Why work for us?

For new starters

	Service Recognised We recognise local government continuous service, including service in other schools and academies, when allocating annual leave and occupational sick pay entitlement.
	Teacher Pay Portability The Trust’s Pay Policy guarantees pay portability for classroom teachers.

Terms and Conditions

	Automatic Pay Progression We do not have performance-related pay. All staff progress through their pay grades or ranges automatically each year. Appraisal is truly focused on continuous professional development, not a tick-box to justify pay increases.
	Pay and Conditions Our salaries are aligned to the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions for teaching staff and National Joint Council conditions of service for support staff. This commitment is protected via a Recognition and Collective Agreement between Wade Deacon Trust and the national Trade Unions and Professional Associations.
	Annual Leave Generous annual leave entitlement for support staff, starting at 25 days (plus the 8 bank holidays) rising to 33 days with service. Support staff on whole-year or term-time-only contracts can take up to 5 days’ annual leave in term-time.
	Flexible Opportunities We provide flexible working opportunities across the Trust, including opportunities for part-time working, job shares and term-time only roles.
	Occupational Sick Pay For those times you are not well enough to be with us, we provide occupational sick pay to help you financially. Sick pay allowance is service related, starting at 1 month full pay with no continuous service, rising to 6 months’ full pay and 6 months’ half pay after 5 years’ continuous service. Previous service with other schools is recognised for our occupational sick pay.
	Occupational Maternity, Paternity, or Adoption Pay When a new arrival joins your family, we want you to spend time together. Our occupational maternity, paternity or adoption pay over and above statutory entitlement supports you during these important early days.
	Trade Unions and Professional Associations We have a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with trade unions and professional associations, with regular meetings both formal and informal to discuss a range of issues. We encourage our members of staff to join trade unions if they wish, to take advantage of the range of benefits of union membership.

Professional Development

Continuous Professional Development We are committed to professional development at the Wade Deacon Trust and have a strong track record of supporting colleagues to progress in their careers. We provide the very best support and training in ensuring that our staff achieve their goals. Collaboration is at the heart of our ethos and culture, and our colleagues enjoy a wide variety of support, opportunity and reward across the Trust.

Career Development We offer excellent career progression opportunities within the Trust.For example, there are opportunities to work within other schools in our Trust when the time comes and you are looking for new challenges.

Physical Wellbeing

	Flu Jabs We fund annual flu vaccination for any staff who wish to take this important health protection.
	On-site gyms Some schools have on-site gyms which staff can access free of charge outside core-school hours.

Financial Wellbeing

Living Wage Our Living Wage commitment means that all our staff are paid the real living wage (as set by the Living Wage Foundation) as a minimum, which is significantly higher than the government’s national minimum wage or living wage.

Generous Pension All of our employees are enrolled into either the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (teachers) or the Local Government Pension Scheme (support staff) with a generous employer contribution to both schemes. They are Defined Benefit schemes, which pay you a guaranteed income in retirement based upon your earnings over your career, rather than stock market investments – so there’ll be no surprises when you come to claim your pension. Staff are able to opt-out if they wish. See below for more information about our pension schemes.

Pension Schemes

The Wade Deacon Trust offers two excellent pension schemes to all staff; the Teachers' Pension Scheme for teachers, and the Local Government Pension Scheme for support staff. You pay a percentage of your gross salary into your pension each month. This is topped up by generous employer contributions and you’ll receive pension tax relief on your contributions.

Both pension are Defined Benefit schemes. This is a type of pension scheme that pays you a guaranteed income in retirement which is based upon your earnings over your career, rather than stock market investments – so there’ll be no nasty surprises when you come to claim your pension.

Your pension will be a regular source of income when you retire – but you can also take some of it as a tax-free lump sum.

Protection for your family

It’s not just a retirement income that makes it worthwhile saving into a pension scheme. There are other benefits too. While it’s not a nice thing to think about, it’s comforting to know that if you die your loved ones will be looked after. Your family enjoys financial security, with immediate life cover and a pension for your spouse, civil partner or eligible cohabiting partner and eligible children in the event of your death in service, or if you die after leaving having met the 2 year qualifying period.

A rewarding career

Click here to see a selection of videos to get an idea of what life in our schools is like. Our staff and pupils are proud to be members of our Trust community, and we are confident you will have a rewarding career at the Wade Deacon Trust.