curriculum that the island has in place broadly models the English education system and young people take SATs at the end of Key Stage 2 and GCSEs and other recognised UK qualifications at the end of KS4. A programme of 6th form study is available which includes ‘A’ level courses at Prince Andrew School and distance learning supported programmes.
The curriculum will continue to develop alongside the changing economic developments. The Director is keen to put in place vocational developments including Marine Studies and an expansion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The Island has a small, but committed teaching workforce, who share a common goal to provide the best possible opportunities for the young people of St Helena to realise their ambitions.
1. SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENT
Please refer to the Job Profile attached.
JOB PROFILE
Directorate: Education
Post: Teacher Training Adviser
Grade: Technical Co-operation Contract
Job Purpose: Responsible to the Director of Education for effective initial training and further development of school teachers, jointly with the Assistant Director (Schools).
Duration of contract: Two years, subject to a probationary period of six months.
Job Outline
There has recently (April 2014) been an on-island evaluation of teacher education, which identified priorities for moving forward. This role will address some of the issues identified in the evaluation. It is anticipated that some specialist classroom-focused training (e.g. phonics, mathematics) will be undertaken by the Primary Education Adviser or subject-specialist teaching staff.
A. Initial teacher training
· With the support of the Assistant Director (Schools), implement the current on-island ITT programme for new and existing trainees, and develop it further as necessary.
· With the Director and Assistant Director (Schools), identify forthcoming needs for new teachers and plan and implement address appropriately.
· Work with the Assistant Director (Schools) to embed the proposed bursary scheme and support bursary students.
· Set up a teacher and teacher-trainee mentoring programme with significant depth, and train mentors in a form that can become self-sustaining this will also increase serving teacher capacity.
· Ensure that the ITT and mentoring programmes contain up to date Child Safeguarding training.
B. Further professional development
· Work closely with the Director and Assistant Director (Schools), to ensure that priority needs for up-skilling of individual serving teachers are addressed.
· With the Primary Education Adviser, and Assistant Director (Schools), address further teacher development and CPD needs, especially in identified key areas: phonics and mathematics at primary level; effective inclusion; challenge, creativity and problem-solving throughout the school system.
· With the Assistant Director (Schools), ensure all new Teaching Assistants, and teachers and TAs changing roles, receive appropriate induction into their new roles and responsibilities.
· Devise a rigorous system to support careful planning, and structured evaluation, application and dissemination of all OVSET (overseas experience and training) visits.
C. Teacher education system and capacity development
· With the Director and the Assistant Director (Schools), identify or recruit a ‘Professional Tutor’ as recommended in the ITT Evaluation (2014).
· With the Assistant Director (Schools) and the Professional Tutor, assess, towards the end of the Training Adviser’s contract, the ongoing needs for ITT and CPD, and the ways in which responsibilities for this should be managed and distributed among appropriate on-island experts, so as to ensure coherence and sustainability.
· Work closely with the Assistant Director (Schools) and the Professional Tutor, to educate them in the demands of UK QTS documentation, standards and practice.
· With the Assistant Director (Schools), devise and implement ways to encourage more men into teaching, and into ITT.
· Investigate how a Teaching Centre housing professional resources could be established.
Special Conditions
· The nature of the job demands that out of hours work is required.
· Must adhere to the dress code and all other SHG and Education & Employment Directorate policies and procedures for staff.
· Must produce a clean Vetting Certificate.
· Although the anticipated job description is as given, over time it might be necessary to adapt or extend the role as new needs emerge.
Qualifications and Experience: essential
· In possession of a UK teaching qualification and QTS.
· Successful classroom experience, preferably across the Primary and Secondary phases.
· Successful experience as a teacher trainer, preferably across both ITT and CPD.
· Knowledge of and experience in developing school-based collaborative teacher learning, including familiarity with the evidence base and with best practice in UK.
· Confident and detailed knowledge and experience of the requirements for QTS.
· Excellent ICT skills, particularly with application to distance learning.
Qualifications and Experience: desirable
· Experience in working overseas, preferably in a developing economy.
· Expertise in developing coaching and mentoring skills in education professionals.
· Specific experience in literacy or numeracy improvement at any level
· Experience of and ability to help develop school leadership
Person Specification
Ø Committed to an aspirational quality of classroom learning experience for all young people
Ø Able to motivate, inspire and have high expectations of trainee and serving teachers
Ø Enjoyment in working with trainee and serving teachers
Ø Excellent interpersonal skills
Ø A solution-focussed approach
Ø Leadership qualities
Ø Effective oral and written communication skills, with good command of the English Language
Ø Able to use own initiative and work independently
Ø The ability to work as part of a team
Ø Adaptability/Flexibility
Ø Good listening skills
Ø A sense of humour
Ø A sense of responsibility
Ø Good organisational skills
Ø The ability to work calmly under pressure
An understanding of the importance of observing confidentiality and data protection
Reporting requirements
Provide an inception report after 3 months, an annual report on teacher training, and a final end of contract report to the Director of Education.
OVERVIEW OF MONITORING STANDARDS
1. Professional Development
Required Professional competency Standards met
2. Planning and Delivery of work
Ensures appropriate resources and levels of capability to deliver to plan
Promotes and enforces appropriate organisational rules and procedures
Leads by example in managing business relationships
3. Analysis and use of information
Interprets complex written information
Able to assess the validity, relevance and limitations of different sources of evidence
Generates a range of options and appraises them based on evidence available
4. Decision making
Solves problems that have significant short-term implications for the organisation
Assesses the impact of decisions
Identifies causes rather than just symptoms to inform solutions
Uses trends and patterns in information for evidence based decisions
Confident in making decisions within policy guidelines
Assembles available knowledge to ensure evidence based decisions
5. Working with others
Informs, consults and influences others using a range of communication mechanisms
Engages with others to gather information
Shares and implements good practice with others
Works with senior management and other stakeholders
6. Communication
Ensures important messages are understood
Ensures written communications are well structured and have clear meaning
Presents information so that it has a positive impact on the recipient
Engages well with others to understand their needs and aspirations
7. Influencing and persuading
Encourages and provides constructive feedback to improve performance
Ensures alternative approaches to work are effective in meeting the organisation and individual needs
Remains constructive when disagreeing or challenging
Challenges inappropriate employee behaviours
8. Dealing with change
Supports individuals in their team through periods of change
Listens and responds to constructive feedback
Initiates new ways of doing things
Recognises and deals with obstacles to change
Promotes goals or new initiatives to others
9. Continuous Improvement
Can describe what the future looks like in terms of service improvements and modernisation
Motivate others to improve and develop their performance
Constructively challenges existing strategies
Sets SMART objectives for teams and evaluates them
10. Managing Resources
Ensures appropriate resources and levels of capability to deliver to plan
Uses management information to monitor/control resources
Supports initiatives for new and more efficient use of resources
Gains respect and credibility from team members through effective delegation, coaching and development
2