Netball Coach

Package Description

Required for: September 2023

Location: Great School (Dean's Yard)

Hours of work: core hours are Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (2:00pm – 4:00pm) from September through to March (inclusive).

Salary: £33.50 per hour

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 13th September 2023. Interviews will follow shortly after the closing date.

Job Introduction

Netball training takes place in the Play & Lent Terms (September through to March inclusive) on both Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (2:00pm – 3:45pm).

Around 20 girls aged 16-18 receive instruction from the Netball Coach who is assisted by two members of teaching staff with previous coaching experience. Fitness sessions are run by an external fitness trainer every two to three weeks. Netball is open to players of all ability levels but is predominantly chosen by pupils with significant prior match experience.

We aim to field two teams for around ten fixtures across the two terms against various London Girls Schools and enter one or two tournaments. Home matches are played on two all-weather netball courts at Vincent Square (Westminster School’s playing fields) or in the nearby Sports Centre when it is too dark to play outside. Away matches are within easy reach by public transport. In addition to external fixtures, there is a popular internal House competition.

Main Responsibilities

We are looking to appoint an enthusiastic Netball Coach to lead the delivery of enjoyable and engaging training sessions for our small but competitive Netball Programme of 20-25 pupils aged 16-18.

Working on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from September to March, the successful candidate will plan and lead training sessions supported by teaching staff.

They will have a good level of current technical and tactical understanding and experience coaching netball at school and/or club level. Candidates with experience playing at a high level wishing to get into coaching will also be considered.

Line manager

The Netball Coach will report to the Master in Charge of Netball and Director of Sport.

Coaching

• Plan, implement and deliver an engaging, enjoyable coherent core netball skills curriculum during Station afternoons.
• Support teaching staff in the delivery of sessions through the creation and sharing of session plans.
• Be responsible for teams on match days, coaching or officiating as required.
• Attend specified competitions as agreed with the Master i/c Netball.
• Be a representative of the School and its values at fixtures with other schools.

Administration / Operational Duties

• To ensure all school health and safety, safeguarding, critical incident, registers and other relevant policies and processes are adhered to in the delivery of Netball Station.
• Ensure that all critical incidents and Health and Safety incidents are reported in a clear and timely manner.
• Prepare facilities for coaching purposes. Monitor the state of equipment, identify equipment which needs updating.
• Communicate regularly with the Master i/c Netball about fixtures, training and progress.
• Perform other duties the Master i/c Netball requests in relation to the administration of Netball Station (where such duties are appropriate for the role).

Training

• Attend mandatory Safeguarding Training within the School
• Attend INSET training outside the School, where appropriate, to increase competence, proficiency and safety awareness.
• Attend First Aid Training as required.

Please note, this list is not exhaustive and may be adapted to suit the requirements of the role. Any changes to the job description will be discussed with the successful candidate before they are implemented.

Salary

The salary for this role is £33.50 per hour

Hours of work

Station (sports) runs on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (4-6 hours per week) from 2:00pm to 4:00pm throughout Play Term (September through to December inclusive) and Lent Term (January through to March inclusive). The successful candidate must be available to coach at these times.

Availability is also desired for external fixtures to provide coaching/officiating as required. Matches typically start at 4:30pm meaning a later start and finish to the session on those days: 3:30pm – 5:30pm if home, 3:00pm – 6:00pm if away. It is hoped that the successful candidate will have the flexibility to accommodate this; dates of matches will be communicated well in advance.

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the attached person specification for further details.

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.