Assistant Librarian

7 hours per week (over two days), term time only.

We are seeking to appoint a confident, caring and organised person to join our Library team in the role of Assistant Librarian. This role will require applicants to assist the Librarian in promoting an efficient library as a whole-school learning resource at the heart of the school community, and to promote reading for pleasure. The post is shared with another Assistant Librarian.

The well-resourced library is used by students from Year 7 to Year 13, providing a space for studying and reading for pleasure. It is open throughout the school day and after school. There is a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books, and students can access a range of online resources in addition to the printed materials. Reading for pleasure is very important, and Years 7-9 have regular lessons in the library as part of their English lessons, where they are encouraged to read widely from the extensive collection of fiction. All year groups have research lessons from time to time to support their studies and to develop their information handling skills.

The Assistant Librarian is expected to support the Librarian in encouraging reading for pleasure and helping students with research. This role includes some manual handling and lifting of books for shelving, etc. You may be required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be required of you, commensurate with your grade, as requested by your line manager.

Please download our application form from our website to make your application. Please note that applications cannot be considered unless completed in full. We are not able to accept CVs for any posts based at the school.

Closing date: 9.00am on Monday 7 July 2025.

Interview date: Thursday 10 July 2025.

We reserve the right to make an appointment before the closing date, so early applications are encouraged.

The post you are applying for is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and applicants will be required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings that are not “protected” (as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013 and 2020). Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure check.

HEADTEACHER’S WELCOME

Thank you for your interest in applying to Dame Alice Owen’s School. Though much of the information we have about our school is available on our website, we know you are busy so have put some key information here to help you understand who we are and what we do.

Our school was founded over 400 years ago by Dame Alice Owen, a remarkable philanthropist with an unusually modern vision for education. She established the first school in Islington and, as demand outstripped space, it moved to its current setting, in the Hertfordshire countryside, in 1976.

Today, Owen’s is an exciting place to work where “staff overwhelmingly feel well cared for” and behaviour is “exemplary.” [Ofsted December 2023] Ours is a school where teachers love talking about teaching and learning, where relationships between students and staff are positive and strong, and where we do what we can to keep workload manageable. We are never complacent; we are always looking for marginal gains in order to keep what we do reasonable, but exciting. It is the combination of interested students, dedicated staff, supportive parents, a rigorous and empathetic Governing Body and school leadership team (staff and student) which makes our school such a special place to be.

Dame Alice Owen’s School is a mixed, partially selective secondary school with approximately 1,440 students including over 400 in our vibrant and highly successful sixth form. Our school benefits from some of the most able students in the country. In the 2023 A level examinations; 60% of all A level grades were A*-A with 82% of grades being awarded A*-B. In GCSE examinations, students achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 71.2 and a Progress 8 score of 0.63 with 24% of all grades awarded at level 9 and 95% of students achieving 5 or more grades 9 – 4 including English and Maths. Many of our school leavers from Year 13 have offers from top universities to choose from, including an average of 24 places at Oxbridge each year.

We were delighted to be recognised as ‘The Sunday Times Regional School of the Decade’ in 2020 and the country’s highest ranking non-fully selective state school of the year many times over. Securing a place at Owen’s has been described as “winning the lottery” in the Good School Guide, “the golden ticket” in Tatler and Ofsted judged us “outstanding” in all categories in December 2023, with no areas for improvement.

If you’d like to come and join us, we would love to meet you and talk to you more. Please call to arrange a chat, if you would like to, or just send us your completed application pack. I look forward to meeting you.

Hannah Nemko, Headteacher