Teacher of Geography

We are currently looking to appoint a Geography Teacher to join our happy and successful school.

At Harris Academy Ockendon you will join a dedicated team of teachers and staff supporting our vibrant students. If you are looking for an opportunity to grow, inspire and develop, this may be the role for you.

About Us

A lovely secondary school where the students say, “Good Morning”, and actually mean it. Check out our school via our video.

“I am passionate about three things:

1. Leading staff to become happy, successful, highly trained professionals who stay in the game and don't burn out or lose their way.
2. Creating a fulfilling secondary experience for students where they can grow to become well-rounded, ambitious and successful young adults ready to put a ding in the universe.
3. My life outside work.

Being great at number 1 and number 2 should not mean we can't do number 3!”

- George McMillan, Executive Principal and National Leader of Education.

We are an 11-18 academy with a thriving Sixth Form and a lovely building. It is a school where we are as passionate about developing our staff as we are about developing our students.

Our location just outside the M25 means we attract staff not only from Essex but from London. Indeed, over half our staff live in Kent/Surrey/South East and Central London. Some of our team even travel from West London because they like the school so much.

Our role here is to help students and staff dream bigger than they ever thought possible, and to make that dream come true through our culture of “work hard, be kind, take responsibility” which beats at the heart of our school.

The Harris Federation is a highly successful group of schools who serve many of the most deprived areas of London and Essex. We are collaborative, enterprising and share a passion for turning lives around, yet each school is autonomous and free to set its own vision and strategy for how it does that.

Each Harris school feels completely different in terms of culture and ethos. Perhaps this is the school you've been looking for.

Main Areas of Responsibility

The majority of your role will be supporting students with their pastoral and academic challenges through mentoring, coaching and liaising with other staff.

In your role you will:

• Identify those children who would benefit most from academic mentoring and, working with others, to ensure the support is in place
• Support the Achievement Leader in achieving the target attendance for the year group by creating and implementing strategies aimed to improve attendance, punctuality for all students, particularly those with an attendance below 96%
• Respond rapidly to students with persistent absence and implement interventions
• Support the Achievement Leader with rewarding and celebrating the success of students publicly, in assemblies and planning celebration events. This includes communicating this success with families
• Incidents: Support all staff and students with investigating incidents, finding solutions to build positive relationships and communicating and meeting with families
• Work with other members of the Pastoral Team / Student Services including the Attendance Officer, Home School Liaison, School Counsellors, and the SENDCO to help the pupils be as successful as possible and achieve well
• Work closely with the DSL and relevant agencies to support Child Protection and Safeguarding the children in the Year Group
• Facilitate the sharing of information between school staff and partner agencies
• Comply with all relevant legislation and school policies and procedures
• Be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people
• Engage with, and participate in, any relevant whole Academy CPD
• Engage with, and participate in, the Academy's Performance Management process

Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will:

• Enjoy working with teenagers and helping them succeed
• Believe in our shared values: work hard, be kind, take responsibility
• Understand the importance of high expectations and equality of access for all students
• Be able to work as part of a team and to develop and maintain positive relationships with all staff
• Be able to create a motivating and safe learning environment for all students
• Be able to communicate positively with parents, carers and other external agencies where necessary
• Have good written and spoken communication skills
• Be able to lead and manage your own work effectively
• Be able to motivate students and raise their aspirations through a range of strategies

Next Steps

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please send us an email, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. This will be helpful for you when completing your application, and throughout the recruitment process.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as we may interview and offer to a candidate before the closing date. Please note that we only accept applications submitted before the closing date via our careers website.

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.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, 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 with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, electric car scheme, 26 days' annual leave (plus bank holidays) for staff who work across the full year, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.

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 young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Equal Opportunities

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

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.