Head of English

Job Description

Job Title Head of English

Salary MPS (including Fringe allowance) + TLR (£9,935)

Hours of work Full time  

Overall Job Purpose:

To achieve excellent outcomes for our students through the delivery of inspirational teaching strategies.  

All our teachers are leaders of learning and are committed to delivering the school’s vision and achieving the high ambitions for the school’s future. Their proactive support leads to sustained improvements and raised standards across the school, as members of both departments and tutor teams.  They are accountable for specific identified and agreed operational functions within the teams to which they belong.

Main duties:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge all pupils

• Establish a safe and stimulating environment for pupils, rooted in mutual respect.

• Set goals that stretch and challenge students to achieve their full potential.

• Demonstrate consistently the positive attitudes, values and behaviour which are expected of all our students.

Promote good progress and outcomes for all pupils

• Promote high standards of attainment, progress and outcomes for all students.

• Plan differentiated teaching to build on students’’ capabilities and prior knowledge.

• Guide students to reflect on the progress they have made and their emerging needs and adapt classroom practice if necessary.

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how students learn and how this impacts on teaching.

• Encourage students to take a responsible and conscientious attitude to their own work and study.

Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge

• Have a secure knowledge of the relevant subject(s) and curriculum areas, foster and maintain students’ interests in these subjects.

• Demonstrate an understanding of and take responsibility for, promoting high standards of literacy, numeracy and oracy including the correct use of English.

Provide strong departmental leadership

• Ensure high standards of Teaching and Learning across the department

• Set a challenging and rigorous curriculum

• Create a positive Learning Environment across the department 

• Identify and target students to ensure no student underperforms

• Support colleagues with training and development

• Hold members of the team to account with their classes and student outcomes

Plan and deliver lessons

• Have high aspirations for all students and challenge them to deepen their Knowledge and Understanding of the subject.

• Set lessons which progress students rapidly to aspirational learning outcomes. 

• Set and assess homework and plan other out-of-class activities to consolidate and extend the knowledge and understanding students have acquired.

• Reflect systematically on the effectiveness of lessons and approaches to teaching.

• Contribute to the design and provision of an engaging curriculum.

Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all students

• Use a variety of approaches and strategies to support students’ learning.

• Have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit students’ ability to learn, and implement strategies to overcome these.

• Demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual development of children, and know how to adapt teaching and learning to support students’ education at different stages of development.

• Have a clear understanding of the needs of all students, including those with special educational needs; those of high ability; those with English as an additional language; those with disabilities; and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

Make accurate and productive use of assessment

• Make accurate and productive use of assessment in line with the expectations of the academy.

• Make effective use of a range of assessment for learning techniques to measure progress in lessons.

• Know and understand how to assess the relevant subject and curriculum areas, including statutory assessment requirements.

• Make use of formative and summative assessment to secure students’ progress.

• Use relevant data to monitor progress, set targets and plan subsequent lessons.

• Give students regular feedback, both orally and through accurate marking, and encourage pupils to respond to the feedback.

Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment

• Have clear rules and routines for behaviour in classrooms, and take responsibility for promoting good and courteous behaviour in both in classrooms and around the academy, in accordance with the academy’s behaviour policy.

• Have high expectations of behaviour, and establish a framework for discipline with a range of strategies, using praise, sanctions and rewards consistently and fairly.

• Manage classes effectively, using approaches which are appropriate to students’ needs in order to involve and motivate them.

• Maintain good relationships with students, exercise appropriate authority and act decisively when necessary.

Fulfil wider professional responsibilities 

• Develop effective professional relationships with colleagues, knowing how and when to draw on advice and specialist support.

• Take responsibility for improving performance through appropriate professional development, responding to advice and feedback from colleagues.

• Communicate effectively with parents, carers and external agencies with regard to students’ achievements and well-being.

Whilst every effort has been made to explain the main duties and responsibilities of the post, the list of tasks is not exhaustive. Employees will be expected to comply with any reasonable request from a manager to undertake work of a similar level that is not specified in this job description