FAQs

As part of a recent recruitment campaign we held two virtual open days via Zoom.

This enabled people interested in working at Manchester Hospital School to meet with colleagues, including our Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and School Business Manager. It was an ideal opportunity for them to describe what it’s like to work at Manchester Hospital School and the qualities that we are looking for in candidates. It also gave people an opportunity to ask some very practical questions about the roles, and we thought it would be useful to share a number of these here.

The following questions may relate to different roles than we are currently recruiting to, but we have retained them on the website to help candidates build up as full a picture as possible of what it's like to teach at MHS.


General questions

Are there part time opportunities available?

  • We will consider each request on a case by case basis.

As a primary teacher do you still teach one subject?

  • No, primary teachers are expected to teach a range of subjects as they do in their current school.

Can you apply for both a Lead Practitioner and Secondary teacher role or would you prefer both roles to be mentioned on one application?

  • You can apply for as many roles as you wish to.  You should submit a separate application form for each role.

Do we teach a specific key stage or do we have to be able to teach Early Years up to secondary?

  • Most roles will be specifically early years, primary or secondary.

Are the lead practitioner roles for candidates with Secondary experience only or would Primary applicants also be considered?

  • All applicants would be considered.

What is the teaching responsibility for the Assistant Head position?

  • Occasional teaching may be required.

Teaching and Learning at MHS

How does curriculum planning work?  Is the teaching based on the home school SOW or do you have your own?

  • Both.

What does the Inspection Framework look like at your school?  Is it the same schedule as mainstream schools? Section 5 and 8s?

  • The Ofsted framework is consistent across all settings including ours.

How is PPA arranged? Do teachers have this as a team?

  • It varies from site to site.

How do you assess and track progress?

  • In a variety of ways across the sites.

What technology and resources are available?

  • Lap tops and ipads are available.

Do you have a budget for each subject?

  • Yes

Do you have a specific number of hours for a student in a week, or is it very bespoke?  How much time, for example, would a secondary student spend on maths?

  • In hospital and HIVE pupils would be taught a lesson a week.

Do you ever all meet as a teaching team?

  • Yes

Are there opportunities to meet with pupils and do some mentoring work?

  • Yes

Do you tend to have the same children weekly or can different teachers swap children?

  • We aim for consistency and teachers cannot swap between themselves.

How do you measure progress for your pupils?

  • We use a mental health functioning in education tool as well as monitoring academic progress in the same way as all schools do.

How are lessons objectives/outcomes recorded?

  • On ILPs

Would there be opportunities to learn Makaton, strategies to teach deaf children etc?

  • If needed by a child/group of children.

How we work with Home Schools

Is there much contact / liaison with the pupils’ main schools?

  • Yes, pupils are dual rolled so we work with home schools in order to minimise disruption to their education.

What is your involvement when children leave hospital but are not yet ready to go back to school?

  • If the pupil lives in Manchester and they cannot go straight back to school they will be able to have support through the HIVE.  If they are not a Manchester resident we will contact the LA where they live and ask them to provide education on discharge.

Are there any days where children stay at a base school?

  • Children who are outpatients but come into hospital for treatment on a regular basis are renal patients.  They spend some time in their home school and spend time in hospital too. Some pupils have some time in their home school but this is usually a part day.

 

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