BELFAST ROYAL ACADEMY Full Time Director of Information Technology General Information Belfast Royal Academy was founded in 1785 and is the oldest school in the city. Originally situated near St. Anne s Cathedral in what is now Academy Street, it was transferred to the Cliftonville Road in 1880, when the present building was erected. For more than a century the school was named The Belfast Academy. In 1888 Queen Victoria granted permission for the school to style itself Belfast Royal Academy. Belfast Royal Academy is a voluntary non-denominational grammar school of some 1400 pupils, with a further 140 pupils in the preparatory department. Its management is vested in a Board of Governors on which parents and teachers are represented, along with Governors elected by Members of the Academy and nominees of the Minister of Education. Two members of staff, including the Head of Department, share in the full-time teaching of ICT throughout the school. Several other members of staff teach ICT at KS3 as part of their timetable. The school operates a two week timetable. Each day consists of five periods, each 65 minutes long. KS3 pupils are allocated one period of ICT per two weeks. GCSE pupils are allocated four periods of ICT per two weeks. AS and A2 Levels pupils are allocated nine periods of ICT per two weeks. At GCSE, AS and A2 Levels, pupils follow the CCEA specification for ICT. AS and A2 Computing will be part of the A-Level curriculum from September 2014. The IT resources in School comprise of five dedicated IT teaching suites and three other IT rooms, each containing at least 20 PCs or laptops. The School is currently piloting the use of Fronter, and is also currently investigating the use of ipads in the
classroom. All classrooms in School have either an IWB or a data projector; c2k Wifi has recently been installed. Three teaching allowances, currently equivalent to 6,407, will be awarded for this post. The point on the Teachers main pay scale will be determined by teaching experience. The successful applicant will be automatically enrolled in the Teachers Pension Scheme, to which the employer contributes at a rate of 13.6%. A completed application form should be sent to the Principal s Secretary, Belfast Royal Academy, 3-17 Cliftonville Road, Belfast, BT14 6JL, to arrive by Monday 2 nd December at 12 noon. Late applications will not be accepted.
The Role of the Director of Information Technology 1. General duties 1.1. To teach the subject area at KS3, GCSE and Advanced Levels as required, using appropriate specifications; 1.2. To give a strong lead to staff within the department and to set high standards of practical teaching and professional commitment; 1.3. To have a conspicuous role in the day to day running of the School; 1.4. To promote the corporate life of the School; 1.5. To work with colleagues to develop and revise regularly departmental schemes of work, which take into account and ensure that the Northern Ireland Curriculum and the demands of Advanced Level work are met; 1.6. To assist and advise the Headmaster on the appointment of staff to the department; 1.7. To conduct advisory interviews with parents; 1.8. To support colleagues in establishing sound classroom procedures and discipline, so that useful work may proceed; 1.9. To support or discipline a pupil whose work in the subject gives serious or repeated cause for concern; 1.10. To keep abreast of new developments in the subject and in methods of teaching and assessment; 1.11. To choose and order appropriate books and materials; 1.12. To promote the subject, and plan the contribution it makes, or may make in the future, to the whole School curriculum; 1.13. To organise assessment of the subject throughout the School and to ensure that national assessment, including any necessary coursework and practical work, and the School's own internal examinations are appropriately conducted; 1.14. To formulate an agreed departmental homework policy and see that it is implemented; 1.15. To manage the departmental budget; 1.16. To attend Heads of Department Meetings and contribute to the formulation of policy on specific and whole School issues; 1.17. To conduct departmental meetings regularly; 1.18. To disseminate to the department, agreed School policy and practice in areas such as Using ICT, Literacy and Numeracy, Assessment for Learning, Connected Learning, Cross Curricular Skills, Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities, Learning for Life and Work, Careers, STEM and Oxbridge; 1.19. To have a responsibility for the Continuing Professional Development of staff in the department and to identify opportunities and needs for appropriate in service training; 1.20. To have a concern for the professional and personal welfare of teaching staff in the department; 1.21. To promote good staff relationships and ensure that effective channels of communication are maintained; 1.22. To agree delegation of responsibilities, as appropriate, with departmental colleagues; 1.23. To give support to new teachers to the department, to newly qualified teachers, and to teachers in the course of Early Professional Development; 1.24. To oversee and support student teachers on practice in the department; app/hod ICT
1.25. To be responsible for the organisation of the classes of colleagues in the department who may be absent; 1.26. To assist the Headmaster in evaluating the department's performance by: analysing and benchmarking the results of the public examinations; setting appropriate targets; writing a departmental development plan; writing an annual action plan; 1.27. To assist the Vice Principal in constructing the time table by appropriate allocations of personnel; 1.28. To promote study skills within the department; 1.29. To organise and maintain departmental resources; 1.30. To see that departmental furniture, plant and equipment are maintained in good order and any deficiencies reported; 1.31. To conduct PRSD as required; 1.32. To share the supervision of Saturday morning detention; 1.33. To participate in and organise appropriate activities or items for Open Evenings / Mornings / Afternoons relating to the Transfer Procedure; 1.34. To contribute appropriately to the School Development Plan; 1.35. To contribute appropriately to the Annual Report to the Board of Governors; 1.36. To carry out the role of Class Tutor as required; 1.37. To assume such other duties and responsibilities as may be from time to time agreed with the Headmaster. 2. Specific duties 2.1. To teach ICT at KS3, GCSE and Advanced Level; 2.2. To teach Computing at Advanced Level; 2.3. To coordinate the teaching of ICT at KS3 and to work closely with members of staff in other departments who have responsibility to teach ICT at KS3; 2.4. To coordinate the assessment of the cross curricular skill of Using ICT at KS3 and to work closely with the other departments in School that are part of this assessment; 2.5. To be a member of the esafety Committee; 2.6. To be a member of the team responsible for the Network Administration of the School s computer systems; 2.7. To manage strategically the evolution of Information Technology in School; app/hod ICT
Director of Information Technology PERSONNEL SPECIFICATION Essential 1.1 A 1 st or Upper 2 nd Class Honours Degree in Computer Science or a 1 st or Upper 2 nd Class Joint Honours Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics, where Computer Science is the major component, or 1 st or Upper 2 nd Class Honours in another relevant ICT related degree where programming and/or multimedia design is a major component. 1.2 A PGCE with main subject ICT/Computing; 1.3 Recognition as a qualified teacher by the General Teaching Council (NI) or an equivalent qualification; 1.4 Three years teaching experience which will include teaching ICT at KS3, GCSE and Advanced Level; 1.3 The ability to teach Computing/ Software Systems Development at Advanced Level; 1.4 Evidence of a high standard of communication, both written and oral; 1.5 Evidence of leadership potential; 1.6 Energy, enthusiasm and the ability to cope effectively with the demands of the post; 1.7 Evidence of the ability to contribute to the extra curricular life of the school. Desirable 2.1. A 1 st Class Honours Degree in Computer Science, or a 1 st Class Honours Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics; or 1 st Class Honours in another relevant ICT related degree where programming and/or multi media design is a major component; 2.2. Five years teaching experience; 2.3. Experience of teaching Computing/ Software Systems Development at Advanced Level 2.4. Relevant experience of in school Network Administration; 2.5. Experience of managing a whole school ICT initiative.