I love the sense of team work and collaboration - I never get the Sunday night blues working here!
Teacher of Geography
I really enjoy my role because each day brings a new challenge...it also helps that I work with an amazing team! From beginning my Bishop journey as an apprentice in the Expressive Arts department, I have been able to take many development opportunities.
Finance Officer
As an ECT I really appreciate the support I get. Colleagues really care about me and support me to be the best I can be.
Teacher of Science
We are committed to every student fulfilling their unique potential with us, and we know that depends on our colleagues sharing their talents with them. Bishop Stopford School is a place where your gifts are welcome. Our students benefit form learning in a community where expertise spills over from the daily role to which they are appointed into the broader life of our school.
That might be a skill you’d like to share – many of our sports teams, for example, are run by colleagues who don’t teach PE – or aren’t teachers at all. Or you might wish to join in leading the fabulous range of enhancement activities which are on offer or even perhaps starting an activity yourself. And you could also lead on trips which genuinely change lives. There aren’t too many school who offer an annual trip to the Isles of Scilly, for example, and your contribution to opportunities such as these make memories of a lifetime.
For Teachers, our school is a place where you can hone your craft and become an ‘expert teacher’. Collaboration marks all that we do, and you can shape the curriculum with colleagues, other leaders and governors.
If you’re into research, Bishop Stopford School is definitely the place to be. There’s a real buzz around accredited courses such as NPQs and participating in action research – all focused on delivering the best quality of teaching and learning. We run partnerships with other schools to deepen our knowledge and provision, and we’re both locally and nationally engaged in developing and maintaining outstanding practice.
Our students are sharp! They recognise great teaching and learning, and you’ll thrive on their avid interest in your subject. So if you are passionate about your subject, passionate about pedagogy and wish to be an inspirational role model for young people and your colleagues, this is a great place to be.
For Associate Staff, there is also a relentless focus on great performance. Each team aims for excellence: from HR to IT, Admin, Finance and Site management, all are aligned with the core values and ensure that the operations required for a medium-sized business to function effectively are well performed. We are reflective and ensure the highest standards to ensure an efficient, safe and financially secure environment for everyone in our community.
Team leaders work to the highest standards, and those in ‘student facing’ roles enhance the experience and learning of students. Our message is simple to all potential colleagues for the Associate Staff team: if you have a professional commitment to work, where you want to do the very best to achieve your personal goals and those of the organisation, Bishop Stopford School will provide you with a workplace where you can thrive. We offer both full time and part-time contracts dependant on the role.
Contemplating a career move can be daunting, and knowing the unique characteristics of a school can really help in that regard. Not only does Bishop Stopford School offer a superb educational experience for our students, it does the same for our staff. We all know that schools are vibrant, busy and often unpredictable – that’s part of the charm of working in them. But knowing as a colleague you will be developed, supported and encouraged to take bold next steps is really important.
Here are a few ‘vital statistics’:
We are heavily oversubscribed, with over 1450 students - 400 of whom are in the Sixth Form.
Our examination results place us consistently in the top performing schools in the country as well as locally, both at GCSE and A Level. All students, including those who are socially disadvantaged and those with Special Educational Needs, perform significantly above national averages.
About 85% students stay on from GCSE to study A Levels with us; almost 90% go on to study at degree level.
Our staff team is about 200, with a wide range of experience and specialisms. All teachers are subject specialists
We usually appoint Early Career Teachers every year, and offered reduced timetables for them in Year 2 before this was a national requirement.
We’re situated 10 minutes’ walk from Midland Mainline, so staff join us from Leicester and Market Harborough even without their own transport.
Transport links are superb: 1 hour to London on the train, direct links northern-bound to Leicester, Sheffield and Leeds, and excellent road networks via the A14 to Cambridge and Birmingham.
Our Curriculum Intent and Core Values inform all the decisions we take.
Your development matters to us! Colleagues continually comment on the amazing opportunities they are provided to learn and to extend their knowledge. We are very clear that we can’t expect expertise across our school without investing in colleagues. It’s no surprise we were awarded Investors in People Gold at our last assessment: the informal and formal learning which goes on here is huge.
We encourage colleagues to ask for opportunities and we provide them whenever possible. They are generous in sharing their expertise with each other, and we create many opportunities for this to happen, as well as using expertise from beyond our school.
Your entitlement is simple: support for you as you grow in your career, with individualised opportunities to take part in relevant development opportunities. For all our colleagues, we provide:
An induction programme with1:1 support from a member of the Leadership Team;
Performance Management;
Access to a range of online courses to support knowledge developments;
Access to additional courses provided by relevant authorities and specialist knowledge companies
For teachers:
Weekly dedicated CPD time;
An Educational and Professional Studies programme;
Membership of the Chartered College of Teaching, providing access to up-to-date educational research, resources and training possibilities;
Cross-school research and CPD groups;
ECT colleagues receive a specialist programme and bespoke guidance and support.
Our ethos to support colleagues to be the best they can be is complemented with our commitment to wellbeing. Colleagues need to know they are cared for while they work to deliver excellence. The range of benefits and support on offer is wide, and another facet of our provision is that it is tailored to individual need. Some of the provision includes:
A whole school wellbeing charter;
A comprehensive benefits package including optical, dental cover and shopping discounts
Discounted gym membership
24 hour GP access
Therapy treatments
Free flu immunisations
Healthy extras
Occupational health referrals
Wellbeing weeks
Colleague appreciation scheme
Tax-free childcare scheme
Travel season ticket loan scheme
Free parking on site
For teachers, PPA from home allocation when possible
Meeting free weeks
Special Leave Policy
Flexible Working Policy
CPD time
Maybe Kettering hasn’t been top of the list for you as a place to work? It’s probably time to re-think that. Our school is not only an impressive place to work: it’s conveniently situated and linked to fast road and rail networks. Added to that, the cost of living locally is about 10% less than the national average. And in terms of housing, Northamptonshire’s prices are on average £60,000 lower than the rest of England and Wales.
So how convenient is it to work at Bishop Stopford School?
10 minutes’ walk from Midland Mainline station
Many colleagues live in the attractive south Leicestershire town of Market Harborough and surrounding villages: that’s a 25-minute drive or 10 minutes on the train.
London St Pancras and Birmingham New Street can be reached in under an hour.
Our central location means easy access to the A14 (10 minutes), the M1, A1 and M6.
Staff are proud to work at the school. Collectively, they strive to develop their expertise and improve all aspects of the school’s provision. The school makes sure that workloads are manageable and supports the well-being of staff.
