Head of Chemistry

We are looking for an enthusiastic and dynamic candidate with relevant experience to lead our Chemistry Department. The successful candidate will balance a determined work ethic and strong academic rigour, with good humour, teamwork and positivity. All applicants should be outstanding Teachers, but also possess the wider interests and passions that will inspire students outside of the standard curriculum.

Birkenhead School, awarded the Sunday Times Independent Secondary School of the Year in the North West for 2025, was founded in 1860. It is an HMC independent day school providing education for boys and girls drawn from the whole of the Wirral, Liverpool and as far afield as Chester and North Wales. 

Situated in the leafy suburb of Oxton, the School enjoys excellent facilities. The main campus has a ‘village green’ atmosphere, with classrooms and laboratories looking out over the cricket square. Recent capital developments have included a new landscaped playground and outdoor classroom area.

The School comprises Nursery and Pre-Prep (Early Years), Prep and Seniors and integrates their objectives and activities within a ‘One School’ ethos. A key feature of the School is its strength of community, which runs through the student, staff and parental bodies. The School is embedded within the wider Wirral community and has strong links with local businesses and charities. The School aims to inspire students both inside and outside the classroom, knowing each individual and providing them with outstanding opportunities to find their niche.

A dedicated, talented and collegiate staff body is required to achieve this excellence and sense of community. The School’s informal motto is Respect, Responsibility and Resilience, to which the School has recently added Inclusivity, Compassion, Integrity, Humility and Courage as defined School values. Birkenhead School recruits on attitude as much as the quality of an individual’s qualifications on paper, an approach that has played a considerable role in the winning of the Sunday Times award – in short, staff go above and beyond.

The Department

The department consists of three staff who teach Chemistry as a separate subject from Year 9 upwards and contribute to the delivery of science in Years 7 and 8. At GCSE, around half of the students are entered for the AQA GCSE separate sciences (Higher Tier) and the rest take the GCSE Combined Science (either Higher or Foundation Tiers). We follow the AQA specification at A Level.

 Head of Department Responsibilities

• Lead, manage and develop the department to ensure it achieves the highest possible standards of excellence in all activities, including personal organisation and administration.
• Be accountable for student progress and development within the subject area, ensuring the provision of an appropriately broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated curriculum.
• Analyse and evaluate performance data and examination results, communicating with the SLT and department members.
• Lead the team in all aspects of people management, including absence, learning and development, health, safety and wellbeing. Hold regular performance conversations/professional review with each member of the department, feeding into the School review process.
• Encourage and make provision for the professional development of the team.
• Participate in the recruitment of new staff, ensuring they are properly inducted into the department.
• Consult with colleagues to formulate aims, objectives and strategic plans for the Department which have coherence and relevance to the needs of students and to the aims, objectives and strategic plans of the School, ensuring all members of the team are familiar with its aims and objectives.
• Allocate teaching within the department within the constraints laid down, delegating responsibilities to teachers within the department.
• Where appropriate, ensure that Health and Safety policies and practices, including risk assessments, are in line with national requirements and are updated where necessary, including liaising with the School’s Health and Safety Officer.
• Propose, negotiate and administer the departmental budget, including any ICT requests.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have a secure knowledge and understanding of own subject/curriculum area including current developments in teaching and learning.
• Have QTS/PGCE qualification.
• Have prior teaching experience at Key Stages 3, 4, and 5.
• Be an excellent classroom practitioner with a genuine passion for Chemistry, with evidence of consistently high standards of achievement.
• Possess enthusiasm, confidence and a diligent ‘can-do’ mindset alongside the gravitas to be an outstanding ambassador for the School.
• Develop and maintain good relationships with students and colleagues.
• Have a sound understanding and awareness of Safeguarding procedures.
• Develop creative and innovative teaching techniques.
• Be IT literate to support teaching and learning.
• Inspire staff and students through action.

The full list of responsibilities can be found on the Information for Candidates, available on the School website under Employment Opportunities.

We will value and support your contribution to School life and in return provide you with excellent rewards; 

• Working with fantastic young students
• Working as part of a committed team
• Term time is 34 weeks
• Membership of a Defined Contribution Pension Scheme
• Discount on School Fees for permanent members of staff
• Free use of the fully equipped on-site gym
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme
• Support for your continuous professional development
• Lunch provided during term time
• Electric Car charging points on site

A letter of application indicating skills and experience, together with a completed application form, including the names and email addresses of at least two referees, should be sent for the attention of the Headmaster via Cheryl Wallace (Personnel and Compliance Manager).

Candidates are welcome to contact the Head of Middle School, Mr Rupert Rule, with any questions relating to the role.

To meet our safeguarding obligations, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check is undertaken as part of the recruitment process for all new staff. As Birkenhead School is an educational provider, it is permitted to ask whether an applicant has any convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings which would not be filtered in line with current guidance, as defined by The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (2013 and 2020). It is a criminal offence for an individual who is barred from working with children to apply for a role which is classed as regulated activity. 

The closing date for applications: 9.00am on Monday 12th May 2025