An introduction to King’s Ely

Purpose, Ethos and Values

King’s Ely exists to make the most and best of childhood, and in particular to give the very best education, opportunities and pastoral care to as diverse a community of children as we can. In doing so we aim to prepare each one to live positive, productive, successful and fulfilled lives, for the betterment of themselves and the world around them. We achieve this through the operation of a family of schools centred around a 2-19 co-educational day and boarding school in Ely, aiming to draw fully on our exceptional environment, history, physical, cultural, spiritual and human resources in doing so.

History

King’s Ely can trace its origins from at least 970AD, making it one of the oldest schools in Europe. The School was first established to educate the choristers of the worshipping community of Ely and throughout our history we have maintained strong links with Ely Cathedral.

In 1541, King Henry VIII founded a College of Canons at Ely Cathedral to replace the monks whose monastery has been dissolved in 1539 and the School received its Royal Charter, later becoming known as “The King’s School”.

King’s Ely Today

In recent years King’s has expanded rapidly, becoming co-educational in 1970, and today educating around 1100 children aged 2-18 at Ely, including 185 boarders.

The school is divided into three sections: King’s Ely Senior (age 13-18) and King’s Ely Prep (age 7-13), which occupy adjacent campuses and benefit from shared facilities, and King’s Ely Acremont and Nursery (ages 2-6) which have their own self-contained campus about 400m from the main site. Additionally, Fairstead House School in Newmarket (for pupils aged 1-11) joined the King’s Ely family of schools in 2022.

The main campus extends to around 75 acres and contains buildings spanning the thirteenth to twenty-first centuries, including many of the historic monastic buildings adjacent to Ely Cathedral as well as more recent, purpose-built facilities and almost 40 acres of playing fields.

King’s Ely plays a key role in the local community. We are one of Ely’s largest employers and contribute greatly to the local economy, and we also continue to educate the choristers of Ely Cathedral. King’s Ely also offers a number of bursaries to enable pupils from all walks of life to benefit from the education it offers.

In its recent ISI Inspection (March 2025), King’s Ely was found to meet or to exceed all regulatory standards. In addition, the Inspectors judged the School to have a significant strength in the way in which its high quality pastoral care is interwoven with a dynamic enrichment programme. This enables “pupils of all ages to develop their independence, intellectual curiosity, creativity and socialization particularly well”.

The School is rightfully proud of the Inspection. It is testament to the community spirit of King’s Ely and the commitment and respect shown each day by pupils, staff and their families.

King’s Ely is affiliated with the HMC, Society of Heads, IAPS, the Boarding Schools’ Association and the Choir Schools’ Association.

Job Description

The Wellbeing Advisor will:

Work as a Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO), whole school, working with the DSL and Deputy DSL for each section of the school to ensure that proper procedure is followed, and all relevant and necessary records are made and correctly stored. Reference to the School’s DSO job description will be necessary.

Support the Wellbeing Lead with detail for inclusion in the joint annual report to the King’s Ely governors. The report will summarise the policies and procedures being employed at the school and a summary of the themes of safeguarding, counselling and non-counselling within the school community.

Provide administrative support in terms of record keeping and general communication in relation to safeguarding matters.

Work within the broader pastoral team to oversee the development and review of the Individual Welfare Plans working closely with the HsMs/Head of Year/tutors/teachers in all sections of school.

Complete Early Help Assessments (EHA), Education Health Care Plans (EHCP), Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) for relevant families as and when required providing a link between the school and the Early Help Hub/ family workers/young people workers, externally and learning support department, internally.

Training and development

Advise, contribute and coordinate, with the heads of PSHE, age-appropriate sessions on topics relating to safeguarding, mental health and pupil wellbeing, across the whole school.

Lead training sessions for staff and parents on a wide range of topics including internet safety, exam stress, building mental health and resilience in children and young people.

Research and share resources relevant to mental health, taking responsibility for the national mental health campaigns and events for each section of the school.

Ensure that the School’s wellbeing area on SharePoint is up to date and relevant with current national themes.

Liaison

Attend monthly supervision meetings

Attend half-termly team meetings.

Attend termly safeguarding meetings as mentioned above.

Attend school sectional meetings as agreed with the Wellbeing lead.

Attend the school’s pastoral board as required.

The Wellbeing advisor will continue to promote this role within the King’s Ely community and will expect the individual appointed to be present around all parts of the school site, at staff meetings, at assemblies, at public performances and events.

This description is not exhaustive and may well be subject to change over time. The intention is to offer candidates an accurate impression of the expectations commensurate with the post and an outline of the role as it is envisaged at this time.

Remuneration and Hours

• Monday - Friday 8.30am - 5pm term time only + INSET days
• Start Date: March 2026
• Salary: £27,000 - £30,000

Terms and Conditions

• Enrolment in the statutory auto-enrolment pension scheme. The employer and employee contribution rates for the auto-enrolment pension scheme are currently: Employee contribution 5% and Employer contribution 3%.
• Members of staff may educate their own children in any of the three parts of the school or at Fairstead House, subject to availability of places and successful admissions procedures. Staff currently enjoy a discretionary discount on fees for children in Reception year onwards, details of which will be provided upon request.
• The School offers a private healthcare insurance scheme, which staff may opt to join, at their expense, shortly after the start of each academic year (the policy starts on 1st November each year). The scheme can only be joined at the start of the policy year, not part-way through the year.
• School lunch provided when at work over lunch time and tea and coffee throughout the day.
• Limited use of school gym facilities (during specific times) and use of the school swimming pool at specific times (during summer school holidays – small fee applies)
• Limited free on-site parking.
• Employees and their dependants have access to a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to Salary Sacrifice Schemes such as: Cycle2Work, Home and Tech Scheme and Local Gym Membership.
• Members of staff are entitled to 10% discount on all King’s Ely school uniform ordered for their own children from Schoolblazer.
• Discounts at local businesses including Poet's House, The Almonry Kitchen & Tearoom, Ely Grazing Company, Sushi and Salad, Griddle Bar and Meathouse, and The Pantry (Newmarket).

• King’s Ely is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure & Barring Service.

• If you are selected for interview, you will need to provide and bring with you photographic proof of identity (eg passport or photo driving license), birth certificate, documentation confirming your National Insurance Number or your right to work in the United Kingdom, proof of address (eg recent bank statement/HMRC correspondence/utility bill) and certification of declared qualifications

We appreciate your effort in completing this application and for your interest in working for King’s Ely.