Head of Department Design Technology

Head of Department Design Technology

Highly competitive salary to be negotiated dependent on skills and experience plus the Banbury Aspirations Campus bonus package for the successful candidate

We seek an excellent Head of Design Technology who will lead our DT curriculum (ideally for April 2019 but we would consider a September 2019 start for an exceptional candidate). 

This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious practitioner, who wants to lead the next stage of the development of our DT curriculum and make a real impact on further driving up attainment and progress in the subject.

You will have the opportunity to work with other engineering teachers in other schools as part of our Trust’s Teaching School Alliance. 

Our campus is unique. We have two distinct schools and a cross campus sixth form which is in the top 25% of all schools in the country for progress. It is a team and a family of people who are all working together to achieve our mission of preparing our pupils for success in high quality apprenticeships or a place in university. We believe in a set of recognisable and traditional values: honesty; kindness to all others; respect for all; hard work and persistence.

Our teaching approaches have been influenced by groundbreaking work in charter schools in US inner cities, leading free schools in England and innovations from cognitive science research. Our teaching and learning approach is built on powerful work found in Lemov’s ’Teach Like a Champion’. Currently we are reading and researching work by Barak Rosenshine and Alex Quigley . We teach a rigorous, knowledge-based broad and balanced curriculum. 

With a clear focus on excellent outcomes for students, you will lead the small DT team to further drive up attainment, progress and standards at GCSE and A level, as well as developing our students’ love of maths and enhancement of their ‘cultural capital’. 

We have very high expectations of all of our staff, but we value them highly, and treat work load very seriously. Our systems ensure you can really focus on your core purpose – teaching, in a sustainable way, unhindered by bureaucracy or poor behaviour. If you are able to visit, you will see a culture with excellent behaviour and engaged students who are friendly and courteous.. We know we haven’t yet got everything right, and are driven to continuously improve and aspire to become one of the best schools in Oxfordshire and beyond. 

What we can offer you: 

• A professional progression model to enable you to progress in your career
• Workshops that are well stocked with a range of machinery 
• Support and line management from the Space Studio Head of School
• Great students who behave excellently – you can make a massive difference to them 
• Clear behaviour systems 
• Centralised homework detentions for KS3 and 4 (you do not need to organise/run/chase them at all)  and a robust internal exclusion system
• A feedback policy focused on closing the gap– we do not have onerous/impossible marking policies 
• A centralised homework system at KS3 – you do not need to check/mark KS3 homework 
• No formal graded lesson observations – just ongoing ‘no-stakes’ feedback, helping you to continuously develop – we believe that trusting our staff with autonomy helps to develop a strong staff culture 
• Collaborative planning with centralised, shared units of work and resources 
• CPD that starts as soon as you are appointed with a clear induction programme
• A beautiful campus situated on the very edge of the Cotswolds, only half an hour from Oxford and an hour from London by train

Who are we looking for? 

• an excellent teacher of DT, who has a love for the subject and is willing to develop their engineering skills
• someone who does whatever it takes to ensure the life chances and ‘cultural capital’ of all our pupils are maximised
• totally aligned to our values and mission. If you are the type of person who fits with our culture, you will love working here
• aligned with our teaching philosophy, built around Lemov’s ‘Teach Like a Champion’ and teaching ‘powerful knowledge’
• You will have excellent progression opportunities as our MAT continue to grow in our South Central region

We would be delighted to show you around our Academy in order to fully appreciate our excellent learning environment. We strongly advise a visit as this Campus is unique in many ways. 

Please contact spearce@wykhampark-aspirations.org or ring 01295 251451 to arrange a  visit or an informal, confidential discussion about the role.

Deadline for applications: 9 a.m. Monday 25th February 2019

Interviews to take place during w/b 25th February 2019