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Working at Ashford School
Working at Ashford School is an opportunity to be part of an inspiring, unique, vibrant, and inclusive community. We currently employ around 390 people who work together to maintain and develop our very friendly and outstanding School.
Ashford is set in the middle of Kent, approximately 20 minutes journey from the Kent coasts: a stunning piece of coastline with something for everyone. We are in the ‘Garden of England’ with beautiful rolling countryside all around, including the Kent Downs, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. If shopping is what you enjoy, we are fortunate to have the world famous Ashford Retail Outlet on our doorstep and Canterbury, with all its history, shops and unique charm is a short train or car journey away.
Transport links are excellent. Ashford is on the High Speed Line (HS1) into London – St Pancras in 37 minutes. Our proximity to France is enjoyed by so many local people, either for day trips or holidays: from Ashford, the Eurotunnel is 15 minutes and the port of Dover 30 minutes by car.
We provide full induction and support for all new staff, and want to ensure your transition to us is as smooth as possible. We encourage our employees to further develop their skills and abilities. We support independent study courses as well as offering a vast array of professional development opportunities from being part of United Learning.
Click below to discover more about working at Ashford School.
Continuous Professional Development
Ashford School is committed to providing a robust and informative professional development offering so that staff can develop their career skills through a range of training opportunities.
As a United Learning school, we promote a culture of enquiry and a culture of continuous improvement. This approach encourages discussions about pedagogy and skills development, whilst also underlining the importance of sharing good practice. Observations and learning walks support our culture of improvement and are carried out in a developmental rather than judgemental way.
Senior School staff development for classroom based staff is led by Joanne Russell, who is Director of Staff Development and Training at the Senior School. Continuing professional development for support staff is led by the Bursar.
The School encourages staff to be active participants in their CPD and to be reflective about their training needs. The Annual Performance and Development Review process is identified as an important time to discuss objectives, training needs and career aspirations.
Staff Induction
Induction training is provided for all new teachers. Sessions are delivered in a range of areas including boarding, report writing, GDPR and marketing. This lunch-time programme runs through the Autumn Term.
Initial Teacher Training
United Teaching is the initial teacher training scheme at United Learning. This programme provides expert-led teacher training in a wide range of subjects where trainees are supported by a team of subject specialists and mentors. There are a variety of different funding routes for this training. For more information, please refer to: Train to teach | Become a teacher with United Teaching
Early Career Teachers
The School provides comprehensive mentoring and support for Early Career Teachers (ECTs). We also assist with career planning for teachers who have completed their training years, and are proud that a number of former ECTs have gone on to forge careers in both middle and senior leadership.
United Learning Professional Development
The School actively supports staff to engage in development and leadership courses through United Learning. We are committed to developing leadership in every role, and opportunities for acquiring senior and middle leadership skills are provided to staff. Information on these courses can be found here: Senior Leadership Programme | Professional development programmes | What we do | United Learning
The School also supports applications for NPQ courses; more information on these opportunities can be found here: National Professional Qualifications | Professional development programmes | What we do | United Learning
Masters qualifications
After two years of service, staff members can apply for funding towards a Master’s degree.
Coaching and mentoring
We are fortunate to have several ILM Level 5 qualified coaches in School to support staff in achieving their goals, optimising their potential and raising their performance.
In-house training
The School protects time for in-house professional development during insets and Twilight CPD. These sessions are run by external speakers or specialists within the staff body.
