French Language Assistant

Package Description

Required for: 29th August 2024

Location: Dean's Yard - Great School

Contract: part-time, term-time only, permanent

Hours of work: 0.4 FTE of the timetable, details of which will be discussed at interview

Salary: The salary for this role is £15,860.36 per annum based on 0.4 FTE of the timetable. The role is term-time only.

The deadline for applications is 09:00 on Monday 3rd June 2024. Interviews will take place shortly after the closing date.

Job Introduction

The Modern Languages Department at Westminster strives to be the very best in England. We pride ourselves not just in our high levels of participation and excellent outcomes, but in our ethos and approach: this a Department in which pupils feel supported, valued and challenged. Through our teaching, pupils learn to communicate in a new language, but they also value the opportunities to learn about cultures and identities beyond our shores, and learn to see the world through new eyes.

All pupils study French to GCSE level, and have a good linguistic grounding thanks to this. They also learn Latin and Greek at least until the end of Year 9. The majority of pupils pick a second modern language from Year 10 – either German, Mandarin, Russian or Spanish. In these languages, we offer an accelerated 2-year (I)GCSE course. Languages remain popular in Key Stage 5: in a typical year, around 60 pupils take at least one language as an A-level subject. We have an excellent track record of preparing significant numbers of pupils for undergraduate study in Modern Languages at top universities in the UK and abroad.

Trips and visits abroad are an important part of our job, and typically we run expeditions to France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Russia/the Baltic. The Department is home to a number of language-related pupil-led societies, covering French, German, Spanish, Slavic Languages, multilingual debating and linguistics. We encourage our pupils to participate in a full range of competitions, from the UK Linguistics Olympiad to various essay, public speaking and creative translation competitions which take place throughout the year.

The successful candidate will be a passionate linguist and ambassador for the French language. Pupils hugely appreciate the time they spend with our Language Assistants, and they recognise the unique contribution that these colleagues make. We expect all Language Assistants to be fluent and highly literate speakers of their language. The French Language Assistant will teach KS4 pupils in small groups, and KS5 pupils 1:1, in pairs or in small groups.

The successful candidate will focus on pupils’ oral proficiency and work nearly exclusively in the target language. They will be patient and encouraging of our pupils, and seek to enamour our learners with the French language and francophone culture. In the Lower School (years 9 to 11), the emphasis is on developing confidence and fluency, whereas in the Upper School (years 12 and 13) we aim for our pupils to become more convincing, independent and creative users of the language. In both cases, the successful candidate will work together with the class teacher to ensure that oral lessons complement the overall curriculum and teaching approach.

The successful candidate will also show a willingness to be involved in the wider life of the department, such as supporting the running of Societies and events. The Language Assistant is not, however, required to write reports or attend Parents Evenings.

Line manager

The French assistant reports to the Head of French and on some occasions the Head of Modern Languages. All teaching staff are responsible to the Deputy Head (Academic) on academic matters, to the Under Master on matters of discipline, pastoral, welfare and safeguarding, and ultimately to the Head Master.

Main Responsibilities

Teaching and Learning

• Help ensure the quality of teaching and learning is consistently excellent across the School, through stimulating and challenging oral lessons in French
• Apply, where appropriate, appropriate technological tools and apps to enhance learning and teaching
• Plan, prepare, teach and evaluate oral sessions in line with the Schemes of Work. For French Specifically this will include

 - small-group lessons of 20 mins each during lesson time for Year 11, 12 and 13

 - 1-to-1 or 1-to-2 lessons of 20 mins each during lunchtime, pupils’ free periods or before/after school for pupils in Years 12 and 13, in addition to the above

• Provide a safe, secure and stimulating environment in which consideration is given to the individual development of all pupils
• Identify and make use of culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate stimulus materials
• Adapt sessions in a manner that challenges and interests the pupils and is appropriate to their needs and proficiency levels
• Apply any recommendations and guidance for pupils with specific learning or welfare needs or disabilities, as directed by the Head of Learning Development, or on the pupil’s personalised learning plan
• Give supportive advice and guidance to pupils on how to develop their oral proficiency by identifying areas of pronunciation, grammar, idiom or vocabulary which they can improve
• Encourage students to take responsibility for their progress by maintaining high expectations of punctuality, attendance and learning behaviours

Pastoral Care and Pupil Management

• Put pupils at the centre of all teaching and learning, taking a pastoral interest in pupils around the School, so that they feel valued and cared for
• Foster pupils’ safe esteem in their oral lessons
• Motivate pupils through praise, while being firm but fair in expectations
• Actively maintain the high standards of behaviour and uniform of pupils in the classroom and in all school locations and activities
• Communicate and consult with other departments or members of staff to implement recommendations, policies or guidance

All teaching colleagues are expected to:

• Promote and support the School’s Aims and Vision and School Development Plan
• Adhere to and support the School’s policies and procedures
• Accept responsibility for the welfare and care of all pupils, at all times
• Attend relevant training and INSET days
• Take an active interest in maintaining subject knowledge

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the person specification below.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

About The School

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Westminster School is friendly and welcoming, and all newcomers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here.

There is a real sense of community here as, being a boarding school many members of staff and pupils live on site and the School’s premises are very much treated as a home away from home. School life starts before breakfast and continues way beyond the working day; as a result, there is always a lively atmosphere in and around School and always someone to share a tea and biscuit with in the Common Room. Support staff as much as teaching staff are encouraged to embrace the School’s day-to-day activities, whether that be attending an evening concert or a morning service in the Abbey.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. We do know, however, that we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is a selective day and boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 and girls aged 16 to 18. There are approximately 360 boys in the Lower School (Years 9 to 11) and 400 boys and girls in the Upper School (Years 12 and 13). One quarter of the pupils board, and the School is structured and run as a boarding school, with an extended day and week and a strong House-based system of pastoral welfare, for boarding and day pupils alike.

Westminster is an ancient school, whose origins can be traced to a charity school established by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey. Its continuous existence is certain from the early 14th century. Henry VIII personally ensured the School’s survival by statute and Elizabeth I, who confirmed royal patronage in 1560, is celebrated as the School’s foundress. Westminster is rare amongst long-established schools in remaining on its original site in the centre of London. Its proximity to Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and the use of the Abbey for its chapel, together with the stimulating diversity of the South Bank and West End, account in part for its special atmosphere and outlook.

The School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence both in this country and internationally. Central to its academic ethos is the dialogue between teachers and their pupils, whether in the classroom or in tutorials, inspiring enjoyment of intellectual enquiry, debate and search for explanation and the development of skills of rational, independent thought well beyond any standard examination syllabus. The desired environment is happy, busy and purposeful; the pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged, with plenty of opportunities to develop initiatives and to articulate and defend their views, in line with the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the School’s Charter. That tradition is fully committed also to the nurture of each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies - and to the preparation of young people for fulfilled private and public lives beyond School.