Head of Social Science (Psychology/Sociology)

Harris Academy Ockendon is looking to appoint an experienced, qualified Teacher to join its team of specialists as Head of Social Sciences, leading Psychology and Sociology.

Your opportunity

You will lead on Teaching and Learning of Social Sciences across the whole academy, leading by example, teaching outstanding lessons but working with colleagues to improve their practice at every stage of development in the classroom. The successful candidate will join a team to develop whole academy policy for teaching and learning, implementing with impact, including delivering Career Professional Development (CPD) in the academy. 

We can offer you the opportunity to advance your career within a supportive academy environment. You will be part of a Federation established in developing practitioners and nurturing excellent future leaders, with unrivalled opportunities for progression; whatever your aspirations as a teacher, middle or senior leader, our Teaching School Alliance provides a range of bespoke courses and qualifications, including our Aspiring Leaders NPQML and NPQSL programmes to help you achieve your ambitions more quickly. 

What we are looking for

We look for talented individuals who want to be a part of transforming education in London, and helping create exceptional places of learning.

You must hold QTS (or equivalent) and a relevant undergraduate degree to be considered for this post.

Please download the job pack for a full job description and person specification.

Who are we?

We are an 11-18 academy with a thriving Sixth Form and state-of-the-art building. It is a school where we are as passionate about developing our staff as we are about developing our students.

Harris Academy Ockendon is a school that aims to become the most successful school in Essex, providing all our students with a first-class education and amazing life experiences. This reflects our personal outlook on life and on education. We only get one life and we should all use it to make a real difference in the world, to enjoy being the best version of ourselves and to be the best we can possibly be.

Our role here is to help students and staff dream bigger than they ever thought possible, and to make that dream come true through our culture of ambition, drive and integrity which beats at the heart of our school.

Harris Academy Ockendon is new to the Federation and provides a fantastic opportunity for an experienced member of staff to hone their leadership craft and be part of a remarkable story. The building and facilities are fantastic, and the staff are really on board and behind the vision of the school.

The Executive Principal is George McMillan, who led the transformation of Harris Academy Greenwich. One of their mantras is “zero burnout, ever.”

As an executive coach, Mr McMillan works with teams both inside and outside the Federation, helping them to become more resilient, sustainable and highly effective. He believes that students should feel inspired at school and that teachers should be happy and highly motivated at work.

What are we passionate about?

“I have the great privilege of not only seeing young people grow and flourish, but providing opportunities for staff to step into their greatness in an environment that feels really safe and rewarding. We will make Harris Ockendon a brilliant place to work and learn – naturally we are all passionately student focused and we touch lives every day, but that shouldn’t come at the sacrifice of staff. I believe you can have it all in a school and experience tells me that happy teachers make great teachers so we work hard on that. We don’t grade lessons, we don’t create fear in the workplace and we certainly don’t burn out our staff. Indeed, we are incredibly mindful of our ‘life/work balance’ which I hope will be refreshing to hear for staff in other schools who feel constantly bashed and ground down by relentless pressure from above. What we aim to do is engage, motivate, energise. Teaching should be the best job in the world. My job is to make that feel really true.” George McMillan, Principal

Forget what you’ve heard about big, bad Federations. This is a school that really tries to keep staff morale high, that gives you a sense of purpose, a sense of autonomy, a sense of trust and continual support and challenge to achieve mastery.

Next Steps

Please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. You will need this when completing your online application.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact us via e-mail, or call to arrange a conversation.

Our Benefits Package

In addition to the opportunities for career progression, training and development, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package.

Find out more about Our Benefits

Being a part of the Harris Federation

We are recognised as the top performing large multi-academy trust in England for primary and secondary education. Closing the gap between young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers has always been a core mission of Harris. Holding a reputation for bringing transformative approaches to education, we hold a unrivalled track record in achieving success through rapid school improvement.

Our people are at the heart of this success. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of training programmes available at every stage of your career.

We look for talented individuals who share our vision for creating exceptional places of learning, and are committed to ensuring that every child in London has access to the best possible education.

Learn more About Harris and our Vision and Values

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants.

Read our Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders

Diversity and Equality

We are committed to equality and to valuing diversity as an employer and a provider of education.

Read our Diversity and Equality Notice