Work at Wilson's
Support Opportunities ⟶
Thank you for your interest in working at Wilson’s.
We provide excellent professional development and leadership opportunities both for teachers and members of our Operations Team.
We encourage prospective teachers to join our talent pool. This will allow us to contact them directly should a suitable vacancy become available. Those interested in joining the Wilson’s School talent pool should submit a copy of their Curriculum Vitae and a brief covering letter to teach@wilsonsschool.sutton.sch.uk
We would be delighted to speak further and indeed for you to visit us so that you can see how fulfilling teaching at Wilson’s can be.
A vibrant place to work
- The school is a cheerful place to work, with professional relationships characterised by warmth and good humour.
- The pupils at Wilson’s are a pleasure to work with. They are particularly proud to be at the school and they work hard.
- There is very strong provision for the welfare of pupils. Pupils of all ages behave very well.
- We have an active Staff Association, which organises social events, alongside staff yoga, football, badminton and book club.
- We appreciate the importance of family and will always do our best to enable staff to attend important events.
- The Wilson’s School Trustees provide complimentary tea and coffee for staff and little treats at several points in the year.
- Numerous measures are in place to ensure a health work-life balance during term time.
A place to advance your career
- Wilson’s has a national reputation for excellence given the outstanding outcomes of pupils and the successes they go on to achieve.
- Whatever their role and level of experience, all new staff receive mentoring from an excellent, experienced teacher or member of the Operations Team within the school. New leaders are allocated a leadership mentor.
- We support colleagues in developing their skills and taking on new responsibilities, whether through formal professional development, mentoring, or opportunities to broaden their experience within the school.
- We have a reputation for spotting and nurturing talent. Many of our school leaders joined as Newly Qualified Teachers / Early Career Teachers. We operate specific programmes for ECTs, aspiring middle leaders and aspiring senior leaders.
- Professional learning encourages staff to consider and engage with the way they work and, if applicable, take risks. Teachers are very much involved in the planning of their programmes.
A commitment to improvement
- We regularly invite staff to suggest innovations to the school’s practice, including in relation to workload.
- All leaders within the school operate an ‘open door’ approach so that queries are answered, and problems solved quickly.
- Parents and colleagues are regularly given the opportunity to acknowledge the contribution made by staff.
Teaching and Learning at Wilson's School
Teaching an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects
Our vision for effective teaching is set out in the school's own Teaching Excellence Criteria which have been developed and refined over nearly 20 years.
The goal is that teachers at Wilson’s will not just be engaged in Professional Learning, but that they will discuss, debate and develop a vision for their own teaching, engage with relevant research, reading and training to bring about improvements in their practice. We have therefore increased department training time, developing subject-specific pedagogy under the expert leadership of the Head of Department. All Heads of Department receive training in facilitating high quality Professional Learning.
Professional Learning is informed by evidence. This may be gathered internally from lesson observations, feedback from workshops and mentor meetings, and regular conversations about teaching and marking, but also from research publications and materials promoted by the Chartered College of Teaching or ResearchEd.
Teaching and Learning Mentor for new staff
Professional development of all new staff (regardless of experience) is coordinated by an experienced Teaching and Learning Mentor. One-to-one discussions about classroom practice are planned in tandem with a programme of developmental observations. Our personalised approach to the Early Career Framework uses the self-directed resources from Institute for Education alongside adaptations for our unique school context.
Sharing Teaching and Learning Excellence
Maintaining a culture of Teaching and Learning development relies upon engendering a genuine interest in classroom practice. For many years, Collaborative Lesson Research has been part of our Professional Learning programme, with teachers from the same subject department working together to share and enhance their pedagogical content knowledge.
Supporting New Middle Leaders
Any member of staff taking on a middle leadership role will receive support, guidance and, perhaps most importantly, a sounding board for ideas. New Heads of Department are allocated an experienced mentor.
Aspiring Middle and Senior Leaders
We are proud that so many of our staff have gone on to become middle and senior leaders within the school and beyond. As well as sessions focusing on how to prepare for a middle leadership interview, we also offer a programme for aspiring senior leaders, Developing a Whole School Mindset, involving problem solving exercises that mirror the challenges faced by school leadership teams.
Great Professional Learning for all
Parents and pupils rightly expect consistently outstanding teaching at Wilson’s and so continuing professional development (Professional Learning) is at the heart of our school calendar and routines for teachers. Teachers receive regular feedback on their teaching, via developmental lesson observations and conversations about pupils’ work. There are also structured opportunities for teachers to review their own practice. Lesson observation feedback promotes meaning-oriented reflection that considers the thoughts, feelings and motivations of the teacher.
We strive to develop a culture of discussion and debate about teaching, presenting teachers with difficult questions in Professional Learning sessions and challenging dialogues when feeding back on lesson observations. We take a highly personalised approach to match each teacher’s expertise and enthusiasm with suitable training, and the Professional Learning programme continues to respond to the views and priorities of staff as expressed in review meetings. Evaluating the impact of professional development and pedagogical approaches is core to our approach and all teachers are given an insight into high quality classroom research methodology.
We are always delighted to answer any questions about our approach to Professional Learning.
Wilson’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The recruitment procedures include an enhanced DBS check, overseas police checks (where relevant), proof of qualifications and employment history references. The appointee’s responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young persons for whom s/he comes into contact will be to adhere to and ensure compliance with the School’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy at all times.
