Head of History Department

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to work at one of the highest performing schools in the country (Evening Standard). If you are passionate about the importance of History and want to work in a seriously ambitious and high performing school, this is the job for you. 

Ark Greenwich 

Ark Greenwich is a new, ambitious school model based on what we know excellent schools do. We have created a highly respectful and disciplined environment where our staff and students can fulfil their potential. Our aim is to become ‘the best school in London’ and we are close to achieving this because academic outcomes are first class and because we value and respect our staff.  

Joining the school team is a superb opportunity for an ambitious and motivated teacher who wants to make a lasting difference to the communities they serve. 

Ark Greenwich exists to empower young people, regardless of socio-economic background, to grow and be successful. This is an ambitious and forward-thinking school that encourages innovation and values its staff. We are proud of our highly respectful and disciplined community and of the outstanding academic outcomes achieved by our pupils. Expectations for all members of our community are unashamedly sky high. We work tirelessly to impact the lives of the young people we serve.  Students at our school are passionate about History and keen to develop their skills in this highly valued subject.

How is Ark Greenwich different?

1. We are part of the Ark family of schools and benefit accordingly from outstanding networking and career opportunities and first class CPD.

2. Our aim is to become the best school in London by:

• Facilitating an exceptional culture where academic outcomes are amongst the highest in the country – but achieving this with integrity by refusing to ‘game the system’ 
• Providing compulsory timetabled life-enriching opportunities beyond the curriculum for our pupils 
• Being renowned as a school that respects, values and develops its staff to be brilliant at what they do without burning them out 
• Making an impactful contribution to the broader educational and local community by sharing our innovative model and through our extended community scheme

3. Staff wellbeing is one of our main priorities. We provide breakfast for staff each morning and have a 6pm weekday and all weekend work related communication curfew to ensure our staff are able to maintain an effective work-life balance. Our systems and processes - including for communication, pupil marking and feedback and assessment - are efficient and highly organised and the approaches we take are led by research and what we know to work best within of our context. 

4. This is a small school model (600 pupils aged 11-16) because we believe that our close-knit community provides the optimum conditions for academic success and outstanding pastoral care because we know every child. 

5. Pupil’s behaviour for learning is renowned for being exceptional so our teachers can focus their efforts on the things that matter – planning and delivering exceptional lessons for our pupils. Senior leaders are quick to support staff but also to hold them to the very highest standards. 

6. Our curriculum is traditional and academic and we do not take shortcuts – we do not offer vocational courses or equivalencies such as Btecs, Vcerts or the ECDL. We only offer full GCSE courses. 

7. We put high-quality teaching at the heart of what we do. We have 75 mins of thoughtful staff training every week. Live coaching, co-planning and current best practice in the field of education is central to our approach – but we don’t do fads. 

8. We don’t grade individual lessons or ask for lesson plans but we do focus on progress over time and typicality by ensuring long and medium term plans are carefully designed and embedded across the curriculum. 

9. Our pupils enjoy a compulsory co-curricular program on a Wednesday afternoon much the same as in the private sector. This program includes a strong focus on community volunteering and the promotion of both inclusive and elite performance through a range of sporting, debating, public speaking, expressive and other activities. We facilitate 12 drop down days per academic year ensuring our pupils benefit from a range of life enriching experiences.

10. This is a strict no excuses, no mobile phone school. We sweat the small stuff every single day and standards are extremely high. 

If you are ready to add further value to our highly performing History department and to work alongside a brilliant school leadership team, then you will find this job extremely rewarding. Alignment with the schools vision, values and approach to education is essential. 

The Role and the Department 

As Head of the History department, you will lead, develop and manage the effective delivery of an outstanding curriculum, which enables the highest level of student progress and attainment. You will be part of the professional community of Middle Leadership and promote outstanding teaching and learning and a strong school culture within a nurturing and academically rigorous environment.  

History is highly valued and taught throughout the curriculum each week from Year 7-9. In Year 9 pupils will select their GCSE option subjects and History is a popular choice. Our first class History classrooms which afford beautiful views across London offer the ideal environment for our GCSE History students to thrive and fulfil their potential. Currently approximately 60% of students select GCSE History as an option subject at GCSE level. 

The department specific Progress 8 score has been +0.5 for the last two years with over 40% of students going on to achieve the top grade 7-9 category.         

About Ark Schools

Ark is a network of high-achieving, non-selective schools and one of the country’s top-performing academy groups. We run 38 academies in London, Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth educating more than 26,000 pupils. 83% of Ark schools are now rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted. Our aim is to create outstanding schools that give every pupil, regardless of their background, the opportunity to go to university or pursue the career of their choice.

To find out more about Ark Greenwich, please visit our website via www.arkgreenwichfreeschool.org  

To apply please follow the below link to our recruitment portal: https://arkcareers.engageats.co.uk/ApplicationForm 

Closing date: 09:00 Friday 26th April, 2019. Interviews will take place on Thursday 2nd May. The school reserves the right to close this advert early should the right candidate be found. Interviews may take place before the advertised closing date. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early for this role.  Please note some candidates may not be taken through to the afternoon of the interview day.     

Ark value diversity and are committed to safeguarding and promoting child welfare. The successful candidate will be subject to DBS and any other relevant employment checks.