Waterside Academy

About us

Waterside Academy, formerly Hackney New School opened in September 2013. The school has embarked on a journey to become an outstanding school, under the experienced leadership of Francis Bray. As the new Headteacher, Mr Bray has outlined a clear vision for the school where students will achieve outstanding outcomes and thrive in their personal development.

We have the aim of making Waterside Academy the best school in Hackney and are already making headway as we work towards this goal.  We received positive feedback from our most recent Ofsted visit to the school in February 2022 which Waterside Academy was rated GOOD in all categories:

• 'Leaders have transformed the school. They have a clear and ambitious vision to provide a high-quality education for pupils'.
• 'Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils are polite and courteous. They respect and care for each other'.
• 'Pupils enjoy the challenge of learning. They work hard in lessons'.
• 'Staff feel valued. They say that leaders are mindful of their workload and well-being. They enjoy working at the school'.

Waterside Academy’s curriculum focuses on the core subjects of the English Baccalaureate, whilst also allowing students to develop in the creative subjects such as Art, Drama and Music. We were established as a school with an emphasis on Music, and this remains a part of our identity as we are endowed with excellent music facilities.

Our aim is to ensure our students develop into well rounded individuals with excellent qualifications and the skills and qualities required to contribute and participate effectively in society. We want our students to become confident, resilient and responsible citizens.

Who we are

At Waterside Academy we pride ourselves on our highly motivated teachers who are committed to providing the best education to all students. As a small school with an intake of 100 students each year, we are in the position to develop exceptional relationships between teachers and students and get to know our students as individuals,

We have a supportive staff and leadership team, where we all challenge and support each other in our respective roles. We have ten Waterside Academy Values which we don’t just pay lip service to, but are embodied in everything we do.

Our core vision is to provide students with access to the widest range of opportunities in life by fostering academic excellence and developing students to embody the ten Waterside Academy Values which will stand them in good stead for their futures. We want our students to do what’s right, try new things, be kind and work together to improve our community, amongst other key values and attributes. We expect all of our staff team to lead by example in demonstrating these values.

Work for us

We offer you an exceptional workplace to come and develop your teaching career in, with supportive colleagues and bright students who are eager to learn when presented with high expectations and the right level of challenge!

We provide the opportunity to benefit from a comprehensive CPD programme and to work in an environment with an ambitious and experienced leadership team who are determined to make Waterside Academy the best school in Hackney. Alongside the excellent CPD programme, we provide numerous opportunities for staff to develop their leadership skills and progress in their careers across the Community Schools Trust, of which Waterside Academy is a part. We provide our staff with great support, to ensure they are confident and competent in getting the job done to the best standard.

We also focus on ensuring staff well being and that all of our team are supported in their roles, providing a comprehensive induction to all new starters. Being a small school, all of our staff know each other. We hold regular staff socials and recognise the efforts of our staff through a number of means. We have a 4.5 day school week, finishing each Friday at 12.30pm - allowing staff to start their weekend early. Finally our leadership team is approachable and used to “sweeping the sheds”. They won’t ask staff to do something that they don’t do. We also offer our staff a three week Christmas break - meaning you’ve got the time to treat yourself to a long haul flight to get some winter sunshine!

We constantly look for ways to reduce staff workload, so we’ve done away with formal lesson observations and introduced a live marking initiative that cuts down on the need to lug home heavy class sets of books! We have centralised behaviour systems, which again reduce workload and let you focus on what we want our teachers to do - teach the best lessons! We have centralised lesson planning to avoid duplication of work, ensure excellence and again to cut down on teacher workload. We also have clear systems and structures for everything from behaviour to rewards, all to make life easy for our staff.

Finally we’re based in a great location in Hackney, surrounded by great bars and cafes. Ideal for a bite to eat at lunch and a drink after work. Even if you’re not quite a hipster, it’s a trendy location and an easy commute given that our state of the art buildings are located on the canal basin in Haggerston and only a minute walk away from Haggerston Overground Station.