A great place to work – not every school is the same, and we believe that we are quite different from many.
We are a great school to work in for a number of reasons:
1) A Living Wage Employer: all our staff are paid at least the living wage. We are committed to honouring all national pay rises for teachers and our support staff conditions equal to those of Birmingham City Council employees in other schools.
2) A Valued Workforce: we value to views of our staff and important decisions in the school are made together. For example in 2017-18, staff have discussed curriculum changes, new rewards and sanctions and other key changes. Policies such as our marking policy are written by staff.
3) Working to manage workload: far too many great teachers are driven from the profession by an unsustainable workload. We work with staff to reduce workload where possible and always consider the workload implications of any changes we make.
4) Fantastic CPD: we believe that good staff become great through top-notch CPD. Teacher Training Days should not be long hours of listening to senior managers, but collaborative and exciting opportunities to work together. Every staff meeting is led by our Teaching and Learning Group of staff focused on sharing best practice. Our CPD events (such as our January Teacher Conference) ensures we gather best practice from across the city and beyond.
5) A family: our staff are committed to the children we serve and their families. Many staff choose to devote their entire career to this school. This is because we look after each other and work together.
6) Union-friendly: we recognise the important role that unions and professional associations play in promoting the welfare of staff, which is a shared priority.
These points mean that, despite a national teacher shortage, Northfield School for Girls is fully staffed with fully trained teachers.
