Lead Practitioner - Science

This is an exciting opportunity to join one of the top schools for progress in the country.

We are a high performing school and have a relentless focus on high standards in all that we do. We work together to dismantle any barriers to learning and achievement and have a total belief that every student can be successful regardless of their starting point.

We ensure that our classrooms are disruption-free so our teachers can focus on the main thing – teaching and learning. We have a strict discipline policy, and the senior team run daily centralised detentions so that consequences are immediate and teacher time is protected.

Paddington Academy is a mixed Academy for 1,200 students aged 11-18. The Academy was judged to be outstanding by OFSTED in 2011 and was described by the Education Minister as a ‘jewel in the crown of state education’.

Our thriving and oversubscribed academy also has a large Sixth Form with over 300 students, and we have consistently been in the top 10 schools for student progress for the last six years.

United Learning is 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, and 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.

Job details

Contractual hours

37.5

Basis

Full Time

Job category/type

Science

Date posted

12/02/2024

Job reference

REQ000664

Job description

Do you want to be part of a transformational team at one of the top schools in the country for student progress? 

We are a high performing school and have a relentless focus on high standards in all that we do. We have a total belief that every student can be successful regardless of their starting point and we have a strong culture of excellence to achieve this.  Students make exceptional progress during their time at Paddington, and we are consistently in the top 1% of schools in the country for student progress. 

We ensure that our classrooms are disruption-free so our teachers can focus on the main thing – teaching and learning.  We have effective behaviour systems in place which means that behaviour is well-managed and teacher time is protected. We are renowned for the positive environment and strong relationships between staff and students. We like to keep messages and systems simple and aim to reduce workload by doing so.

Paddington Academy is a mixed Academy for 1,200 students aged 11-18. The Academy was recently judged to be outstanding by OFSTED in March 2023 maintaining its outstanding judgement from 2011. Paddington has been described by the Education Minister as a ‘jewel in the crown of state education’. Our thriving and oversubscribed Academy also has a large Sixth Form with over 300 students. Students excel in our Sixth Form and achieve exceptional outcomes which enables them to achieve their next step which for the vast majority of students is university. 95% of students went to university, with 40% gaining a place at a Russell Group university in 2023.    

We are looking for someone to join our team of Lead Practitioners who work across the school to support Teaching and Learning.  We are looking for a Lead Practitioner who can make a significant contribution to our large and successful Science department through ongoing curriculum development and supporting colleagues with the effective delivery of the curriculum.  The role is flexible in its scope and responsibilities and can be adjusted based on the interests of the candidate and needs of the department. As a Lead Practitioner you will have access to and contribute to a national network of science teachers and leaders across United Learning. 

We particularly welcome applications from qualified teachers. However, we will also consider ECT candidates with the desired qualifications, who want an opportunity for a leadership position and added responsibility.

Paddington Academy is the lead school for United Teaching national SCITT and is a designated Teaching School Hub, so you will be able to access high-quality training at every stage of your career. We are fully committed to teacher development and training.