Head of Design Technology
Ark Pioneer Academy
Barnet
- Expired
- Salary:
- MPS £37,313 - £49,745 / UPS £52,221 - £56,157 plus TLR
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- 1st September 2025
- Apply by:
- 28 February 2025
Job overview
Role: Head of Design Technology
Start: 1st September 2025
Reports to: Assistant Principal
Salary: MPS £37,313 - £49,745 / UPS £52,221 - £56,157 plus TLR
What’s special about this role?
Our pupils love Design Technology and enjoy learning graphics, resistant materials and textiles across the year, and especially being challenged to think about how we can find solutions to key problems through clever design. Our GCSE pupils have made a fantastic start to Key Stage 4 and we opened our 6th Form in September 2024 which offers A Level. We need a leader with subject expertise to shape this. If you are passionate that pupils in every school should access a rich DT curriculum up to Key Stage 5, meaningful enrichment and opportunities to think beyond the curriculum - then this role is for you.
Who are we looking for?
Across school life, we embed high aspirations and a growth mindset in all of our children. We believe that every single child who joins us has the potential to be knowledgeable, articulate and successful. It’s important this resonates with all candidates. Equally important is subject expertise, which is critical to support strong curriculum planning and implementation.
Why will you love our school?
There are lots of reasons! We’re lucky to be based in a brand-new building with top class facilities. We serve a wonderfully diverse community - we are non-denominational, mixed gender and two fifths of our pupils receive pupil premium funding. We’re led by our values - Aim High, Have Integrity, Be Kind and Model Determination and our team truly unite behind our vision. Curriculum is incredibly important to us and we’ve planned backwards from university readiness to give our pupils the very best in every subject discipline. We timetable collaborative planning and love to engage in ‘productive struggle’. Every team member is supported with coaching and tailored professional development, whatever stage they are at in their career. Our extended school day (we finish at 4pm four days a week and earlier on Wednesday) allows us to offer a broad, rich curriculum and timetabled enrichment for every child - but we never have meetings after school. Our team say: ‘All staff are incredibly supportive and positive, and it is a great environment to work in’.
About Ark Pioneer Academy
- Ark Pioneer Academy
- Westcombe Drive, Barnet
- London
- EN5 2BE
- United Kingdom
Ark Pioneer Academy is a new-start non-selective secondary school in Barnet. We opened in September 2019 and will be at full capacity in 2026 with 1,200 pupils.
We believe that every child has the ability to be a knowledgeable, articulate, and successful individual. We are committed to realising every pupil's potential, enabling them to go on to the best universities or a career of their choice.
We have a fantastic team of staff, dedicated to achieving our ambitious vision for every child.
Why join Ark Pioneer?
- Learning at every stage - We are committed to providing high-quality professional learning throughout your career. The development of our staff is one of our top priorities, at every level and in every role. That’s why we offer twice the number of training days as standard.
- Collaborate beyond the school gates - Joining our school means becoming part of the Ark network, one of the UK's most successful school groups. You will have the opportunity to come together with your peers locally, nationally and sometimes even internationally, to share resources, learning and good practice.
- Effective organisation - You'll also be supported to focus on what you do best. We are always looking for ways to take away additional pressures, to give you more freedom to concentrate on improving education outcomes for young people.
- Take your career in your own direction - We are committed to offering you diverse career progression, whether that means aspiring to senior leadership or becoming an outstanding practitioner, allowing you to really carve out a successful career in education. We are dedicated to offering opportunities to support your career in our school or as part of our wider network.
Curriculum
At Ark Pioneer, our curriculum offer provides each pupil with a solid foundation for further study and preparation for university. Each subject leader has crafted a rigorous curriculum that promotes curiosity, develops a depth of understanding and includes a thorough base of content.
Ark Pioneer subject leaders have planned backwards from university to provide a rigorous curriculum that promotes curiosity and explores the big ideas underpinning each area of study. Each subject includes a thorough base of knowledge and develops a depth of understanding that supports future learning in that subject area.
Pupils at Ark Pioneer have a longer school day allowing them to study a wide range of subjects. More time for English and maths ensures that pupils develop literacy and numeracy skills to a very high level. We forensically track how pupils are doing in order to identify underperformance and plan appropriate support. In addition to regular assessment in lessons, pupils benefit from challenging cumulative tests in termly exam weeks, which test mastery of the content taught. Assessments are preceded by a whole school drive for revision, focussing on research driven revision skills. Pupils and teachers review and reflect on each assessment; identifying gaps and taking steps to address them, developing a growth mindset in each pupil.
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