What is it like to work at Woodfields?

Woodfields is a warm, welcoming and friendly school. We pride ourselves on the courtesy of our scholars and our tight-knit staff body. Being a school of 750 scholars we are small enough that you’ll know everyone, and large enough that you’ll be able to make a big difference here and have opportunities for progression over time. Change happens quickly when it’s needed and it made easier because we all row together.

Our Workload Charter outlines our commitment to workload reduction. We don’t mark anything except assessments twice per year group per year and all lessons are pre-planned by the central team. You can adapt these booklets if you wish, and you will need to think about how you deliver them, however you will not need to stay up late adapting or finding powerpoints. We have strong routines from Teach Like a Champion that everyone follows, so children will come to your lessons knowing how to enter and exit, listen, answer questions and succeed as a result. The days here are busy because we want to have a face to face impact with children. We carefully consider what we do though so that you feel that you are making a difference with each interaction, and we deliberately remove the things that we feel are not making a difference.

Behaviour is exceptional. Children are kind, considerate and hard working. There are of course a handful who display high level behaviours. These children are supported in ‘Step-Out’ and the ‘Stoic Centre’ until they are able to meet the expectations of the classroom meaning that you can teach lessons, disruption free. We follow through with our behaviour policy and expect everyone to do the same. This means that you are always supported and never undermined.

Our culture is pervasive. We offer family dining, classical music for all, an ambitious curriculum, a deliberate teaching of gratitude and we promote reading at every turn. The transformation is rapid that after each half term you look back and notice that you are making a bigger difference that you realised at the time. This makes this a vibrant and fun place to work where you are satisfied that you are improving the lives of some of the most disadvantaged children in Doncaster.

We promote scholarship, tenacity and curiosity so that together; we will get children to university, or a real alternative, so that they live a great life.