Director of English

The Role

• To take a lead role in school community by continuing to develop and implement a rigorous and ambitious English curriculum which enables the highest level of pupil progress and attainment across all key stages. 

• To help develop the subject knowledge and professional practice of your team to ensure consistently high standards of teaching. 

• To model what it takes to be an outstanding teacher and subject leader and thereby act as an example to all middle leaders. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a professional community of subject teachers to ensure the highest possible standards of student attainment and progress. 

• To put in place, the systems and structures at a department level that lead to 100% good and outstanding teaching within English (with a focus on outstanding).  

• Monitoring and accountability for the progress and attainment of students in English.

• Develop and implement changes to the curriculum and approach to teaching and learning which leads to excellence within A-Level English Literature. 

• Take a role with members of SLT on issues of literacy across the academy. 

• Deliver high quality training on teaching and learning to other staff, focusing on your areas of particular expertise. 

• To uphold procedures for inducting and mentoring NQTs, Teach Firsts, School Directs etc. into the department. 

• To act as a coach or mentor for other teachers as required. 

• Modelling for all staff exemplary practice in terms of managing difficult and challenging behaviour from students, and establishing a culture of high expectations within your department.

Outcomes and activities

Leadership of English

• Maintain an engaging and challenging curriculum that enables all students to enjoy and achieve at the highest level, supported by detailed schemes of work, to ensure consistency and coherence across all English teaching. 

• Establish a clear departmental improvement plan and monitor and evaluate its delivery and effectiveness. 

• Teach and model the delivery of engaging and effective lessons that motivate, inspire and improve pupil attainment. 

• Monitor the effectiveness of teaching and learning and planning processes within your department. Support the professional development of teachers and their training where appropriate. 

• Embed a structure for mentoring, coaching and monitoring staff (including supervision of NQTs and beginner teachers in time). 

• Manage the development of English department resources effectively and efficiently.

• To be fully competent and excel at the full range the professional teaching standards. 

Curriculum and assessment 

• Review and develop the curriculum on an ongoing basis, taking into account the findings from monitoring and self-evaluation, and ensure all staff have short and medium term plans to deliver highly effective lessons.

• Set regular, measurable and significant assessments for students. 

• Ensure internal and external moderation of assessment outcomes for reliability and consistency.  

• Ensure all pupil data is understood and interpreted by staff and students and used to modify lesson planning. 

• Monitor the progress of all students and sub-groups of students with staff and plan appropriate support / interventions to remedy slow progress.

• Produce, in line with the academy self-evaluation cycle, Department Improvement Plans and Data Analyses to the highest possible standard, and ensure all members of your department engage with these. 

• Become expert in the examination requirements of the new GCSE and A-Level exams in your subject. 

• Liaise with all appropriate SEN and Pastoral personnel regarding support for student progress.

Other related issues

• Ensure extension activities and creative ways of supporting G&T students are available as part of enrichment e.g. debating, creative writing. 

• Support the detailed learning needs of pupils not reaching national standards within the enrichment programme if not met through curriculum time. 

• Ensure the House Debating competition and other related themes are supported and led in conjunction with other named staff.

Academy Culture 

• Support the academies’ values and ethos by contributing to the development and implementation of policies, practices and procedures 

• Help create a strong academy community, characterised by consistent, orderly behaviour and caring, respectful relationships 

• Help develop an academy culture and ethos that is utterly committed to achievement 

• Vision aligned with KAA’s high aspirations and high expectations of self and other. 

Other 

• To undertake training and development relevant to the post and in line with the Academy’s priorities.

• To maintain a presence around the school to ensure that the highest standards of behaviour and site-usage are upheld.

• To undertake other related duties which may be required from time to time within a reasonable workload.