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Flying Bull

Governor's Blog

A perspective from our Vice-Chair of Governors

In my capacity as a School Governor I became involved in the recruitment process convened to select a Class Teacher to fill an impending vacancy.

The process began with putting together an advertisement, specifying the job and its requirements, which led to candidates forwarding applications and references as requested. A short list, of five people in this case, was compiled and all were invited to a selection day at the school.

On the day, the agenda was built around firstly delivering a 30 minute lesson specifically focussed upon a piece of work appropriate to the class involved. This exercise was monitored by the three senior staff, who were managing the selection, plus myself. We were looking for a wide range of ability around managing a class and delivering a high quality and relevant lesson to the pupils. Next came assessments with regards to ascertaining capability in Arithmetic and English Language, the latter also asking for proof of imagination and organisational skills. These were marked and assessed prior to the day's final discipline; a 45-minute interview seeking to find out even more about the candidate and their suitability for the post.

All candidates showed real desire to become Flying Bull teachers, with generally good core skills and areas of individual strengths. I believe all those we saw have the potential to be effective teachers in the right environment. A point to consider is that it is not a Pass or Fail assessment but recruiting the person who best fits the requirement.

I congratulate the school on carrying out such a comprehensive selection process which, while very time consuming, sought to give each and every candidate the opportunity to show their capability, whilst also increasing the likelihood of coming to the correct decision. A decision was taken, with an offer made and accepted, that I am very comfortable with.