Head of Music Department

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to work at one of the highest performing schools in the country (Evening Standard). If you are passionate about the importance of Music and want to work in a seriously ambitious, respectful and high performing school, this is the job for you. 

Ark Greenwich 

Ark Greenwich is a new, ambitious school model based on what we know excellent schools do. We have created a highly respectful and disciplined environment where our staff and students can fulfil their potential. Our aim is to consistently be one of the highest performing schools in the country.   

Joining the school team is a superb opportunity for an ambitious and motivated teacher who wants to make a lasting difference to the communities they serve. 

Ark Greenwich exists to empower young people, regardless of socio-economic background, to grow and be successful. This is an ambitious and forward-thinking school that encourages innovation and values its staff. We are proud of our highly respectful and disciplined community and of the outstanding academic outcomes achieved by our pupils. Expectations for all members of our community are unashamedly sky high. We work tirelessly to impact the lives of the young people we serve.  

How is Ark Greenwich different?

• We are part of the Ark family of schools and benefit accordingly from outstanding networking opportunities and first-class CPD. 

• Staff wellbeing is one of our main priorities. We provide breakfast for staff each morning and have a 6pm/weekend work-related communication curfew to ensure our staff can maintain a work/life balance. We do not do knee jerk reactions, fads or last-minute deadlines. Our systems and processes for communication, marking and feedback and assessment are streamlined and the approaches we take are research led and based on the needs of our local context. 

• This is a small school model (600 students aged 11-16) because we believe that our close-knit community provides the optimum conditions for success.   

• Behaviour for learning is exceptional so our teachers can focus their time on the things that matter – planning and delivering brilliant lessons for our students. We have applied to become a national behaviour hub school. 

• This is a strict no excuses, no mobile phone school.   

• Our curriculum is traditional and academic, and we do not take shortcuts – we do not offer vocational courses or equivalencies such as Btecs or Vcerts. 

• We put high-quality teaching at the heart of what we do. We are committed to providing staff with at least 1 hour of high-quality training each week. We run coaching for staff who want to see rapid progress in their discipline. Live coaching and current best practice in the field of education is central to our approach. 

• We don’t grade individual lessons or ask for lesson plans.

• Our students enjoy a compulsory co-curricular program on a Wednesday afternoon which includes a strong focus on community volunteering and we facilitate 12 drop-down days per academic year ensuring our pupils benefit from a range of life-enriching experiences. 

If you are ready to add further value to our Music department and to work alongside a brilliant school leadership team, then you will find this job extremely rewarding. 

Alignment with the school’s vision, values and approach to education is essential. 

The Role and the Department 

As Head of the Music department, you will lead, develop and manage the effective delivery of an outstanding curriculum, which enables the highest level of pupil progress and attainment. You will be part of the professional community of Middle Leadership and promote outstanding teaching and learning and a strong school culture within a nurturing, respectful and academically rigorous environment. A successful candidate will be capable of bring music into the very heart of our school community. A passion for extracurricular performance is essential.   

Music is highly valued and taught throughout the curriculum each week from Year 7-9. In Year 9 pupils will select their GCSE option subjects and Music is always a popular choice. Our first-class Music facilities and resources offer the ideal environment for our pupils to thrive and fulfil their potential. The music department sits within the performing and expressive arts faculty and the team consists of a technician, HoD and teacher of music. 

About Ark Schools

Ark is a network of high-achieving, non-selective schools and one of the country’s top-performing academy groups. We run 38 academies in London, Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth educating more than 26,000 pupils. 83% of Ark schools are now rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted.

Our aim is to create outstanding schools that give every pupil, regardless of their background, the opportunity to go to university or pursue the career of their choice.

To find out more about Ark Greenwich, please visit our website via www.arkgreenwichfreeschool.org

The school reserves the right to close this advert early should the right candidate be found. Interviews may take place before the advertised closing date. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early for this role.    

Ark value diversity and are committed to safeguarding and promoting child welfare. The successful candidate will be subject to DBS and any other relevant employment checks.