Head of English Faculty

Full time, permanent position 

Start date: September 2023

Salary: Outer London Main / Upper Pay Range plus TLR 1/2: £11,136pa or Leadership Pay Range

We are looking for a well qualified and inspiring Head of English to lead and grow this dynamic and innovative faculty, which embraces a breadth of styles and approaches in their Learning and Teaching. You will lead a team of ten teachers with dedicated classrooms and office space. Ideally you would need to be able to teach through to A level and for the right candidate, there is also the potential to take on a whole school leadership responsibility, which would be reflected in the salary.

We have high aspirations for all our students and they achieve impressive outcomes in both English Language and Literature at every level, through to Key Stage 5. The faculty has a team of subject specialists and experts, who are always happy to share their passion and expertise with the students and with each other. The team works collaboratively, developing wonderful teaching resources, masterclasses, themed weeks (such as Gothic Week and Shakespeare Week) and enrichment opportunities, igniting that spark of curiosity that all learners need to flourish.

Hollyfield is a beautiful school with a thriving sixth form, in the Surbiton area of Outer London. Excellent transport links enable our staff and young people to take full advantage of the wealth of opportunities that London provides. We are an ambitious school that puts student achievement and wellbeing at its heart.

 We are part of the Every Child, Every Day Multi Academy Trust and we have strong relationships with our Trust partners. In April 2020 we were judged by Ofsted to be ‘good’: ‘School leaders are keen to ensure all pupils achieve their best. Pupils respond well to leaders’ high expectations. There is a distinct sense of community in the school. Pupils grow in confidence and learn to work together well as a result.’ However, we aspire to be an outstanding school, and our governing body, teaching and non-teaching staff are united in working towards delivering the best possible academic and pastoral outcomes for our students.

This post is a fantastic opportunity for an individual who is looking to take the next step in their career. There is scope within the faculty to implement new ideas and facilitate effective change. Our new Head of English will be well supported, nurtured and offered every opportunity to develop by our strong and effective leadership team.  Additionally, our middle leaders are able to take advantage of CPD opportunities within the school and Trust, including secondments to SLT and completion of NPQML/SL courses.

The successful candidate will meet the following essential criteria:

● QTS;

● a broad base of subject knowledge;

● the ability to teach across Key Stages 3, 4 and 5;

● a track record of success in middle leadership;

● a clear vision for a knowledge-rich curriculum;

● a clear understanding of successful classroom practice and evidence based teaching;

● employs a range of teaching and learning strategies;

● the ability to work effectively as part of a curriculum team;

● the ability to maintain good classroom behaviour;

● effective interpersonal skills;

● able to demonstrate suitability to work with children and young people.

This role is ideal for an individual who is committed to helping our students achieve their very best. We want the best people for our roles, so while this is primarily a full time post, we recognise that sometimes those best suited to roles on offer aren’t available full time. Please talk to us about the flexibility you may need.

For further details about our school visit our website. For an informal chat about the post please contact The Headteachers’ PA, Mrs Louise Sutton lsutton@hollyfield.kingston.sch.uk who will arrange this with the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher. We would also be happy to arrange a tour of the school for interested applicants, though this wouldn’t disadvantage those unable to attend.

We would encourage early applications as we reserve the right to appoint before the closing date, should a suitable candidate be found.

The Governing and Trust Bodies are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our children and expect all staff to share this commitment. Any offer of employment will be subject to receipt of a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check. The schools within the Trust are committed to all aspects of personal development, are inclusive and seek to ensure every student achieves to the best of their ability. As part of our safer recruitment we will require two references. One of these should be the Headteacher at your present or last school. The other should be someone else from teaching.