APPOINTMENT OF A
SCHOOL SUPPORT OFFICER
Buildings, Land & Trusts
June 2016
2
Introduction
by the Rt Revd Richard Atkinson, Bishop of Bedford
Chair of the Diocesan Board of Education
Dear Applicant
SCHOOL SUPPORT OFFICER
(Buildings, Land & Trusts)
Thank you for your interest in the role of School Support
Officer (Buildings, Land and Trusts). We believe that this is
an exciting time to be working with Church Schools as the
Board of Education seeks to respond to the challenges of
maintaining and improving the quality of the education it
provides for 28,500 children and young people across
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
The post of School Support Officer offers a great opportunity for someone to join a
highly committed, hard-working team and to undertake a wide variety of tasks and
activities. The aim of this post is to build capacity and to provide additional support
and expertise to our schools. The likelihood of becoming bored is slim!
If you would like to discuss the role further, David Morton, Diocesan Director of
Education, and to whom this position reports, would be pleased to talk to you about it
in more detail. Please contact David via his PA, Eileen Bigg, by email
([email protected]) or on 01727 818170.
Yours faithfully
Bishop Richard Atkinson
Chair of the Board of Education
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CONTENTS
page
2 Introduction by the Bishop of Bedford
4 The Diocese of St Albans
6 The Diocesan Board of Education
8 The Schools Team
The Schools Support Officer (Buildings, Land & Trusts):
9 The role
12 The person specification
13 Terms and Conditions
14 How to apply, and further information
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The Diocese of St Albans
The Diocese of St Albans consists of the
counties of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire
and part of the London Borough of Barnet.
The population is approximately 1.8
million, and the total electoral roll number
is approximately 39,000. The Bishop of
St Albans has overall responsibility for the
Diocese. He is assisted by the suffragan
bishops of Bedford and Hertford, the
Archdeacons of Bedford, St Albans and
Hertford, the Diocesan Secretary and the
Dean. There are twenty deaneries and
the Diocese has 336 parishes, of which
about one third are rural, 201 benefices,
400 churches, 269 stipendiary clergy, 60
non-stipendiary clergy, 232 clergy with
Permission to Officiate and 175 Licensed
[111 with PtO] Lay Readers. There are 136 Church Schools and Academies in the
Diocese.
is the vision of the parishes, church schools and chaplaincies across Hertfordshire,
Bedfordshire, Luton and Barnet. This Vision is grounded in our love of God and love
of neighbour flowing from God’s love for us. Its three priorities are:
Using Mission Action Planning we are developing confident and outward looking
mission and evangelism, leading to spiritual and numerical growth.
The Diocesan Synod is the elected decision-making body of the diocese and the
Bishop’s Council as the Standing Committee of the Synod has a key role in
formulating diocesan policy.
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The statutory work of the
Church and support to the
parishes is provided by the
staff of the Diocesan Office,
located in Holywell Lodge in
St Albans.
They work in four main
teams responsible to four
separate bodies which report
to the Bishop’s Council and
are ultimately accountable to
Diocesan Synod:
The Board of Finance
The Board of Education
The Council for Discipleship and Ministry
The Board for Church and Society
In addition, the three Bishops, three Archdeacons and a number of diocesan officers,
both lay and ordained, work throughout the diocese, sometimes in conjunction with a
parish appointment.
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The Diocesan Board of Education
The Diocese
The Schools Team works with the 136 Anglican church schools in the Diocese of
St Albans, covering six Local Authorities: the London Borough of Barnet, Bedford
Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Luton.
Seventeen schools are Academies. Most of the schools are primary phase, but there
are five secondary schools and six middle schools which are deemed secondary.
The Schools Team is governed by the Diocesan Board of Education (DBE). This
is a statutory body established under the Diocesan Boards of Education Measure
1991, with functions including the promotion of education consistent with the faith
and practice of the Church of England, the promotion of religious education and
religious worship in schools and academies, the promotion of Church schools and
academies in the diocese, and advice to school governors on any matter affecting
church schools and academies.
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The Diocesan Board of Education
The Board of Education of the Diocese of St Albans exists to provide support and
advice to church schools throughout the Diocese. The Diocesan Resource Centre
holds resources for schools, youth work, children's work in churches and general
parish use. The Centre is open to all churches and to church schools, community
schools and private schools.
The vision of the DBE is to see Church Schools at the heart of the Diocese’s vision,
Living God’s Love. In aiming to achieve this goal, and building on the excellent
contribution of 136 Church Schools (with more in the pipeline), of which 89.2% are
either Outstanding or Good, the Board has established the following priorities:
community-focused schools serving the common good
outstanding education delivered in a distinctively Christian setting
Church Schools at the centre of the diocesan vision Living God’s Love
high quality Religious Education
the creation of new Church Schools within new housing developments
strong and fruitful school/parish relationships
rigorous safeguarding that ensures Church School pupils are celebrated as
children of God
These priorities are delivered in ways that recognise the unique local context of each
of our schools.
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The Schools Team
The Schools Team currently comprises the following staff, and plans to expand as
shown:
David Morton Director of Education
Lizzie Jeanes Interim Deputy Director of Education
Charlotte Johnson Interim Deputy Director of Education
Jane Chipperton RE Adviser (including SIAMS, Collective Worship, Values)
Bob Garrard Admissions Adviser and data analyst
Belinda Copson School Support Officer (Governance )
TBA School Support Officer (Buildings, Land & Trusts)
Eileen Bigg Schools Secretary and Director’s PA
TBA General, Schools Administrator (Director’s PA)
Ruth Garman General Schools Administrator (part-time, 0.8fte)
TBA Schools Administrative Assistant
The Schools Team is supported in their work by a team of over 20 educational
consultants who provide professional and pastoral support to schools through the
diocesan service level agreement. Currently 83% of schools subscribe to the SLA.
The Diocese of St Albans is one of the
larger dioceses in terms of the number
of schools it serves, yet has one of the
smaller schools teams. This presents a
number of challenges for the team
which has developed a close-working
relationship with each other that
depends on shared vision, flexibility,
hard work and a sense of humour. The
appointment of a School Support
Officer (Buildings, Land and Trusts) is
therefore an important one for the
team as a whole.
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The Role of the School Support Officer
(Buildings, Land & Trusts)
The role of School Support Officer (Buildings, Land and Trusts) reflects the increased
variety and complexity of the work that is undertaken across the Diocese. The post
will involve travel across the whole of the Diocese and will include working alongside
the General Schools Administrator responsible for the administration of the LCVAP
Capital funding scheme for Voluntary Aided schools which is worth around £2.2
million annually.
Post Title
School Support Officer (Buildings, Land & Trusts)
Accountability
The School Support Officer will be accountable to the Diocesan Director of
Education and through him to the Chair of the Board of Education, the Bishop of
Bedford. The School Support Officer reports to the Board of Education.
Overall Purpose
The overall purpose of the post is
To act as the Board of Education’s lead officer for land, buildings and Trusts
To support school re-organisation proposals across the Diocese
Responsibilities
To assist the Director in strategic areas relating to school buildings, land and
trusts, including the establishment of Academies (and Academy Trusts)
To manage and advise on issues relating to school organisation, including the
development of federations and strategic partnerships (including Local
Collaboration Trusts) between schools
To advise Governing Bodies on issues relating to government and Church/
Diocesan policy in relation to school provision
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School Buildings
To advise Church Schools and Academies on buildings-, land- and trust-related
issues
To create and maintain a directory for building, land, trust issues relating to
diocesan schools, including details of external tenants, reverter clauses,
external site trustees, outstanding land transfers, external site trustees
To manage the diocesan bulk insurance scheme annually reviewing Voluntary
Aided School insurance arrangements and ensuring adequate cover is in place
To develop strategic partnerships with other providers and organisations
To liaise with the Estates Team of the Diocesan Board of Finance
Capital Works
To implement and monitor the annual capital building programme (LCVAP)
To prepare capital bids after consultation with governors, headteachers,
building consultants and Local Authorities
To assist governors and heads with the management of Devolved Formula
Allocations (DFC) to ensure they are used to the best advantage on school
buildings
New School Provision
To be responsible for implementing DBE policies for new school provision
To lead the process of bidding for and commissioning new church schools
To advise governors and headteachers on the provision, maintenance and
development of school buildings and the financing of projects through the
various funding streams
Academy Conversion
To work with educational consultants within the process of facilitating the
conversion of maintained Church Schools to academy status
School Reorganisation
To support the Director of Education in issues relating to school organisation in
rural areas
To attend such diocesan, LA or statutory meetings as required
To keep up to date with developments in local and national strategies from the
Church of England and the Government in relation to school organisational
The Role of the School Support Officer
(Buildings, Land & Trusts) (continued)
11
matters
Other duties
To comply with and assist in the development of policies and procedures
relating to child protection, security, confidentiality and data protection
To contribute to and support the vision and priorities of the Diocesan Board of
Education
To establish constructive relationships and communicate with other agencies
and professionals
To attend and participate in regular meetings of the Schools Team and with
other diocesan teams as required
To participate in training and other learning activities and performance
development as required
To undertake such other appropriate duties as requested by the Diocesan
The Role of the School Support Officer
(Buildings, Land & Trusts) (continued)
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Person Specification: School Support Officer
(Buildings, Land & Trusts)
Essential Desirable
Qualifications
Degree level
Experience
Experience of the world of primary and secondary
education, including the place and nature of Church of England schools
Experience and/or knowledge of the Academy and Free
Schools process
Experience of relevant education, charity and building law
Financial literacy, planning and management skills
Knowledge, skills and abilities
High level interpersonal skills including the ability to
communicate on the telephone, in writing and face to face
Knowledge of Church of England structures and the
Voluntary Aided sector as it relates to school buildings
Ability to present complex legal and organisational issues
in an accessible manner
The ability to work effectively with governors, headteachers, Local Authority officers, DfE officers and
other related professionals
An understanding of Church of England Schools as
Charitable Bodies
Ability to work under pressure
Ability to maintain confidentiality
Personal Qualities
Commitment to providing a professional service to schools and to the Diocesan Board of Education
Flexible, adaptable
Ability to travel across the diocese
Supportive of the Christian ethos of the diocesan Schools
Team and the schools they serve
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Terms and Conditions
Term: The appointment will be based upon a probationary period of three months
during which it may be terminated by either party by one week’s notice, and
thereafter by three months’ notice on either side. This is a fixed post for the period
1 September 2016 to 18 July 2018 in the first instance.
DBS disclosure: The appointment is subject to enhanced DBS disclosure.
Salary: The post is offered on the scale £35,589—£41,638 (pro rata); the starting
salary will depend upon qualifications and experience.
Pension: There is currently a non-contributory pension scheme with the Church of
England Pensions Board to which the Diocesan Board of Education make a
contribution of 25% of salary.
Hours: The School Support Officer shall work such hours as are necessary for the
proper discharge of the duties of employment under their contract and in any event
not less than an average of 21 hours per week. There are no normal hours of work.
The post will involve travelling around the Diocese and evening work and very
occasional work at weekends. The School Support Officer will be expected to
establish a flexible work programme. Time off in lieu is given for hours worked
outside normal working hours. No overtime is paid.
Holidays: Annual leave entitlement is 13 working days plus statutory Bank Holidays
and the working days falling between Christmas and New Year bank holiday and one
day in November or December for Christmas shopping.
Costs: Approved expenses are paid in full through the Board of Education budget at
agreed rates.
Office facilities: The person appointed will be required to work in the Diocesan
Office at Holywell Lodge in St Albans, at which administrative assistance and office
support is provided.
Right to work: The successful applicant will need to provide proof of right to work in
the UK before taking up the post.
More detailed information on terms and conditions for diocesan staff will be found in
the Staff Handbook.
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How to apply for this position
To apply for this post, please send a CV, a covering letter explaining how you meet
the requirements, and the names and addresses of two referees to the Diocesan
Director of Education, Holywell Lodge, 41 Holywell Hill, St Albans AL1 1HE, or by
e-mail to [email protected].
Please ensure that when submitting your CV that you include a full chronological
history of full or part-time employment since leaving school.
References may be taken up before interview. Please indicate if anyone may not be
approached at this stage.
Closing date: Friday 24 June 2016, 12 noon
Interviews: Friday 8 July 2016 in St Albans
Further Information
Information about the Diocese can be found on http://www.stalbans.anglican.org/