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Head of English

Head of English

Harris Academy Orpington

Bromley

Salary:
Leadership Scale (Outer London)
Job type:
Full Time, Permanent
Apply by:
13 December 2022

Job overview

Are you an enthusiastic and passionate English teacher that could inspire us to continue to improve and raise students' achievements, have a commitment to sharing expertise and bring the department to the next level?

We are looking for a qualified, experienced English teacher to join Harris Academy Orpington as the Head of English.

The successful candidate should be a dedicated and highly motivated practitioner with a proven track record of driving up standards, a flexible team player with excellent interpersonal skills to join our highly committed team, sharing in the school's values, vision and ethos.

About Us

Harris Academy Orpington opened in September 2016, joining the highly successful Federation of Harris academies in London. We are on our journey to outstanding and are ambitious and looking forward to an exciting future as we highlight our work as a Health Science Specialist school, with students being given access to recognised professional qualifications and careers.

At Harris Academy Orpington, we have the most incredible facilities, staff and students and we are very proud of the work that our students do here. We have developed a curriculum that is ambitious and broad. We believe people need to nurture an appreciation of human creativity and achievement and have designed a curriculum that does just that.

We aim to ensure that every student is inspired and supported to achieve his/her personal best and learning comes first. Our motto is “Together We Can” and if you are interested in joining us, we would be very pleased to meet you.

Main Areas of Responsibility

The purpose of your role will be:

  • To be accountable for leading, managing and developing the subject area.
  • To raise standards of student attainment and achievement within the whole subject/curriculum area and to monitor and support student progress.
  • To ensure the provision of an appropriately broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated curriculum for students studying in the department, in accordance with the aims of the academy and the curricular policies determined by the Governing Body and Principal.
  • To teach the relevant subject across the age and ability range.
  • To facilitate and encourage a learning experience which provides students with the opportunity to achieve their individual potential.
  • To effectively manage and deploy staff, financial and physical resources within the department.
  • To share and support the school's responsibility to provide and monitor opportunities for personal and academic growth.

Your main areas of responsibility will fall under the areas of:

  • Operational and strategic planning (including formulating the subject and faculty improvement plans, and leading the development of appropriate syllabuses, resources, schemes of work, marking policies, assessment and teaching strategies)
  • Ensuring the delivery of an appropriate, comprehensive, high quality and cost effective curriculum and leading development of the subject and its delivery
  • Staff development (including recruiting, building and managing an effective team of motivated staff)
  • Student outcomes (including ensuring the effective operation of target setting, monitoring and evaluation systems and the input and maintenance of accurate student data)
  • Pastoral system (including being a form tutor to a selected group of students)
  • Teaching, including acting as an outstanding role model

Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will:

  • Hold QTS (or equivalent) and a relevant undergraduate degree, and, ideally, management training
  • Demonstrate successful teaching of GCSE at good or better level
  • Have experience of initiation and effective management of change
  • Show evidence of raising achievement in present post and showing good value added for groups
  • Have knowledge of current curriculum developments in subject and their implications
  • Have good knowledge and understanding of current educational thinking
  • Show good understanding of how children learn and how to raise standards of achievement
  • Have good communication skills in speech and writing
  • Display excellent organisational skills
  • Be able to build and sustain professional standards and relationships with students
  • Be able to contribute towards creating a safe and protective environment

Next Steps

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact us via e-mail, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. You will need this when completing your application.

Please note: we may hold interviews as and when applications are received and we reserve the right to offer to a candidate prior to the closing date. We only accept applications submitted online via our careers website and which are completed before the closing deadline. With this in mind, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible and advise you check the job information as per the listing on our careers site.

Professional Development & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level to senior leadership.

We look for talented individuals who share our vision for creating exceptional places of learning, and are committed to ensuring that every child in London has access to the best possible education.

In addition to the opportunities for career progression, training and development, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme, electric car scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. Before applying, please review our Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.

Attached documents

About Harris Academy Orpington

Harris Academy Orpington is an ambitious new academy at the heart of the local community. We support our students as they develop the confidence, work ethic and motivation they will need to thrive as adults.

We combine the traditional values of good manners, strong discipline and respect with the best of modern teaching and technology. Our students take pride in their work and are enthusiastic about learning. Our highly skilled and committed teachers inspire students to work hard and achieve their absolute best. Lessons are interesting and engaging and students are enthusiastic about learning.

Our focus is to provide a quality learning experience both inside and outside the classroom. We promote excellence, opportunity and a can-do culture. Regardless of individual ability or background, we believe that by setting high standards, praising effort and with support and guidance, every child can excel.

We want our students to be well-educated and well-rounded individuals, prepared to take the next steps when they leave our Academy. Our specialist team of highly trained staff provide exceptional care, guidance and support, helping students to develop their confidence, work ethic and aspiration.

We have high expectations of the way in which students should conduct themselves. There is a strong emphasis on students learning in a calm and respectful environment. Our consistent approach to encouraging good behaviour results in a culture that is always friendly, orderly and purposeful. 

Our carefully balanced curriculum is personalised and aims to meet the needs of all our students. We believe that academic success should go hand-in-hand with a rich variety of extra- curricular activities. We encourage each student to find at least one activity that they enjoy and can excel in. 


Working for Harris Federation

The Harris Federation is a not-for-profit charity. Led and run by teachers, we established our first school over 25 years ago.

There are now more than 40 happy and highly successful primary and secondary academies in our federation. All of these are in and around London. With each school that has joined us, the expectations we set ourselves have increased.

Every Harris academy so far inspected by Ofsted is rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, with three quarters of our inspected secondary academies judged ‘outstanding’. Our primary schools are newer, but almost half are ‘outstanding’, with the rest ‘good’.

To find out more about working for Harris Federation, please see our Careers Prospectus via the link below.

   :p>We are an ambitious new academy at the heart of the local community.  We support our students as they develop the confidence, work ethic and motivation they will need to thrive as adults.   

Harris Academy Orpington combines the traditional values of good manners, strong discipline and respect with excellent teaching. Our highly skilled and committed teachers inspire students to work hard and achieve their absolute best. Lessons are interesting and engaging and students are enthusiastic about learning.   

Our focus is to provide a quality learning experience both inside and outside the classroom. We promote excellence, opportunity and a ‘can do’ culture. Regardless of individual ability or background, we believe that by setting high standards, praising effort and with support and guidance, every child can excel.    

Harris Academy Orpington replaces The Priory School, an 11-18 co-educational school with 1,100 pupils on roll. In September, we joined the Harris Federation, one of England’s most successful groups of academies. All of their inspected academies have been rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ by Ofsted.  

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Applications closed