Head of Geography (Part Time)

The Role

Hilden Grange are looking to recruit a passionate, dedicated, and enthusiastic part time Head of Geography from September 2023. This role is for 3 days per week.

The successful candidate will be an experienced teacher with excellent subject specialism practice skills and a passion for Geography. You must have a teaching qualification and a good graduate degree in Geography or specialism in Geography.

You will be responsible for teaching Geography across Key Stages 2 and 3. Pupils are prepared for entrance exams to various independent schools and ideally the successful candidate will have experience of working in the sector and have knowledge of the public-school examination systems and grammar school entry.

The School

Hilden Grange School is an independent preparatory school which educates pupils from 3-13 years. It was founded in 1929 and is now part of the Alpha Plus Group, the Gold Standard in educational provision. The school has access to more than twenty acres of attractive grounds, on the northern fringe of Tonbridge, Kent.

The Group

The Alpha Plus Group was founded in 1931 and currently comprises independent nurseries, schools, and colleges, which have developed a longstanding reputation for delivering premium quality education. Alpha Plus Group creates centres of educational excellence. Each centre retains its own identity, with the Heads and Principals afforded significant management authority, but with the benefits of financial security, camaraderie, and opportunities for sharing best practice by belonging to one of the country's leading educational groups.

Job Description 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To plan and teach a programme of study preparing pupils for entrance examinations to numerous independent schools in addition to Key Stage 2/3 Geography in accordance with best practice
• To promote and encourage pupils’ interest in and enjoyment of Geography at all levels
• To maintain and update the Departmental Handbook including programmes of study, schemes of work and department policies to ensure that all departments’ policies are known and adhered to
• To carry out an annual Departmental Evaluation
• To organise departmental meetings on a regular basis and attend full staff meetings, staff training sessions and parents’ evenings
• To ensure that all members of the department have access to high quality, relevant INSET and to monitor staff development within the department
• To be responsible for the departmental budget and arrange for the purchase of textbooks and other resources
• To arrange and oversee Geography fieldtrips as necessary
• To liaise with parents and advise and support the school regarding parental concerns where appropriate
• To attend Alpha Plus forums as necessary
• To take part in Peer Collaboration within and across departments
• To assist with the monitoring and tracking of progress of pupils within the department, and to highlight any academic concerns for pupils to the Assistant Head Academic and the SENDCo as appropriate.
• To attend Pupil Progress Meetings
• To work with the assessment procedures within the department and be familiar with the standardised tests used by the school.
• To identify Able pupils and encourage their development via differentiation in line with our Challenge for All policy.
• To carry out regular staff duties on a rota basis
• To play a full and active role in the pastoral, extra-curricular and social activities of the school

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Qualifications –

• Good graduate degree in Geography
• Teacher qualification together with Qualified Teacher Status

Experience –

• Experience of teaching Geography to Common Entrance and Public-School Scholarship levels as well as Key Stage 2/3
• Experience of working in the independent sector would be beneficial

Skills –

• Use an appropriate range of teaching and learning strategies
• A confident and competence user of IT
• Good organisational skills
• Good interpersonal skills/effective communicator

Knowledge –

• Subject knowledge sufficient to challenge able students and achieve high outcomes

Personal competencies & Qualities -

• A strong commitment to effective learning and teaching
• Determination to ensure that every pupil fulfils their potential at whatever level
• To be prepared to enter fully and whole-heartedly into the life of the school
• Evidence of being a strong team member
• Enthusiasm and a positive outlook
• Positive attitude towards professional development and their own learning
• To understand the importance of providing equal opportunities regarding the religious persuasion, racial origins, gender, disabilities, cultural or linguistic background of all children

APG is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and as an employee of APG you are expected to share this commitment. The protection of our students’ welfare is the responsibility of all staff within APG Schools and individuals are expected to conduct themselves in a way that reflects the principles of our organisation.

We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

Please click the link below for further information on employing Ex-Offenders:

Policy on employment of ex-offenders.pdf (alphaplusgroup.co.uk)

The successful applicant will be subject to an enhanced disclosure via the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) and will have DBS clearance. This check will be carried out alongside other relevant pre-employment checks. References will be taken up and carefully checked.

Application Process

Please apply in confidence by completing the online application form and equal opportunities monitoring form found on the Alpha Plus Group careers page.

Please note that we will not be offering tours of the school prior to interview, a tour will form part of the interview process. Our website provides a lot of information about us and hopefully will give you a feel of life at Hilden Grange.

 Closing date for applications is 24th April 2023 with interviews scheduled for the week commencing 8th May 2023.

We reserve the right to close the advert early, if a suitable candidate is appointed and therefore, we encourage early application.