Head of Music (potential future Head of Faculty)

Head of Music (potential future Head of Faculty) 

This is a rare and exciting opportunity for a subject expert to work at one of the highest performing schools in the country. 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. 

At Ark Greenwich we have made a commitment to invest in our Music department because our pupils have huge potential in this area. Music is embedded within the culture of our local community and in the hearts of our pupils. We expect the Head of Music to create a wonderful and rich experience where the opportunity for our pupils to compete and perform at the highest level is provided. We are looking for a practitioner who can bring Music to the very core of our school.      

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 Pupils can fulfil their potential. Our aim is to become ‘the best school in London’ and we are close to achieving this because academic outcomes are first class, we invest heavily in the broader pupil experience and because we value and respect our staff.  

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. Our pupils love music and we are looking for a passionate and drive musician to unlock their potential.  

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 this community are unashamedly sky high. We work tirelessly to impact the lives of the young people we serve.  Pupils at our school are passionate music and keen to perform at the highest possible standard. 

How is Ark Greenwich different to other schools?

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

• We genuinely value the performing and expressive arts. Whilst other schools cut these areas we are redoubling our investment because it’s the right thing to do. 

• 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 are able to maintain an effective work/life balance. We do not do knee jerk reactions, fads or last minute deadlines. Our systems and processes, including for communication, pupil marking and feedback and assessment, are efficient and streamlined and the approaches we take are led by research and what we know to work best within of our local context. 

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

• Behaviour for learning is exceptional so our teachers can focus their time on the things that matter – planning and delivering exceptional lessons for our pupils. 

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

• We put high-quality teaching at the heart of what we do. We have 75 mins of high quality staff training every week and run coaching for staff. 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 pupils enjoy a compulsory co-curricular program on a Wednesday afternoon which includes a strong focus on community volunteering, the promotion of elite performance and the performing and expressive arts. We facilitate 12 drop down days per academic year ensuring our pupils benefit from a range of life enriching experiences.

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

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

Alignment with the schools vision, values and approach to education is absolutely 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 and academically rigorous environment.  

Music will be 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 expected to be a popular choice. Our first class Music facilities and resources offer the ideal environment for our pupils to thrive and fulfil their potential. 

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 Free School, please visit our website via www.arkgreenwichfreeschool.org  

To apply please follow the below link to our recruitment portal: https://arkcareers.engageats.co.uk/Vacancies/W/3659/0/211753/20263/head-of-music-department  

Closing date: 09.00am Friday 8th February 2019. 

Interviews may take place before the closing date for suitable candidates, we reserve the right to close the advert early. 

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.