French Teacher

Michaela Community School is an exciting and successful free school that opened in September 2014 and is rated Outstanding by Ofsted. The ambition of our vibrant and energetic team is to transform the lives of all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many of us are Teach First Ambassadors. Some of us are not. All of us want to change the world by showing that a child’s home circumstances don’t have to be a barrier to success. 

We have some of the best GCSE results in the country. We have just opened our highly academic Sixth Form and our intention is for most of our students to go to a Russell Group university.

We are looking for a French teacher with a lot of personality, someone who wants to own their classroom and have vibrant and authentic relationships with their pupils. We want teachers who are conscientious, enjoy being with children and love to see pupils’ success. 

At Michaela, staff work together in departments to create shared resources. This makes last-minute planning a thing of the past. Your ideas on curriculum will have impact across your department because we work together, sharing good practice.

You will get the chance to really think about what makes for great teaching and learning. You will also become a better teacher…even if you think you are an ‘old hand’! Our behaviour systems are tightly managed, so instead of worrying about low-level disruption, you are able to try out what works best for the children you are teaching and have fun.  The relationships you can forge with pupils and the learning you can foster in your classroom are exceptional. With only 120 pupils to a year group, every adult can (and does) know every pupil by name, creating a strong sense of belonging. 

We teach a mastery curriculum, covering fewer topics each year, and doing so in real depth. The Michaela approach to teaching French is like nothing you have ever seen before. We turn so-called ‘good practice’ on its head. As a result, our pupils’ accents are stunning, their written accuracy is superb and the complexity of their language is unparalleled. From the beginning of year 7, all pupils use Past, Reasons, Opinions, Future and Subjunctive (PROFS) with aplomb. By the middle of Key Stage 3 our pupils can understand and use French of a standard that is more commonly seen in Sixth Forms. Our approach is simple: no games, no pictures, no group work. For the first time in your career, you’ll feel like a real French teacher. If you love the French language, if you love kids, if you love a giggle and are willing to jettison all of those ‘outstanding’ habits, come and see us at Michaela. Vous serez époustouflé!

There will be a lot of opportunities for promotion, and we invest in the development of our people. If you have heard of Michaela and feel a little intimidated, don’t be! There are a variety of people who teach here, all of them friendly and welcoming. We would love to hear from you.

You can read more about our approach via Jess Lund’s (French Teacher) blogs. The posts might terrify or tantalise – you decide!

https://jlmfl.wordpress.com/

There is no other school like Michaela in the country. Check out our website and see what we are all about! www.mcsbrent.co.uk

You are also very welcome to visit the school – and we would recommend it. We are 30 seconds from Wembley Park tube, accessible by both the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines.  Visitors often say seeing the school in action changed their minds on a variety of topics and allowed them to see the school as it really is.  

To register your interest, please send a covering letter along with the TES application form.

Please include answers to these questions:

1. Why do you want to teach French at Michaela?

2. Are you applying for a role in January, April or September 2020?

3. How would you fit in with our unique ethos? 

Suitable candidates will be interviewed promptly upon receipt of application. The closing date will be brought forward in the event that the post is filled. 

At Michaela teachers are paid using the teacher inner London pay scales. If you would like to discuss the position with one of our teachers, please email Head of French, Jane, at jbrierly@mcsbrent.co.uk. 

Michaela Community School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful candidates will need to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure via the DBS and/or provide police checks from other countries, where appropriate. Michaela Community School is an equal opportunities employer.