Head of Year

We are excited to advertise a rare opportunity for a talented and inspirational Head of Year to join our team at Huish Episcopi Academy. Are you passionate about guiding students towards their full potential and committed to fostering their growth? Due to internal changes, we are seeking a dedicated individual who upholds the highest standards of student welfare support and is eager to mentor a motivated team.

At Huish Episcopi Academy, we are on an exciting journey, and the incoming Head of Year will play a pivotal role in shaping the academic, personal, social, and emotional development of our students. We recognise the importance of providing a supportive environment where students thrive, and colleagues are empowered to make a positive impact.

About us

Huish Episcopi Academy is a large, non-selective, mixed secondary school for pupils aged 11-18. The school is very much at the heart of the Somerset Levels, with a catchment area over 200 sq. miles and community partnership with 11 local primary schools. The school has always been conscious of the contrast between the smaller local primary schools and the bustling school environment of a large secondary, so transition is an important part of our approach.

At Huish, we offer the full national curriculum with opportunities for our pupils to engage in a broad range of additional activities in sports, music, and the creative arts. It is our aim to develop rounded individuals who are not only academically successful, but who also have opportunities to develop other key skills; such as leadership, teamwork, and communication, which will give them the edge when it comes to future challenges. The school has a comprehensive careers offer, and pupils receive useful career advice. Our sixth form provides pupils with aspirational courses that allows them to pursue university places or employment after school.

We are part of United Learning, a large, and growing, group of schools aiming to offer a life changing education to children and young people across England.

United Learning schools work as a team and achieve more by sharing than any single school could. The subject specialists, Group-wide intranet, own curriculum, and online learning portal all help us share knowledge and resource, helping to simplify work processes and manage workloads for an improved work-life balance.

As a Group, we can reward our staff better: with good career opportunities, better pay, benefits, and ultimately, the satisfaction of helping children to succeed. We invest in our staff wellbeing. Our academies each have at least eight INSET days per year (with three of those solely dedicated to planning), and an ongoing group-wide wellbeing programme. It's an ethos we call ‘the best in everyone’.

We are working hard to become a more diverse organisation – which is key to our commitment to bringing out the best in everyone. We welcome applications from everyone committed to this ethos and would particularly welcome applications from black and minority ethnic candidates, who are currently under-represented in the Group as a whole. We always appoint on merit. We are open to discussing flexible working options.

United Learning is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All positions are subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and shortlisted candidates will be subject to an online check.

Here at United Learning, we are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued and appreciated. Because we are a group, we can reward you better than any school could alone, and this includes your employee benefits. Here is some information about the benefits available to United Learning School Support Staff and Teaching Staff

What we can offer:

• An exceptional salary, up to 5% above the national average
• Excellent ongoing CPD, career development and promotion
• Potential for additional responsibility
• Part-time working considered.
• Disruption-free learning and a ‘warm-strict’ behaviour system
• Collaborative planning with centralised, shared units of work and resources
• A feedback policy focused on whole class feedback – no onerous marking policies.
• Up to 9 INSET days per year, dedicated to personal wellbeing, subject knowledge development and planning/resource development.
• An unrivalled professional progression model to enable great teachers to remain in the classroom via our Lead Practitioner route and/or progression routes to middle and senior leadership.
• An opportunity to work with the Trust’s subject advisor and be able to network with subject leaders across the whole trust.
• The opportunity to save money across hundreds of major retailers, through Perkbox
• A beautiful location in the heart of rural Somerset

About You

You will be:

• Be knowledgeable in strategies to support students with challenging behaviours.
• Be able to inspire, influence, challenge and motivate others, leading by example.
• Be able to motivate and inspire students to achieve their full potential.
• Have the belief that all children can make outstanding progress.
• Be able to confidently meet with parents to resolve issues both successfully and in line with academy policies.

We actively welcome visits and would be delighted to show you around our academy to fully appreciate our excellent learning environment.

Huish Episcopi Academy is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS check is required for all successful applicants.

Note – We reserve the right to interview and offer to a strong candidate prior to the closing date. It is strongly recommended that candidates submit their application as soon as possible.