Freelance Opportunity: AHLU Teaching Assistant

Art History Link-Up (AHLU) is seeking casual or ‘ad hoc’ freelance teaching assistants to support our free Art History A level and EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) courses for state supported students, delivered online and in-person on term-time Saturdays, at the Courtauld Institute, Somerset House

Person specification: Art History A level desirable, Art History degree or equivalent essential, some teaching experience, with a demonstrable aptitude for and commitment to supporting young Art History students from a diverse range of backgrounds and abilities.

Fee: £14.85p.h. (or the London Living Wage + £1) payable by invoice at the end of each month.

Apply with c.v. and covering letter to info@arthistorylinkup.org asap. Start date would be as soon as possible.

Where, what and when:

• Art History for Everyone is a free fast-track Art History EPQ and A level course for state supported students taught on term-time Saturday mornings from 10am-12.30pm and Saturday afternoons from 1.30-4pm.
• Classes take place online, and at the Courtauld Institute of Art, (Leon Kossoff Learning Centre) and from time to time at other locations as appropriate.
• AHLU is a registered charity, founded in 2017, offering Art History courses free of charge to state supported students from diverse backgrounds in museums, galleries, historic houses, schools, and, since March 2020, online, from March 2022, as hybrid courses with ‘in real life’ teachers, TAs and students, and also online.
• The TA is supported by the class teachers, AHLU’s Education and Outreach Officer, and by the course director / CEO and other staff.
• AHLU’s teaching schedule is shared with team members who are given the opportunity to request sessions which suit their schedule and interests.
• Homework assignments and information about the topics to be studied will be circulated in advance of class. The TA should review this in advance, so that they can support students in break out room / small group sessions, and possibly on occasion also at homework club (on Zoom on Tuesdays, 4-6pm).
• Leading discussion in front of works of art in galleries may also be involved.
• The morning class study Visual Analysis, plus the Nature theme and Baroque A level module.
• The afternoon class studies Visual Analysis, the Identities Theme and C19module.
• An EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) can take many forms, e.g. dissertation, artefact or performance, and is equivalent to up to half an A level in UCAS points. Supporting students with their research and ongoing associated documentation is a part of this role. More about the Pearson Edexcel Extended Project here: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-project-qualification/level3.html (We are also seeking volunteer EPQ mentors to support our students with their research.)
• We are also developing new Introduction to Art History courses for 13 to 15 year olds. There may be opportunities to TA for these in the coming year so we welcome any applicants with specific experience working with that age group

Additional information:

Teaching team members must at all times uphold AHLU’s Safeguarding and other Policies (available on our website here: https://arthistorylinkup.org/policies/safeguarding-policy/), in addition to reasonable duties associated with working with young people and the delivery of AHLU’s Art History courses at the CEO and Trustees’ discretion and as appropriate. In particular – to uphold the standards expected of AHLU team members at all times, i.e.

• To ensure the safe and efficient running of teaching sessions by:
• Being prepared, having reviewed the advance resources and teaching topic, to engage students in discussion in break out room sessions.
• Supporting the teacher, AHLU and Courtauld teams in ensuring a safe supportive and inclusive environment
• We are seeking to recruit new teaching assistants on an ad hoc basis, however there may be opportunities to expand and develop within the role, as a teacher, if this is of interest.

AHLU is committed to the safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people. An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be completed on all successful applicants.

About AHLU: Only a handful of state schools in the country currently offer History of Art A level yet the creative industries added over £100 billion to the UK economy. We believe that art history shouldn’t belong to just the small numbers of young people who currently have the opportunity to study it, but that every young person, regardless of background, should be able to enjoy and benefit from our rich visual culture.  Since 2016, AHLU has delivered art history education to students of all backgrounds. We are currently expanding our work to younger secondary school-aged students, outside London, with new hosts, partners, programmes and exciting plans for the future.