Lead Practitioner - Science

We know that exceptional Science practitioners are in high demand which is why we are offering a recruitment and retention bonus of £2,000 for the right candidate (£1,000 payable upon joining, and £1,000 payable after 1 year's service).​​​​​​​

We are looking for a Lead Practitioner - Science for September 2023, and warmly welcome applications from experienced teachers who are passionate about science and are dedicated to enabling students to make excellent progress.

This is a fantastic role which will enable you to develop your leadership skills by working both within the science department and across the academy to raise standards in teaching and learning and hence the achievement of all students. You will become part of a well established, highly collaborative and successful team as we are confident that our teaching and support teams, our facilities and most importantly our students will inspire you.

Through the consistent modelling of high quality teaching and learning, and coaching of colleagues, you will have a direct impact in developing the science department to make it even better and grow our talented science team to secure the very best outcomes for students at our academy.

The ideal candidate will be an expert teacher of science who is familiar with evidence informed teaching practices and likely to have had departmental leadership experience.

For our successful candidate, being a member of staff at Mascalls Academy and the wider Trust means you’ll receive access to a great range of employment benefits from day one. ​​​​​​​Click here to view the current benefits package, and be mindful that the list is always growing.

Science at Mascalls Academy: We have designed our curriculum using the KS3 National Curriculum and it is delivered under the framework of the IB Middle Years programme. We have also referenced the KS2 Programmes of Study in our initial planning. Students should have access to KS5 Science if they have a keen interest and passion for Science at Mascalls. To facilitate this, foundation knowledge in KS3 allows students to enter the GCSE curriculum with the ability to master the skills required for Post-16 study. Even those who don’t proceed to Post -16 should still find a supportive, rich and diverse curriculum that focuses on the relevant world around them.

Curriculum development has been underpinned by an awareness of the national curriculum and the transparency of practitioners across all Key Stages identifying both positive and negative trends and modifying the curriculum to mitigate this. Subject experts are now in place with our most able students. In fact most students at Mascalls will now experience a Hybrid model of Science teaching (some will still have a single ’Science’ teacher – where this is deemed more appropriate).

The basics of interleaving occur in KS3 but become more overt in KS4. Our KS3 Syllabus uses the MYIB to interleave skills across the subject curriculum. By KS4 students in Science are focused with deliberate independent work and repetition and application based assessment that interleaves new knowledge with previously learned skills. The focus on repetition is to ensure that independent work is appropriately recognised of its value – we want to ensure a large and successful cohort continues into Post-16 Sciences.​​​​​​​

Working at Mascalls Academy: Mascalls Academy is a secondary school at the heart of the community and our small school model ensures that each and every student gets the personal support and challenge they need to reach their full potential. The academy is divided into four colleges – Shackleton, Earhart, Luther King and Marie Curie Sixth Form College each having their own personality and range of specialisms, allowing them to be unique.

Mascalls Academy is a high achieving institution. Our most recent Ofsted inspection notes “ambitious leadership has established an ethos where staff are committed to driving standards up”, that Mascalls is a “happy place to be” and that “staff feel valued”. Our judgement that we are a ‘Good’ school with ‘Outstanding’ leadership and behaviour is accurate. It is our vision to become ‘Outstanding’ in every category.

Mascalls Academy is a dynamic and exciting place to work and the fantastic leadership team are committed to making it great for people at all stages in their careers. Our building and facilities are a mix of designs with two new buildings being modern, light and airy giving the academy a unique and special character.

Being part of Leigh Academies Trust: As of 1st September 2022, our Trust comprises 30 geographically organised academies (14 secondaries, 14 primaries and 2 special) educating 20,000 students, and employing 3,000 talented staff. The Trust is establishing four ‘clusters’ of academies: North Kent; Central Kent; South East London; Medway. In addition, the Trust is responsible for one of the region’s biggest initial teaching training organisations, a large teaching school hub and is an accredited apprenticeship provider. Our future plans are found in our Vision 2030 document available on our website.​​​​​​​

As part of Leigh Academies Trust, you will have ample opportunity to collaborate with your peers both within the academy and across the whole Trust. This is an important part of our vision as we know through experience that we perform better when we work together. You are supported to undertake regular self-development to continue your professional development and hopefully progress further within the organisation.

Click here to view the benefits available to all LAT employees from day one. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Our commitment to safeguarding: Leigh Academies Trust and all of our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair, robust and consistent recruitment process across all academies and business units which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates - you can read more about this in our Recruitment Guidance. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.

Our commitment to equality and diversity: As a Trust, we are passionate about diversity and recognise that as individuals, we all bring something unique to the role regardless of any protected characteristics which is why we treat all of our people equally, without compromise. We are committed to providing equality and fairness throughout our recruitment and employment practices and not discriminating on any grounds.