Lead Practitioner in English

The Derby High School in Bury, Greater Manchester, is seeking to appoint a LEAD PRACTITIONER in English. This new role is an exciting opportunity for an exceptional teacher who is passionately committed to developing the quality of teaching and learning in English and literacy across the curriculum.

Lead Practitioner (English), The Derby High School, Bury, Greater Manchester (L6 – L10)

The Derby High School is the highest performing school in Bury, Greater Manchester and has sustained this position for a number of years. This year in English (both) 86% of students attained passes at Grade 4 and 68% passes at Grade 5. Our English progress score was +0.57. We are extremely proud of these results and delighted that our students are leaving us with the skills in English to support further studies and future employment. 

We are an over-subscribed 11-16 Co-Educational School situated in the heart of the town. Year on year our students make exceptional progress and our current Progress 8 measure stands at +0.30. We are an inclusive school serving a diverse student population who are a joy to be around. The leadership of the school at every level is a key strength and this has been recognised by Ofsted. We boast a talented staff with a commitment to delivering the highest standards and who are overwhelmingly proud to belong to the school. All who visit The Derby High School are impressed by the warm and welcoming environment that we work in.

You would be joining a strong English leadership team, with a Head of Department who is well-supported by a Second in English. In addition to a range of subject-specialist teaching staff, members of the wider English team include a fully-qualified school librarian, who provides excellent resources and encouragement for reading.

Our success at Key Stage 4 is underpinned by our Resilience Curriculum, which is designed to embed vital life skills within our students’ skillset from when they first arrive with us in Year 7. We work hard in the English Department to drive this whole school approach, with challenging lessons which encourage students to develop as resilient academics throughout their school career.

As an outward-facing school, we strive to collaborate with areas outside of the English Department. Examples of this include extensive work with the Arts teams to enrich student understanding of GCSE poetry through the creation of bespoke dance choreography.

We also pride ourselves on the broad range of unique opportunities we offer our students, including working with writers and artists, taking part in a wide range of competitions and special initiatives to promote and encourage reading. Literacy is a growing strength of our school and we invest heavily in ensuring that all students are given the opportunity to ‘close the gap’ throughout their time at The Derby High School. 

This post represents a tremendous opportunity for the right applicant. The Derby High School English team is already experiencing high levels of success and we are now looking for a motivated and creative outstanding practitioner to support our whole high school vision and further develop key areas of the English Department.

We believe that The Derby High School is a great place to work. This post offers you the opportunity to work in/with:

• A successful school with a strong will and determination to continue to improve 

• A school that has high expectations of all who work here

• A school that places teaching and learning at the heart of school improvement

• A school that works effectively with all stakeholders 

• A school that is driven by strong values, invests in its staff and students and has a high regard for their welfare 

• A motivated, hardworking and collaborative senior leadership team

• A strong middle leadership team who are highly professional and work well together 

• A supportive and cooperative teaching staff who are committed to their roles

• A caring school where you can make a real difference to the lives of young people

• Collaboration with other schools and organisations to share and develop practice in teaching and learning in English/Literacy

• Research on local and national English/Literacy projects 

We will encourage you to be innovative, creative and bold in your decision making and provide professional development that will support you in your future career plans.

In line with our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our students, appointment will be subject to a full DBS check and references. To apply for this post, please download and complete the application form and provide a letter of application and email to Mrs D Grundy, PA to the Headteacher at derby@bury.gov.uk 

Closing date: Tuesday 18 February 2020 (9.00 am)

Interviews: Week commencing Monday 24 February 2020