【学生寮アシスタント】Boarding House Assistant - Rugby School Japan

Rugby School Japan

Rugby School Japan launched in Kashiwanoha (“Oak Leaf”) Smart City, Chiba Prefecture (Greater Tokyo), in September 2023 to champion a new era of British international education in Japan. It is Rugby’s second international sister school. The School is a co-educational day and boarding school based on a campus within walking distance of a baseball stadium, football pitch, lake and running track in Kashiwanoha Park.

Rugby School Japan shares Rugby’s ethos of ‘the whole person, the whole point’: the School believes in taking education beyond the classroom and nurturing the whole person – in mind, body and spirit – to give pupils a holistic sense of self and to enable them to achieve in all areas of life. Rugby School Japan aims to become a benchmark for British education worldwide.

The House Assistant Role

Each of our boarding houses is home to approximately 65 pupils, aged between 11 to 18 and the House Assistant (HA) is an integral member of the House team. Along with the Housemaster/mistress (HM), Assistant HM and Resident Tutor, the HA helps to ensure the welfare and well-being of pupils in the House, contributing to the development of a friendly, safe and supportive culture and environment. The HA is expected to be a visible presence, setting the tone as a role model and being accessible and approachable to the pupils. Issues of safeguarding and confidentiality are to be understood to a high degree, and a well tuned understanding of the needs of the pupils, options for support, and channels of communication is essential. The HA will also be expected to provide administrative support to the HM. 

Main Duties:
Creating a home: the HA’s role can generally be summarised as creating a home for the pupils within the boarding House. Just like a parent might do for their own children, this could involve baking, celebrating birthdays, providing appropriate snacks, setting standards, having high expectations for the pupils, and having the pupils’ well-being and happiness at the heart of everything that happens in the school.

Pastoral Care:
The HA plays a crucial role, alongside the HM and other house staff, in the daily pastoral care of the pupils in the boarding house. Collectively, they have a responsibility for creating an environment within which the pupils feel safe and well looked after. The HA should be alert to warning signals potentially indicating unhappiness or problems in a pupil’s life, and should be prepared to communicate concerns with colleagues and, when necessary, with outside agencies.

Medical support:
Although the School has a Health Centre staffed at all times by professional nurses, the HA is often the first port of call for pupils who are feeling unwell in House. The HA is responsible for providing care, dispensing routine medications, and liaising with the Health Centre staff in order to determine the best course of action for the pupils, sometimes sending them to be looked after in the Health Centre. The HA is often required to accompany pupils in their House to routine appointments and attend to any medical emergencies. 

Beginning and end of terms and half-terms:
The HA plays a crucial role in getting the boarding House ready before the beginning of the new term, as well as being on hand for the arrival of pupils into the House, typically on the evening before term starts, and on the morning when the day pupils arrive. Helping to settle the pupils into the House, meeting parents and receiving passports and medications from them, and creating a homely and welcoming environment are central to the HA’s role. At the end of term and half term periods, the HA is needed to ensure that all the pupils have left the House, and that the rooms and common areas are appropriately emptied, with windows closed and lights switched off.

Registration:
The HA is responsible for recording daily attendance at House registrations, and following up absences with colleagues and with parents when necessary.

Administrative support for the HM and the House:
The HA is often required to perform administrative duties for the HM, including helping to organise events, make calendar entries, support with filing, and generally play a central role in managing a well ordered and organised House. Some of these tasks will require competent use of IT systems and the School’s databases.

Meeting parents:
The HA will meet prospective and current parents who are visiting the boarding House.

Liaison with Maintenance and Logistics teams:
The HA is responsible for coordinating with the School’s logistics and maintenance teams, to ensure faults and damage are recorded and rectified promptly, and that any logistical functions are facilitated.

Cover:
The HA will be required to provide cover for other boarding houses in the event of staff shortages elsewhere in the School.

Clothing & Laundry:
The HA is required to liaise with domestic teams to ensure that laundry is sent and received in good time on behalf of the pupils within the boarding House. Some onsite laundry in the boarding house and small repairs to pupils’ clothing may be required from time to time.

Cleanliness:
The HA plays an important role, alongside the other House staff, in maintaining cleanliness and tidiness within the boarding House. The HA will coordinate with cleaning staff, directing priorities and setting expectations alongside domestic service supervisors. Routine checks of pupils’ dorms and common areas are expected, as is the creation of a culture of respect by the pupils, who are required to keep their spaces orderly and hygienic.

Meetings:
Regular formal and informal communication with colleagues is expected of the HA. HAs will be required to meet with each other, with their House teams, and with the Deputy Principal (Pastoral) regularly.

Other roles and duties:
There will be a number of other activities which the HA would be expected to attend, including House events, and the HA is encouraged to bring any specialist skills to the school, such as support for the well-being programme, and any initiatives which are deemed appropriate and beneficial to the school. Success in the role will be dependent on having a constructive relationship with the other House staff, and it is hoped that the HA would be winning to contribute in other areas to House life as required by the HM.

Contract Period:
・6 January 2025 ~ 31 July 2026
*Contract renewable upon performance and mutual agreement

Salary:
JPY4,000,000~JPY4,500,000 per Calendar Year
* Including 30 hours of fixed overtime allowance per month

Work Hours:
・Mondays ~ Fridays 8:00 ~ 17:00
・Saturdays and Sundays are non-working days （May be required to work on Saturdays and holidays for special school events.)

・Days outside of term dates are non-working days

・Japanese National Holidays are not observed

Benefits:

・20 Paid Annual Leave per Academic Year

・10 Paid Sick Days per Academic Year

・Commutation Allowance up to JPY30,000 per month

・Full Social Security Package (Health, Pension, Employment, Work Injury Insurance

THE PERSON

The successful candidate will have:

Qualifications

• 5 GCSE (or equivalent) passes, at grade “C” or above, including Maths and English
• Educated to A Level (or equivalent)
• First aid qualification

Experience

• Experience of working with young people

Skills

• The ability to offer a high level of pastoral care
• Good spoken and written English.
• The ability to communicate both in writing and verbally with a wide range of people
• Excellent administrative and organisational skills
• Flexibility and the ability to work calmly and quickly under pressure
• Resourcefulness and the ability to multitask and prioritise
• Ability to work well as part of a team and also autonomously
• IT literacy, with a high level of competence in Microsoft Excel, Word & Outlook
• Previous experience as a Matron or similar in a Boarding School
• Previous experience as a Nurse
• Experience of working in an educational and/or medical environment
• Experience of working with teenage children
• Experience in an administrative role
• Japanese language ability

Personal competencies and qualities

• An empathy for, and understanding of, young people
• Enthusiasm and the ability to motivate pupils
• A sensitive and supportive approach
• A good sense of humour and emotional resilience
• Discretion and the ability to maintain confidentiality
• Commitment to the protection of children and young people.
• Willingness to work within the School’s Child Protection guidance for staff and follow relevant organisational procedures.

PACKAGE

• The remuneration package will reflect the importance of the post and will include:

• A competitive and internationally benchmarked salary

HOW TO APPLY

Application process and closing date for applications

• Please apply through Career Cross, sending a recent photograph, a CV and a Cover Letter of no more than one side of A4 addressed to Mr Tony Darby, Principal, Rugby School Japan, by the closing date.
• The closing date for applications is Friday, 29 November at 12:00 JST (early applications are encouraged); RSJ reserves the right to make an appointment at any stage of the recruitment process.
• Interviews will take place at Rugby School Japan, or online.  

Qualifications, Identification, Health and Background Checks 

• Please note that candidates may be required to bring documentation to interview providing proof of identity and qualifications.
• They may also be required, within the final appointment process, to undergo a health check and relevant background checks as part of the School's recruitment and safeguarding procedures.

Child protection

• Rugby School Japan is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
• Applicants will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the DBS. In addition, all successful candidates will be vetted in accordance with COBIS, NMBS and KCSiE requirements.