Second in English

Outwood Academy Ripon has been part of the Outwood Grange Academies Trust since 2011 and is an exceptional place to build your future. Our school-based community is welcoming and friendly; students and staff make excellent progress together.  

Ripon is a thriving community with a magnificent cathedral making it one of Yorkshire’s most loved cities. The city’s history is entwined with the church and its proximity to the beautiful Fountains Abbey. Ripon is a delightful city with riverside and canal sidewalks that reach into the countryside and buildings that span the last thousand years.

We are excited to advertise the post of permanent Second in English at Outwood Academy Ripon. We are looking to appoint a colleague who is an excellent classroom practitioner and who has the skills to be able to inspire and motivate others. The successful candidate will be well-organised, able to use his or her initiative, and will have an overview of student performance, ensuring every child reaches his or her potential. Perhaps most importantly, we are looking for a Second in English with great interpersonal and teamwork skills, and the ability to work closely with members of the department.

The successful candidate will initially be responsible for the Key Stage 3 curriculum, including planning and maintaining an overview of the curriculum, ensuring the quality of medium term plans and individual lesson plans, scrutinising data and developing action plans and monitoring teaching, learning and progress. As well as responsibility for particular year groups, the Second in English will have a detailed understanding of teaching and learning across all year groups. 

The successful Second in English will also be required to play a key role in the effective running of the department, assisting the Head of English where necessary, and will be committed to building upon the strength of the English team.

English department

We have eight teachers, a specialist literacy teaching assistant and a one-to-one tutor. The department is a combination of experienced staff and more recent entrants to the profession.

Teaching takes place in the department’s seven classrooms. Every classroom has a visualiser and these are used extensively by the team. Some classrooms have large television screens and others interactive whiteboards. There is a library with a wide range of fiction to support students’ reading needs which is run by a full-time enthusiastic librarian.

The department has created a rich and engaging KS3 curriculum organised around literary themes (for example, ‘The tragic hero’, ‘journeys’, ‘identity’ and ‘love’) which are delivered through different units which develop knowledge in reading and writing as well as increasing cultural capital. Students study Gothic literature and ‘The Woman in Black’, Victorian crime fiction, language change and early literature (including experiencing some Old and Middle English texts in the original language) and multicultural British experiences in literature. A wide range of poetry is embedded in all units in years 7 and 8, and in year 9 each unit links to Shakespearean characters in order to widen students’ literary knowledge.

There is a strong whole-school literacy strategy which aims to ensure that all students can gain the educational and personal benefits of reading. This includes reading in form time, Accelerated Reader and a variety of reading interventions for readers who are not yet proficient. The specialist literacy teaching assistant uses the Ruth Miskin phonics programme to support emergent readers.

As in all OGAT secondary academies, the department prepares students for Eduqas GCSE English Language and English Literature qualifications. The programme of study is fully resourced with high-quality materials produced by staff across the trust who know this specification well. We aim to make all our teachers ‘experts’ in preparing students for GCSE examinations, using our thorough and systematic methods devised over many years. We have the benefit of support from the trust’s team of expert English directors, who provide support, materials, advice, coaching and who model and team-teach in lessons alongside us to develop our expertise. As an indication of our success, each year over 80% of year 11 students achieve a pass in English, with strong positive average progress for all students. 

If you are interested in helping to lead our team, please contact Rupert Burgess, Regional Director of English (r.burgess@outwood.com ) who would be pleased to tell you more, either by email or telephone, and we would be delighted to welcome you on a visit if you would like to see us in person.

Outwood Recruitment Brochure Jan 2024

Relocating to North Yorkshire - Link to more information

Link to Job Description

Link to Person Specification (please refer to this when completing your application)

For more information and to apply online, please click the apply button.

Closing date: 9.00am on 29 April 2024.

We reserve the right to close advertisements early. Advertisements will therefore close the day the decision has been taken to close the advertisement early.

Outwood Grange Academies Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All appointments are made in accordance with safer recruitment practices and the statutory guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education. Online checks will be carried out on all shortlisted candidates, and all appointments are subject to an enhanced DBS check, satisfactory references and checks regarding suitability to work with children.