Head of EAL

1 General Role Description:

The Head of EAL has responsibility for the development and monitoring of the teaching of English as an Additional Language across the school. They are directly responsible in this aspect of the role to the Second Master.

As such, the Head of EAL has responsibility for creating courses which cater to the needs of EAL students within the school, managing departmental resources and budget as well as ensuring the quality of teaching and assessment by other teachers in the department.

There will be a teaching responsibility for students ranging from years 2 to 13, some of which will be for exam classes – IGCSE English as a Second Language, IELTS, SATS and TOEFL. Other teaching will involve providing EAL students with general English and academic training and supporting their English language acquisition through other subjects. This may take the form of in-class support or it may involve adapting courses in other subjects through Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approaches to the needs of the EAL students concerned.

The role will involve liaising with admissions, marking entrance papers and offering advice as to whether a student’s level of English is sufficient to cope within the school and where he/she should be placed on entry. The Head of EAL needs to keep thorough records of progress made by EAL students against the Wellington Proficiency in English scale and be able to judge when they are ready to access mainstream classes.

The Head of EAL is also responsible for improving the quality of teaching to EAL students throughout the school and therefore needs to ensure all teaching staff receive adequate training and advice with regards to enabling EAL students to make the best progress possible within their subject and in English as an additional language.

As an intervention subject EAL needs are often closely linked to other Learning Support needs. It is expected that the Head of EAL will have an understanding of a range of Learning Support needs, will be up-to-date with best practice and will work closely with teachers across different departments to enable students to function to the best of their ability within the school. In addition, the Head of EAL will lead on the Language Acquisition plan process and feed back to the literacy committee.

2 Knowledge, Experience and Profile

Required Qualifications / Skills:

a) A relevant degree and professional teaching qualification is essential.

b) Native speaking level of fluency in written and spoken English.

c) Knowledge of CEFR, (I)GCSE level, IELTS and TOEFL curricula, their delivery and assessment.

d) Ability to maintain excellent relationships with other members of staff as well as communicate effectively and sensitively with parents across language and cultural boundaries.

e) Commitment to put the wellbeing of the student at the heart of what they do and can demonstrate how they will support the development of the schools eight attributes program.

f) Experience of using online teaching resources is an advantage.

g) Honesty, integrity, compassion, and a good sense of humour

h) Strong organisational, self-management and problem-solving skills