Science Teacher

Do you want to be part of a team that will help inner-city children to do the seemingly impossible?

Michaela Community School is an exciting new free school that opened in September 2014. A young, dynamic and energetic team, our intention is to transform the lives of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many of us are Teach First Ambassadors. Some of us are not. All of us want to change the world.

In September 2017 we will have 480 pupils, years 7, 8, 9 and 10. As we are growing every year (840 pupils at full capacity including a Sixth Form), there will be a lot of opportunities for promotion and development. You could play a part in leading and shaping the vision and future of our school.

We teach a knowledge-based curriculum built on cutting-edge insights from cognitive science. Our teaching approaches have been influenced by ground-breaking charter schools in the American inner cities and we are driven by a desire to get the best possible results for all our pupils. Our tight behaviour systems ensure you can really teach. Teachers have their own classrooms. Senior Team run centralised detentions twice daily so that consequences are immediate and teachers are not chasing absent detainees. In October, we offer pupils and staff a two-week half term.

We don’t offer lessons in ICT, DT, Citizenship or take children out of lessons for intervention. All of our teachers see pupils at least twice per week so that a bond is built between teachers and pupils. Intervention happens in form time or after school. We believe in keeping marking to a minimum and so normal, decentralized written homework does not happen at Michaela.

We are looking to recruit a Science Teacher. We would suggest you come to visit us to see how Science works here. It really is different to anything you have seen before. Thanks to how teaching is organised, you will see your Key Stage Three classes five times per week and your Key Stage Four classes six times per week. As a consequence, the relationships you can forge and the learning you can foster are exceptional.

We promote a genuine enjoyment of Science. Pupils are able to relive the excitement of major scientific discoveries through the eyes of great scientists, such as Robert Hooke and Nicolaus Copernicus. A spiral curriculum is not necessary at Michaela, where pupils really do remember what has been taught. The use of chants and acronyms help pupils to remember information such as cell organelles and functions and the life cycle of a star. We have science trips to many establishments including the Natural History Museum and the Greenwich Observatory. These trips create great excitement because pupils really know their science, helping them to better appreciate what they see. The aim for the Science department is for all pupils to study towards the double or triple award Science GCSE, with no pupils following a more vocational pathway.

The Science team has written some blogs about Science at Michaela, which you can read here:

https://edudyertribe.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/why-children-in-england-are-not-learning-science/

https://edudyertribe.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/textbooks-liberating-not-constraining/

https://edudyertribe.wordpress.com/2015/05/09/do-your-kids-hate-science-yet/

If you are the type of person who fits with our culture, you will really love working here. There is no other school like it in the country. Check out our website and see what we are all about! Have a look at our school newspaper, published last year by our year 7s. You can view the newspaper here: http://mcsbrent.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/michaela-matters-20141209-1229.pdf

You are also very welcome to visit the school – even if you don’t end up applying for the post. We are 30 seconds from Wembley Park tube, accessible by both the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines. We love to have people visit, to see just how well-behaved and kind our pupils are to each other.

Some of our staff are on Twitter. Check them out!

https://twitter.com/JHC_Porter
https://twitter.com/katie_s_ashford
https://twitter.com/joe__kirby
https://twitter.com/jo_facer
https://twitter.com/oliviaparisdyer
https://twitter.com/barrynsmith79

To register your interest please send a covering letter (no more than 3 sides in Arial font, point 12) and a CV to?info@mcsbrent.co.uk

Please include answers to these questions:

1. Why teach Science at Michaela?
2. How would you fit in with our unique ethos?

If you do not receive an email from us confirming receipt of your application, this means we have not received it, so please email it to us again. In the subject line please put the job title.

At Michaela teachers are paid using the teacher inner London pay scales and your salary will increase from what you currently earn. If you would like to discuss the position with one of our teachers about the school and what it is like to work at Michaela, please email Katie at kashford@mcsbrent.co.uk

The closing date for this post is: Friday, 28 October 2016.

Michaela Community School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful candidates?will need to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure via the DBS and/or provide police checks from other countries, where appropriate. Michaela Community School?is an equal opportunities employer.

Read more about our safer recruiting procedures?on our website.

Wembley Park,
North London