- Job title: Visiting Music Teacher - Piano
- Job Type: Fixed Term 1 year Maternity Cover, Casual, Part Time, Mondays and Tuesdays
- Salary: £40.37 per hour + holiday pay
- Department: Music
- Reporting to: Head of Keyboard
- Location: Highgate Junior School
- Start: January 2027
- Closing Date: 16 November 2026 at 8:00 am
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We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced piano teacher to provide maternity cover in our thriving department from January 2027. The successful candidate would be teaching one-to-one piano lessons to pupils in the Junior school under a fixed-term contract that would last between 9 and 12 months. Lessons would be taught on a weekly basis on both Mondays and Tuesdays during term time. There may be occasional scope for flexibility.
The successful candidate will have a passion for teaching, an excellent knowledge of piano pedagogy, as well as specific experience in teaching children under the age of 11. You would be part of a vibrant piano community with opportunities for self-development through CPL events and engagement with like-minded colleagues.
Closing date for applications is
Monday 16th November. Candidates selected for 1st round video interview will be informed by Wednesday 18th and required to submit their material by midnight on
Friday 20th November. Second interviews will take place in person on
Tuesday 24 th November. The DepartmentHighgate has a long and distinguished musical tradition: former pupils include John Rutter CBE, Sir John Tavener, Howard Shelley OBE, Jan Latham-Koenig and Daniel Hope. The Senior School Music Department has its base in Dyne House at the heart of the School.
The Senior School Music Department has three offices/teaching rooms for the full-time staff, twelve teaching/practice rooms, five classrooms (including an IT music suite and a keyboard room), and a recital/rehearsal room, as well as a 300-seater auditorium refitted with the latest technology in acoustic design. The Junior School Music Department consists of one department office for the full-time staff, two music classrooms and ten teaching/practice rooms.
What I love about the music department at Highgate is that it's so diverse - we have musicians that play every different genre of music, and performance opportunities that embrace this. One day a pupil could be singing a Renaissance piece in a choir or playing the violin in the Chamber Orchestra and the next performing a Pop song at one of the open mic nights!
- Highgate Music Teacher
Job Description
Main Responsibilities - To teach 35-minute piano lessons to each pupil once a week
- To provide 30 music lessons to each pupil across the academic year
- To teach all elements of piano playing in a stimulating manner
- To continue the considered programme of study that has been tailored to each individual pupil
- To prepare pupils to perform in concerts and in other events
- To have experience at preparing pupils for exams
- To ensure that each pupil is supported in planning their practice for the next lesson
- To feedback to parents or carers by attending a visiting music teachers' parents consultation evening twice a year (once online and once in-person).
- To make weekly teaching timetables which work on a lesson rotation system
- To stay up to date with emails to parents involving timetabling, attendance and other relevant matters
Qualities - A strong and up-to-date interest in piano pedagogy and knowledge of a broad range of methods, such as Kodaly and Dalcroze
- A keen interest in teaching psychology and learning
- An ability to motivate and engage pupils
- An excellent understanding of piano technique, including sound production, tailored towards teaching children
- A patient and imaginative approach
- Extensive knowledge of piano repertoire, particularly at the beginner and intermediate levels
- Experience in working with children of all different musical abilities
- A desire to develop personal pedagogical skills
- A team player with a willingness to share and communicate with colleagues within the piano department and across the music department as a whole
These duties and responsibilities are intended as a guide. They are not exhaustive: the Visiting Music Teacher will be expected to undertake any reasonable task or responsibility as required by the Director of Music. Person Specification
- Criteria
- How will these be tested or verified?
- Qualifications and Professional Bodies
- Essential:
- Must possess a qualification in their instrument to at least degree level or hold a BA or equivalent in music
- Safeguarding + Prevent Awareness Training (or ability to complete this during the onboarding process and prior to starting in the role)
Desirable:
- A teaching qualification would be highly desirable but not essential
- Skills and Experience
- Essential:
- Experience in teaching individual piano lessons at a high level to all standards
- The ability to teach piano in a holistic fashion, which appreciates the connection between technique and musicianship
- The ability to explore all elements of music, including note-reading, in an active and stimulating fashion
- Personal Attributes
- Essential:
- A passion for teaching
- An ability to relate well to both pupils and other members of the Music Department and the School
- To communicate effectively with parents and carers as necessary
- Excellent organisational skills
BenefitsLocation | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.
Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered - 26% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 16% of this as additional non-pensionable salary, employees contribute a minimum of 5%.
Personal development | Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.
Leisure facilities | Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).
Lunch | A complimentary lunch including hot meals, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and dessert.
Help with sustainable travel | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.
Family-friendly policies | Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks' full pay, then 10 weeks' half pay) and paid dependant leave.
Working at HighgateA culture of community, kindness and belongingHighgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.
Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.
Following a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in September 2024 to assess Highgate's regulatory compliance and school standards, we are pleased to share the inspection findings, which reports compliance in all five areas and a 'significant strength' in our teaching expertise.
Staff wellbeingHighgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.
The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.
We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.
More details about working at Highgate can be found here:
Work with us Aims + Ethos
A fun, collaborative and forward-thinking environment with a real sense of community
- Philippa Studd, Junior School Principal
Charitable work and sustainabilityAs an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible - through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham - an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.
Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.
As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.
Application procedure- Closing Date: 16th November 2026
- Video Interviews: 20th November 2026
- In Person Interviews: 24th November 2026
Contact: The Recruitment Team are happy to answer any questions about this post.
Early Application: Applications will be considered 'as and when' received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.
Apply here
Inclusion We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive.
We are aware that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in independent education institutions and we're working to doing what we can to redress this. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people from minoritised ethnic and racial backgrounds, people with a disability and/or neurodiverse applicants (including those with a 'hidden' disability, LGBTQ+ people, as we are working to make our staff body more representative of the UK and London population.
We are also aware that many highly capable prospective candidates nonetheless rule themselves out of applying for positions because they may underestimate their own ability to do the role. With this in mind, we strongly encourage applications from anyone who is prepared to learn and develop professionally on the job and would like to stress that past experience of working in education, or admissions is not required.
If this application process doesn't support your needs and you would like to discuss additional support to apply, please contact Recruitment@highgateschool.org.uk
SafeguardingAs this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate's Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. If in the course of carrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSIE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment. Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.
Please read before you applyHighgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. DBS Privacy Policy
Please note that this role is 'exempt' from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not 'protected' (i.e. filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview. DBS Code of Practice
In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.