Teacher

Would you like to work on our Course? You must be a NATIVE ENGLISH-SPEAKER with appropriate TEFL qualifications and experience. Read on….

Background information

Let me tell you a little about us. Vacational Studies Courses have run for 39 years. Most students come to us on recommendation from parents whose children have already been with us. We are accredited by the British Council and are members of English UK (formerly ARELS). We have high standards of professionalism and expect the same from staff. Our reputation is of the greatest importance and is, I believe, second-to-none. Parents are confident that their children will be secure.

The students

We have a full programme of teaching, sporting and social activities. With our total staff:student ratio of about 1:8, we can provide the pastoral care that comes from supervision that is as complete as possible. The Courses are international with most European countries represented. Our students tend to be well-motivated. Many return from year to year. As the Courses are fully residential, there are good opportunities to get to know the children and do various kinds of work with them.

Accommodation and meals

The posts are resident. Basic accommodation is provided at no charge, as are all meals, except meals on excursions.

The teaching

Teaching takes place on five days a week, including Saturdays. There are four 45-minute lessons in the mornings and one 30-minute ‘homework’ period after lunch. Classes

are graded according to ability with a teacher:student ratio no greater than 1:16. We use books such as “Cutting Edge”, ‘Total English’, ‘ Energy 2′, ‘ Over to You’, ‘ Smart Elementary’, ‘ Matters’, ‘ Vista’ and ‘ Panorama 2′ as the main textbooks. We also have a variety of supplementary material covering the range lower-intermediate to advanced. Much of the work is a special ‘Task-Based Learning’ programme involving the scripting and producing of a short film for which we have a special Programme of Work. Teachers may also include their own appropriate materials and methods.

Extra-curricular activities

An involvement in the extra-curricular programme is expected. Staff are contracted to assist the Sports/Social crew on at least six occasions each week. In addition, they accompany excursions and shopping trips on a rota basis and assist with supervision on Sports Day. All staff assume the normal pastoral responsibilities that are part of boarding school life and are allocated to one of our four ‘Houses’.

Duties

All staff have 2½ duty days each week, or the equivalent. There are also two completely free 24-hour days during the Course – a Sunday or an excursion day.

Collection and return service

Some staff meet students at Heathrow on the first day and check them in when they return. Some staff will accompany students to Heathrow at the end of the Course and may depart from there.

Qualifications expected

Applicants must be graduates and hold qualifications such as CTEFLA/CELTA; Trinity College London Certificate in TESOL; PGCE in English/modern languages with TEFL subsidiary; university ‘certificate in TEFL’ courses. A qualification must be externally validated by a reputable examination body (usually a university or recognised examination board); there must be at least six hours’ supervised teaching practice (i.e. teaching practice where a qualified assessor observes the trainee teacher teaching real TEFL students and gives feedback on the trainee’s performance); the course must contain at least 100 hours of TEFL input. PGCE or equivalent qualifications which lead to qualified teacher status in the UK in a subject related to English Language teaching (i.e. modern languages or English) and for an appropriate age group may be considered to be appropriate qualifications for teaching EFL to juniors.

Dates,duration and pay – Teachers

We offer employment for a period of just over four weeks. Arrival is 10.00 on 10 July and departure is 15.00 on 8 August. Pay is £1750.00 (one thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds) for the duration of the employment. Payment is by cheque at the end of the Course. If they wish, staff can be paid a 25% advance by cheque at the end of the first week, to be deducted from the final balance. As employment is temporary, we are not at present required to deduct PAYE from British staff at source unless staff advise us that they are ordinarily resident in the UK and, therefore, liable to PAYE. Anyone defined as a ‘ student’ for the tax year is not liable to PAYE. Deductions will be on a ‘ Week 1/Month 1′ basis. NI is deducted at the prevailing rate.

Dates, duration and pay – Senior Teacher 1; Senior Teacher 2 (both posts filled for 2012)

There are two Senior Teachers who will share the teaching of a class.  They are responsible, in liaison with the Academic Manager, for providing the teachers with ideas and support in lesson planning, overseeing student placement, observing teaching, taking over from an absent teacher, report-writing, book-issuing and book collection at the end. The Senior Teacher will have wide experience in TEFL. Both posts carry administrative responsibilities. Senior Teacher 1 will have responsibility for making excursion arrangements and for the administration of pocket money. Senior Teacher 2 is in charge of arranging the staff duty rota and for arranging, minuting and following up Staff Meetings.  Payment is £2000.00 (two thousand pounds) for the duration. Dates of employment and other details are as above.

Suitability

Ideally, applicants will have experience with the 10-18 age-range in residential situations. An interest in participating in the corporate life of the Course – in the classroom, on the sportsfield and socially – is essential. If this appeals, please complete the application form, giving your choice of post in order of preference. Please read ‘Notes for Staff 2012′ which describes the post in more detail. If your application is of interest, we shall contact your referees and, if these are satisfactory, we shall invite you for interview. If you are overseas, we shall suggest interview via skype. If you are in this country, we shall invite you to Newbury. We pay your rail fare. If appointed, your acceptance of an offered post assumes the acceptance of the contents of the information on this page and the contents of the ‘Notes for Staff 2012′ and is the contract of employment. As there is responsibility for and substantial access to children, we run CRB checks. Proof of qualifications is required – as is an explanation for any gaps in CVs. On arrival, all staff are required to sign a declaration that they are not unfit to be working with children aged 10-18.

A note on Work Permits and why we cannot employ non-EU teachers

If you do not hold an EU passport (or have a dispensation to take temporary work as a Commonwealth citizen), you are not permitted to work in the UK unless you possess a Work Permit. An employer has to obtain a Work Permit from the Home Office to allow a non EU citizen to work in the UK. The employer must prove that EU labour is not availabl for the job. As EU labour is available for EFL teaching posts, we do not apply for Work Permits.

If you do not fulfil the stated criteria, we shall not take your application further.

 

Vacancy Application Form