Head of History

St. Mary Magdalene is a popular and successful school with two school campuses; a primary site in Woolwich and a brand-new state of the art all through site on the Greenwich Peninsula. It leads a federation with a primary school in Greenwich (SE10), Christ Church – the Koinonia Federation.

St Mary Magdalene’s secondary phase opened in September 2016 and provides a total of 900 places for students aged 11-16. It offers a sixth form provision with up to 300 places for students aged 16-18.

From September 2022 we are looking to appoint an inspirational History Subject Lead with the ability to teach History at KS3, 4 and 5 Level. The Koinonia Federation serves a diverse community in South-East London. Our students are from a truly comprehensive range of socio-economic, racial, religious and gender backgrounds. We strive to be a community where difference is respected, valued and demonstrated in daily life through our core Christian values of Faith, Fellowship and Family. As an inclusive and diverse community, we value and actively encourage applications from staff from sectors of society that are currently under-represented in the education sector.

The History Department is seeking to appoint a passionate and dedicated leader who shares our commitment to educational excellence and social inclusion. The History Department prides itself on its challenging, inclusive and diverse history curriculum, through which all students discover the history of diverse civilisations from the Mughal Empire, to the Kingdom of Mapungubwe and Native American resistance. 

We are a Christian Federation at the heart of our local community. We teach our students to be curious, creative, courageous and caring. They will leave us fully able to participate in our democratic society and prepared to meet the challenges and to harvest the opportunities of life in the 21st century.

We are committed to finding teachers with the energy, enthusiasm and expertise to inspire our students and enliven our community. We offer a dynamic professional learning environment, where teachers are given ongoing opportunities to develop their practice. We have a clear commitment to our colleagues’ wellbeing as the only sustainable foundation for success. As a new and growing school, we also offer excellent prospects for career growth. 

The successful candidate will; 

• Be an exceptional teacher of History. 
• Have the determination and adaptability needed to be part of a relatively new secondary phase. 
• Be determined to help teach a diverse history curriculum.  
• Lead in the creation and delivery of enquiry-based schemes of work. 
• Continue to build links with external agencies such as local museums. 
• Lead on both domestic and international trips. 
• Have high expectations of other staff and all students within their subject area.  
• Inspire and motivate students and staff to develop in a well-disciplined and harmonious environment. 
• Enable all to achieve their potential during their time at the school, ensuring that they leave school as mature, rounded, resilient individuals, ready to take their places as active citizens in the wider world. 
• Be committed to the delivery of the highest standard of teaching and learning across the school, which includes the professional development of our staff. 
• Keep up-to-date with educational research. 
• Be highly flexible, adaptable and above all collaborative as these are all key requirements when working in such a dynamic school. 

We reserve the right to close this listing early if a large number of favourable applications are received. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited in for a lesson observation and interview at our Greenwich Peninsula Campus, SE10.

Our £65m building is situated on the Greenwich Peninsula, beside the O2, offering excellent public transport links via the Jubilee Line to North Greenwich and various bus routes. 

Please note there is limited staff parking at the school - please consider this before submitting your application.

As this role will involve contact with children we will take up at least two references before interview asking about your suitability to work with children. Any job offer will be conditional on you having a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service Criminal Records Check and Barred List Check, having the legal right to work in the UK and having satisfactory overseas criminal records checks if deemed necessary.

The amendments to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (2013 and 2020) provides that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain convictions and cautions are considered 'protected'. This means that they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, they cannot be taken into account. 

Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found of the Ministry of Justice website.