Lead Practitioner of English

Join us in providing outstanding teaching and learning experiences for our pupils. We are looking for a qualified, experienced teacher to join Harris Academy South Norwood as Lead Practitioner of English.

About Us

If you are looking for a diverse school with clear and effective behaviour policies and systems, a visible and supportive leadership team, useful but not onerous CPD, and frequent opportunities for promotion, then we are the school for you. We believe that our students need great outcomes to open doors that will help them make the best of their lives. Our students behave well, and so they achieve well. This is a product of our excellent behaviour systems. We have 6 non-teaching Heads of Year who support behaviour and welfare and run a fully centralised detention system. Exemplary behaviour can only be achieved through a highly visible Senior Leadership team, and they are constantly touring the Academy. CPD is bespoke, first and foremost in the subject and grounded in tried and tested methods of effective teaching such as modelling, questioning, literacy, practice and consolidation. We don't engage with the latest fads. We believe the best approach to workload and wellbeing is to run a highly effective school with gives people purpose and avoids unnecessary work. Our sizeable department teams mean that despite our excellent retention rates, opportunities for promotion are frequent and exciting. I really hope that you'll be joining our team. Our four values of endeavour, kindness, respect and responsibility are at the heart of everything we do.

Harris Academy South Norwood is an extremely popular 11-19 academy. We have 180 students in each year group, a size that enables us to know what each of our students need. We deliver a broad and challenging curriculum to all our students in a calm and well-ordered environment. We have high expectations of all members of the school community. This is reflected in our consistently high student performance at GCSE, progression to post 16 study at our sixth form and then on to some of the best universities in the country. Our sixth form is rated outstanding by Ofsted. Last year 188 of our year 11 students chose to remain with us for the sixth form.

Boasting one of the most unique school buildings in the country Harris Academy, Clocktower perfectly blends classic British architecture with modern contemporary design. With our main building built newly in 2007 HASN is a modern Academy that boasts open plan corridors and skylight panels across the main building. The classic Stanley building dating back to 1907 provides a charm and a history that compliments the new stylings of the main building and provides a reminder of the scholarly traditional values that a Harris Academy South Norwood education is built upon.

We are very fortunate to have excellent transport links to central London (some trains get to London Bridge in 11mins) and just 4 minutes on the train from East Croydon. The Clocktower campus is a 6 minute walk from Norwood Junction train station.

Main Areas of Responsibility

You will play a leading and highly visible role in the improvement of teaching and learning of the Faculty and academic success of all students, ensuring the highest standards of teaching, learning and achievement and leading in the monitoring, evaluation and review of standards and provision in the subject area.

The general expectations of this role are:

• To collaborate as a member of the Lead Practitioner Team in order to build and realise the shared vision of excellence and high standards for all students.
• To account for students' performance in line with Academy procedures.
• To provide the Governing Body with relevant and accurate information relating to the Faculty's performance and development.
• To support and participate in the work of the Harris Federation, including strand or subject groups as appropriate.
• To contribute actively towards the formulation of all Academy policies and procedures, ensuring their consistent implementation.
• To ensure high quality teaching and learning in the Faculty or across the Academy.
• To participate in duties at lunch, break, before, during and after school the Academy day.
• To ensure that the subject knowledge of staff in the Faculty is exemplary.
• To ensure that behaviour in the Faculty is exemplary.
• To ensure that Schemes of Learning and Independent Work books are of a high quality.

Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will:

• Hold QTS (or equivalent) and a relevant undergraduate degree, and, ideally, be able to show evidence of ongoing professional development
• Demonstrate outstanding teaching practice and excellent behaviour management
• Have experience of lesson observations and giving robust feedback
• Have experience of improvement planning and of implementing a range of strategies to raise student achievement, with evidence of success
• Be able to contribute to improving on the quality of learning and teaching and curriculum
• Have a proven track record of excellent results at KS3 and 4, and, ideally, experience of teaching to KS5
• Have experience of high quality pupil tracking and feedback practices
• Ideally, have experience of working with governors and of working in more than one school

Professional Development & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan including access to a virtual GP, electric car scheme, 26 days' annual leave (plus bank holidays) for staff who work across the full year, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.

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 young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.