Chosen Hill School is a successful Academy located in the rural environment of Churchdown, half way between Gloucester and Cheltenham. Chosen Hill School opened in 1959 and became an Academy Trust in 2011.  There are close to 1400 students in the school including a popular and expanding Sixth Form.

With a whole school emphasis on enabling students to develop a growth mindset, we aim to encourage students to embrace challenge and develop intrinsic motivation and ensure the key learning behaviours of resilience, resourcefulness, taking responsibility and reflection are honed as they progress on that journey.

Chosen Hill School is a happy school where students, staff and parents work closely in partnership.  Self-belief, aspiration and mutual respect are key drivers in the pursuit of a culture of excellence.  Our aim is that every individual will experience success.  That doesn't come magically - it is the result of hard work, perseverance and commitment by the student; good teaching, encouragement and feedback from staff.

Key to a student's success is their attitude to learning and, here at Chosen Hill, we place emphasis on students developing a growth mindset, where students are encouraged to take ownership and responsibility for their learning, whilst being fully supported to do so by a broad, balanced and stimulating curriculum, a rich extracurricular and cultural offer and professional student support services.

You will find a picture of life in a dynamic community where students grow in confidence, independence, leadership and resilience, not only in their lessons, but in the breadth of Chosen Hill School's provision.  We are very proud of our tradition of student leadership and ensure that students have many opportunities to contribute to the development and success of the school and to act as role models for younger students - From Year 9 Junior Prefects to Year 11 Prefects, from membership of the Year and Whole School Councils to the Sixth Form Leadership Team and House Captains, our young people take responsibility at every stage in their school careers.

Our vision for the school is that we become exemplary - that we become a school that others want to learn from and with.  We are striving for a culture of excellence that we can build on for all the generations of students to come.

Matt Pauling

Headteacher

The Headteacher and The Governing Body of Chosen Hill School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We require all new employees to complete an enhanced level criminal background check through the Disclosure and Barring Service. It is a condition of employment that the employee should not have been convicted of a criminal offence against children, nor have been dismissed, or resigned from, a previous employer for misconduct of a similar nature. Having a criminal record is not necessarily a bar to employment; it will depend on the nature, circumstances and background to the offence.

As part of our due diligence within safer recruitment, school will be carrying out online searches to help identify any incidents or issues which may need to be explored at interview. These searches will include, but will not be limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google.

Our interview and recruitment process will include, but is not limited to, obtaining suitable references and medical clearance prior to commencement.

Chosen Hill School is an equal opportunities employer. 

Chosen Hill prides itself on being a school where all staff can truly thrive and grow professionally. Staff are well supported and have the time and resources to improve their skills, whether that’s teaching practice, professional qualifications or practical skills.

On joining Chosen Hill all staff participate in an induction programme to introduce them to school policies and systems, to ensure the best possible start to their Chosen Hill career.

All staff have access to the National College and a whole host of training and development available on demand due to our subscription to the college.

We work closely with other schools in our local area and share experience, knowledge and training opportunities across all aspects of school life.

Teaching Staff

Our aim is to ensure that every teacher has the training and development opportunities to enable them to teach great lessons for all our students. The structure of our CPD offer, supports teachers to consistently improve their practice at all career stages. We know that teachers need time, choice and autonomy, within a supportive structure if they are to develop and become even better teachers. As a result much of our professional development is led within subject areas in dedicated Teaching and Learning meetings. There are also Toolkit CPD Sessions and INSET days calendared throughout the year that focus on key teaching and learning approaches.

We trust our teachers to engage in their own professional learning, providing tools and resources to develop their teaching practice and leadership capabilities. We have built a coaching model where teachers and coaches work together as partners using evidence informed strategies from resources such as the curated Walkthrus series.

For more experienced staff who are keen to develop their leadership practice, we also support applications onto UCL’s NPQ programmes, delivered by Odyssey and Balcarras Teaching Hubs as part of our professional development offer.

Early Career Teachers (ECT’s) have an experienced subject mentor who works in partnership with teacher training providers to provide support and guide colleagues through the two year induction period. All ECT’s have a weekly one hour meeting time with their professional mentors in addition to training and development from Odyssey Teaching School Hub, based at Pates Grammar School.

Support Staff

All support staff are given opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge through training and development. The apprenticeship scheme is used to support staff such as Teaching Assistants to become qualified and also for all staff to follow qualifications supported by the apprenticeship scheme. Staff are encouraged to develop skills through additional training wherever possible and are also able to join the NPQ programmes for leadership in schools.

Support staff have regular opportunities to discuss their training and development, both in performance management meetings and throughout the year. Staff can participate in inset sessions and separate, specific training for support staff is available and encouraged.