Guide to teaching in Solihull

Thank you for your interest in teaching in Solihull. This guide will introduce you to what makes Solihull a truly unique, special and exciting place to work and give you an idea about what attracts teachers from all over the country to join us.

• Consistently raising achievement
• OFSTED's evaluation of Solihull
• Solihull's Education provision
• Education Support Services
• Teaching opportunities
• Tertiary Education
• Professional Development
• Teacher Support Services
• Finding a teaching position in Solihull

We are extremely proud of the exceptional service our schools provide and our teaching force is central to our mission to create for Solihull first class education service in which an excellent education is not just the privilege of the few, but the right of all. We are therefore looking for teachers with high expectations and a belief that education really matters. If you are a qualified teacher who aspires to the very highest professional skills and with the dedication, enthusiasm and commitment to enable pupils in your care to realise their full potential, we would like to hear from you.

Solihull schools offer a wealth of opportunity and differing challenges both for teachers embarking on their careers and also for those looking to develop their experience. Come and find out what makes working in Solihull so special. You won't be disappointed!

Anchor Point:consistentlyConsistently raising achievement

The schools in Solihull have a national reputation for quality and achievement and boast some of the best examination and National curriculum results in the country. In 2000, Solihull came 8th out of 150 Local Education Authorities for the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more grade A* -C at GCSE/GNVQ. These figures are particularly significant when mapped against levels of poverty in the borough as parts of north Solihull face deprivation as serious as anywhere in the country. Solihull is therefore a socially diverse Borough, where the gap between the most affluent and the most deprived areas is the greatest facing any Authority in the country. It therefore offers a unique variety of teaching challenges.

We believe Solihull's consistent success is due to the professional expertise and absolute commitment of our teachers, working at the heart of an education service committed to raising standards and supporting teachers.

Opportunities for professional development for more experienced teachers are similarly varied and exciting. The different styles and challenges offered by Solihull schools make Solihull a truly unique, stimulating and forward-thinking Borough in which to live and work.

Anchor Point:ofstedOFSTED's evaluation of Solihull

'Solihull is a very effective Council with many strengths and few weaknesses. It is a very-delegating authority and much of what it does is a model of good practice. The inspection and advisory provides support of such a consistently high quality that all Solihull schools and some in neighbouring Councils purchase its services regularly and report they receive good value. As a consequence the Council is able to provide a range and depth of support that few Councils of a comparable size can match. The Council is held in very high regard by its schools.'

Anchor Point:provisionSolihull's Education provision

• 9 Secondary schools (age 11-16)
• 4 Secondary schools (age 11-18)
• 15 Infant schools
• 53 Nursery units attached to schools
• 5 Special schools
• 2 Pupil referral units
• Solihull Sixth Form College
• Solihull College of Further and Higher Education

Anchor Point:supportEducation Support Services

• Solihull Inspection and Advisory Service (SIAS)
• Learning Support Service
• Educational Psychology Service
• Education Welfare Service
• Education Personnel
• Student Support Service
• Foundation Stage Team
• Governor Development Unit
• Music service
• Solihull Unit for IT in Education (SUITE)
• Home Teaching Service
• Youth and Community Service
• Schools' Library Service
• Sport and Recreation Service
• Three Training Centres, well equipped with modern technology,
  including white-boards and multimedia projectors, in which high quality
  teacher training takes place:
  • Woodlands - houses the Educational Psychologists' team, Learning Support Service and Education Welfare Service
  • Chapel Fields - is a base for our advisory teachers, consultants and Computer Assisted Training team (CATT)

Check out more information about Education in Solihull including the latest OFSTED reports and exam results as well as details about individual schools and services.

Anchor Point:opportunitiesTeaching opportunities

Nursery and Primary Education

Solihull has a long-standing commitment to making Early Years education available to all three and four year olds, (a commitment which pre-dates any Central Government initiative). There are nursery units attached to every infant department, to which children are admitted at three years of age. We aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum enabling all children to reach their potential in stimulating and lively learning situations.
Our commitment to giving children the very best start in life also extends to our teachers. The diversity and individuality of Solihull's 68 infant, junior and primary schools offer superb opportunities for new and experienced teachers to develop their skills in a stimulating environment.

Secondary Education

The Authority maintains four 11-18 comprehensive schools and nine 11-16 comprehensive schools and aims to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, again reflecting the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4. Solihull's overall aims for these schools can perhaps best be expressed in the motto of just one of them. The motto for Grace Academy in Chelmsley Wood is 'To develop well mannered, bright students with a sense of values...'. In other words we have high expectations for the children in Solihull, 'we expect them to work hard, to gain success in examinations and to leave school as well-rounded young adults.'

We welcome well-qualified and enthusiastic individuals with strong specialist knowledge of their subject. Solihull recruits teachers who will support one another in the pursuit of excellence; who will become members of a team of dedicated professionals and who will help achieve the educational aims of the borough.

Special Education

Teachers wishing to make a career in Special Needs will find much support, dedication and scope for professional development among the special schools in Solihull. The Authority maintains two pupil referral units and five special schools, two for children with Severe Learning Difficulties, two for Moderate Learning Difficulties and one for children with Emotional and Behavioural difficulties. The curriculum for Solihull's special schools, progressively incorporating the requirements of the National Curriculum, is designed to enlarge a child's knowledge, experience and imaginative understanding. Our aim is that our children enter the world after formal education as active participants in society and as responsible, confident contributors to it, capable of achieving as much independence as possible.

Anchor Point:tertiaryTertiary Education

Solihull sixth Form College and Solihull College provide a broad education for students post sixteen. Both offer courses leading to a wide range of qualifications. the quality of work in both colleges is recognised nationally.

Anchor Point:developmentProfessional Development

• The Solihull inspection and Advisory Service is made up of 19 inspectors, a number of advisory teachers, and consultants for literacy, numeracy, science and teaching and learning. Members of this team are specialists in particular subject areas, and the inspectors also have a pastoral role with clusters of schools. support for teaching and learning, curriculum development and management is offered to schools, within and beyond Solihull, and there is an extensive programme of in- service training which takes place in one of three training centres.
• As a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT), you will have a programme of courses planned to meet your needs as a developing subject teacher. Your pastoral (primary) or subject (secondary) inspector will provide appropriate support in partnership with your school. The extensive INSET programme for NQTs includes an annual residential conference, held in a local hotel, for primary and secondary newly qualified teachers, which provides an opportunity for social contact within a programme of curriculum-based training sessions.
• As an Experienced Teacher, you will be encouraged to develop your pedagogic and managerial skills through our extensive training programme. Courses are planned on the basis of discussions with teachers, Solihull's Annual Review process, and national initiatives. Solihull schools have successfully implemented the literacy and numeracy strategies and SATs results are among the best in the country in English, Maths and Science. We are one of 17 Councils in the country who has piloted the Key Stage 3 Strategy, so, at the secondary level much of our training is influenced by this initiative which operates across the curriculum, through literacy, numeracy and teaching and learning, as well as within English, Maths and Science. Our Special Schools have also been part of the pilot. Detailed planning based on learning objectives is a strength of our schools.
• As a Deputy or Headteacher, you will have the opportunity to negotiate a programme of support with your pastoral inspector. If new to Solihull, you will be offered the support of an experienced headteacher to act as your mentor. if you were appointed from a Solihull school, you might wish to ask for this support from a known colleague. For those seeking the National Professional Qualification for Headship, there is a borough wide scheme. There are a number of very well subscribed courses on senior and middle management currently running.
• The development of knowledge and understanding about how pupils best learn has been an interest of Solihull Inspection and Advisory Service for several years. A great deal of work has been done in aspects of teaching and learning like style, thinking skills, study skills, accelerated learning techniques and questioning. We work with associates who have made one or other of these aspects their specialism. we see the development of teaching and learning at the heart of the support we offer to schools and our in-service training programme reflects this interest and enthusiasm.

Anchor Point:findingFinding a teaching position in Solihull

Vacancies are advertised in:

• The national press, predominantly the Times educational Supplement
• Local and regional press, including The Solihull Times weekly newspaper
• Registration of new Supply Teachers, to the Supply Teacher Placement Service, is currently on hold.

Teachers at all stages of their career should respond to advertisements in the Times Educational Supplement and/or the Solihull Times, Solihull News and The Evening Mail. Please also take a look at our latest teacher and other school based vacancies.