St Mary s School, Calne Headmistress: Dr Felicia Kirk BA (University of Maryland), MA (Brown University), PhD (Brown University) St Margaret s Preparatory School Headmistress: Mrs Karen Cordon GLCM, LLCM (TD), ALCM Candidate Information Bursar and Clerk to the Governors September 2018 St Mary s is an independent boarding and day school of approximately 345 girls aged 11-18, with a very strong academic reputation. All of the girls go on to higher education each year, several to Oxbridge. The girls also benefit from a huge breadth of opportunities in music, drama, sport and the arts. The school has a high national and international profile as well as an outstanding reputation in the independent schools sector in the UK. St Margaret s is a non-selective independent day preparatory school of approximately 185 boys and girls aged 3-11. High academic standards are promoted throughout, and the school consistently achieves success in entrance examinations and scholarships to a range of senior schools.
The Schools Founded in 1873, St Mary s Calne is a boarding and day school for around 345 girls aged 11 18. Approximately 80% of the girls board, benefiting from a rich boarding life, with all girls taking part in the full-curriculum and extra-curricular activities on offer. The school offers a transformative and empowering education in a relaxed environment where girls love learning and aspire to be their best selves. In a successful, happy school such as St Mary s Calne, the girls feel good about themselves; their talents and gifts are spotted and nourished. In 2017 ISI gave the school the highest grades, excellent, for both pupil outcomes and personal development. Our examination results are consistently outstanding. St Margaret's Preparatory is an independent non-selective day school for around 185 boys and girls aged 3-11. St Margaret's provides a happy and purposeful environment for all children to explore within a friendly, caring community. Our main aim is for our pupils to be inspired, not be afraid to take risks and above all, have fun and enjoy learning. The school consistently achieves success in entrance examinations and scholarships to a range of senior schools. St Mary s Calne and St Margaret s Preparatory School have an enviable reputation for excellence excellence academically and pastorally, excellence in the arts and on the sports field. The schools are warm, vibrant and dynamic places where we foster a love of learning and we promote respect for each other and the world. We are going from strength to strength in offering the most outstanding all-round education to our pupils, underpinned by an extraordinary breadth of opportunities. We are committed to caring for our pupils in a supportive and nurturing environment, preparing them for the next stage of their education and ultimately for higher education, careers, leadership and the challenges of a fast-changing global world. Our Core Values To provide the most outstanding all-round education for our pupils To provide a breadth of opportunities for our pupils to develop their talents and fulfil their potential To provide an inspiring academic environment which fosters in our pupils a love of learning, creativity, debate and scholarship To enhance our Pastoral Care, nurturing and caring for each individual pupil To recruit, develop and retain the highest quality staff To engender strong values in our pupils, giving them a sense of responsibility and service to others in our community and the wider world To increase access to our transformative educational experience by supporting children from all backgrounds and faith, building on our Church of England foundation To build on and enhance the reputation and strength of the school and ensure it remains a place of distinction for future generations Shaping the Future Our strategic plan for the next ten years focuses on making all-round improvements in a wider range of curricular and extra-curricular areas. We aim to provide the best possible environment in which to teach, learn and live, and to offer opportunities to access our high quality education to those from every background through our bursary and scholarship programmes. 2
In the short term, we are strengthening and broadening the opportunities available to pupils of both schools in sport. We identified a number of priorities for new facilities to improve and enhance the physical education of all our pupils and thanks to the generosity of parents and supporters in our community, we are delighted that a new full size astroturf and 3 additional netball courts were built in 2014; moreover, offsite sports pitches were secured for both schools providing more opportunities to host fixtures and tournaments. In July 2017, work began on the new Sports Complex. It will enable us to broaden the range of sporting opportunities for the pupils of St Mary s and St Margaret s, as well as the local community. The Sports Complex will include: a large sports hall (34.7m x 20m); enlarged dance studio; dry side changing rooms with showers for visiting teams; family/accessible changing facilities; a viewing gallery and improved staff facilities. The construction completion date is expected to be April 2018. In the longer term for St Mary s, we aim to develop our teaching and learning environment with a particular emphasis on Art and Science, supported by a modern Library and a Performing Arts Centre for musical concerts, recitals and lectures. The Library has attracted significant philanthropic support. As a result, work on this project has commenced: the concept design has been completed, the planning application submitted and the build is scheduled to begin in April 2018. The new library will be a lively academic hub of the school - a place which will instil a love of reading, research and learning, encouraging exploration and the pursuit of knowledge, as well as collaboration and the sharing of ideas. Alongside these projects, we continue to upgrade and refurbish our boarding houses, classrooms and other facilities. Our plans will have a huge impact on school life by providing greater opportunities for pupils at both schools. Governance St Mary s is a charitable trust and the Governors of the School are entrusted with the objects of the Charity as set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association. St Margaret's is part of the St Mary s charitable trust. The schools are in sound financial health, and the audited accounts are available from the Bursar on request and from the Charity Commission's website. The Governing Body consists of between 8 and 12 Governors with experience from a wide range of fields, including religion, education, finance and business. The Senior Leadership Team St Mary s Calne The Senior Leadership Team is headed by Dr Felicia Kirk, Headmistress, who has been in post since January 2013. She has extensive experience leading and managing in independent schools and, under her leadership, the school has strengthened its reputation as a boarding school of the highest calibre. The Headmistress is charged by the Governors with overall responsibility for all aspects of school life, including the ethos and success of the school. She is also primarily responsible for developing and maintaining links with the local and wider community, and for marketing the school. 3
The Headmistress is supported in the Senior Leadership Team by the Deputy Head, the Director of Teaching and Learning, the Senior Mistress, the Director of Development and Marketing, the Bursar and in the Wider Senior Leadership Team by other senior members of staff, including the Director of Sixth Form, the Director of IT and the Senior Tutor. All work closely together to ensure that the school fulfils its strategic aims and continues to maintain its standards of academic and pastoral excellence. St Margaret s Preparatory School The Senior Leadership Team is headed by Mrs Karen Cordon, Headmistress, who has been in post since January 1997. As St Margaret s is an independent preparatory school in its own right, the role of the Headmistress mirrors that of the Head of St Mary s; like her counterpart, she reports directly to the Board of Governors. The Headmistress is currently supported in the Senior Leadership Team by a Deputy Head, the senior KS2 teacher, the Early Years Curriculum Leader and the Bursar. The Bursary Staff The Bursar is responsible to both Headmistresses for a team of Bursary staff. Eight general managers report to the Bursar. Each of these staff may, in turn, be responsible for a number of ancillary staff. Bursar Catering and Functions Estates Bursar Financial Controller School Logistics School Office School Shop Sports Centre Health Centre Housekeeper Maintenance Grounds Security Payroll and Pensions Senior Finance Clerk Finance Clerk Bursary Administrator/HR Team of Nursing Staff The School Staff St Mary s and St Margaret s There are 352 staff between the two schools. These divide between the academic staff (80 teachers at St Mary s and 25 at St Margaret s), pastoral staff and support staff. In addition, there are 50 members of staff at the Sports Centre. 4
Key Strengths You will be a professional person with robust financial, economic and commercial awareness capable of driving forward the business of our high performing schools. You will cultivate and maintain a host of constructive relationships with members of the School community as well as external partners. You will have the business acumen and integrity to set and manage budgets and to steer long and short term projects as well as being committed to managing day to day operations. You will be energetic and enthusiastic about delivering our agreed goals; you may not necessarily have previously worked in an educational setting, but will have a passion for excellence and quality in education. You will understand the need for continuous improvement and be able to manage and implement successfully a high standard of change. You will be an adept communicator, having well developed writing and speaking skills. Your communication skills will enable you to develop and strengthen teams and nurture each individual s contribution. You will have a proven track record of strong leadership skills and will be approachable, understanding and friendly when dealing with staff and parent matters, but able to be decisive and firm when upholding the high standards set by the Schools. You will be an all-round leader able to display the adaptability and diplomacy necessary to meet our core values: Excellence and Aspiration; Warmth and Openness; Innovation; Opportunity. Your resilience and sense of humour will sustain you during busy periods of school life in a boarding environment. Details of the post The Bursar is appointed by the Governors in consultation with the Headmistresses of St Mary s and St Margaret s. The Bursar has a dual role: The Bursar reports directly to the Headmistresses on day-to-day administration matters, budgetary matters and all matters concerning finance, catering, estates (maintenance, grounds, security, housekeeping), Logistics (travel and school vehicles), School Office, School Shop, Sports Centre, Health Centre. He/she assists the Headmistresses with the management of the School in forward planning and development issues, and advises them on financial and legal matters. The Bursar is accountable to the Governors for the financial and business management of the School, in accordance with the policies established by the Governors in consultation with the Headmistresses. The Bursar is also Company Secretary to the Trading Company and acts as Clerk to the Governing Body of both schools. 5
Main Duties and Responsibilities Finance and Accounting The Bursar will: prepare the annual budget oversee debt management and control including 10 year capital plan/cash flow; monitoring and advising on borrowing levels and ratios; 2 year cash flows oversee the monthly Finance Management report and flow of information to the Headmistresses. prepare audit and statutory accounts in accordance with the charity SORP oversee general accountancy matters including fee income, debtors, payments, payroll, pensions, bursaries, benchmarking surveys and statistical returns oversee banking matters to include complying with all bank covenants, quarterly reporting, regular meetings maintain productive relationship with our bank Human Resources The Bursar will have involvement in HR support to the Headmistresses of both schools including: policy development and implementation supervision of the management of the Single Central Register appraisal and performance management of all non-teaching staff staff recruitment, in conjunction with the Headmistresses and Senior Leadership Teams Estates The Bursar will have responsibility for: overseeing all ongoing maintenance as guided by the Estates Bursar all new building development, project management and project finance Risk, Fire, Health and Safety The Bursar will have responsibility for: preparing the Risk Register for annual governor review convening termly health and safety meeting with H&S consultant conducting Fire risk assessments across all buildings and fire policies accordingly ensuring Integrated Risk Management System is up to date ensuring training to comply with health and safety requirements reviewing and acting on accident report forms Compliance The Bursar is responsible for Compliance across Finance and Operations. This includes adhering to Charities Commission regulations, ISI Compliance, VAT, all employment and pensions legislation, Fire safety, Health and Safety legislation, Data Protection (GDPR), etc. The Bursar will ensure that the school is compliant in all areas, leading appropriate actions, updating policies and procedures and reporting, as appropriate, to the relevant authorities. Legal The Bursar will have responsibility for: keeping up to date with and implementing new Data Protection legislation 6
having regard for Employment Law including: the national living wage, working hours directive, salary sacrifice reviewing the Parent Contract regularly Insurance The Bursar will ensure that insurances are kept up to date at all times including the renewal of all the usual annual insurances. Governance As Clerk to the Governing Body, the Bursar will: maintain the calendar of meetings act as Secretary to all Committees (except the Academic Committee) preparing agendas, coordinating all papers, minute taking maintain the Governors Register of Interests keep Governors updated regarding communications and safeguarding coordinate policies for Governor approval oversee Governor induction and training School Matters As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Bursar is expected to attend certain school events in both the school calendars namely Open Days, Founders Day, Prize Giving, the Carol Service, the Spring Concert and some Development events. Other events can be agreed with both Headmistresses. The Bursar is expected to support the Headmistresses, staff and girls in the wider life of the community. 7
Further details The Bursar will receive a benefits package which includes health insurance, membership (at a nominal fee) of the St Mary s Sports Centre, a staff discount on fees of children educated at either/both schools and meals during working hours in term time. Accommodation may be available with this post. The school operates a money purchase pension scheme with Scottish Widows. There will also be an employer contribution to this optional scheme agreed with the governors. The Bursar will be entitled to 30 days holiday a year, to be taken in term time or out of term time by arrangement with the Headmistresses. For the right candidate, an excellent and highly competitive salary will be offered. Visits to school are welcomed prior to application by making contact as below. Applications, which must consist of a covering letter, a completed application form and a CV with the names and addresses of three referees, will only be received via email to the following address. Contact: Mrs Clare Oatley recruitment@stmaryscalne.org Bursary Administrator St Mary s Calne SN11 0DF (01249) 857 300 St Mary s is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils. Due to the nature of the work involved, the successful applicant will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check. Closing date for applications: Friday 3 November 2017 Longlist Interviews: Friday 10 November 2017 Shortlist Interviews: Friday 17 November 2017 8