Teacher of Design and Technology (Food Specialist Teacher)

The Role - Food Specialist Teacher

We are looking for an exceptional Design & Technology teacher to join our team. If you are an outstanding teacher with excellent food technology subject knowledge who would relish the chance to make your mark in a school that has already made a huge transformation and continues to do so, this is the perfect role for you. All lessons in the TTA Design & Technology department are founded on three core principles: creativity, analytical skill and practical skill. If successful, you will join a very well-resourced, spacious department including two kitchen classrooms and a highly experienced and knowledgeable Food Technician. We have implemented a cutting-edge curriculum where we have modernised the way we teach food, including opportunities to work with our on-site farm - part of the educational charity GROW - to look at produce and seasonality.

At TTA, the creative subjects are valued highly and Design & Technology is given ample curriculum time. There are well-established systems at KS3 where every pupil is taught food each year to a high standard following good routines, and a successful candidate could also have the opportunity to develop a KS4 offering. This position provides the ideal opportunity for an ambitious and dynamic teacher with vision to help shape an ethos of care, respect, high achievement and challenge. You will be joining the D&T department at an exciting time as we grow in numbers and have recently launched our Sixth Form.

This position provides the ideal opportunity for an ambitious and dynamic teacher with vision to help shape an ethos of care, respect, high achievement and challenge. Our last Ofsted inspection, in April 2019, graded the school as ‘Good’ overall with ‘Outstanding’ behaviour and leadership. Over the last five years, we have achieved:

• In the summer of 2017, the students celebrated a huge jump, achieving 67% Grades 9-4/A*-C in English and Maths compared to 40% the year before, which has then been further improved year on year and is now 76%.
• In the summer of 2019, the results surpassed the previous year’s spectacular improvements: 86% of students achieved a Grade 4 or higher in English and 81% in Maths (as well as 41% achieving a grade 7 or higher).
• A Progress 8 score improvement from -0.45 to +0.6 in 2019, meaning we are now in the top 10% of schools nationally, which puts us in the top 10% of all schools nationally. 
• This Summer of 2022, Year 13 graduated with an excellent set of A Level results and university offers: 32% of students achieved A* or A grades, 54% of entries received A*-B grades and 87% of entries received A*-C grades.
• We celebrated again with the GCSE results: 81% of students achieved a grade 4 or above in English and Maths and 68% achieved a grade 5 or above in both subjects; over two-fifths (42%) of students were awarded the highest grades of 7 or above in English and Maths!

As a member of our community, you will help shape the lives of our fantastic students and play an important role in the academy’s future. The leadership team at TTA strongly believes in giving autonomy to our teachers and is always open to creative and innovative ideas.

At TTA we believe that the best teachers and leaders are continuously striving to improve. We are committed to developing our people and, as part of the largest group of academies and independent schools in the country, United Learning, we offer unrivalled professional development and career progression.

This is an exciting time to join TTA; if you share our high expectations and are passionate about making a difference, we look forward to receiving your application.

CLICK HERE to watch a short video of TTA.

The Totteridge Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all who work at the school to share this commitment. Successful applicants will be subject to an enhanced disclosure through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) along with other required pre-employment checks in accordance with KCSIE 2021.

About You

In particular, candidates should:

Show the ability to be a/or become an excellent classroom practitioner

Have high expectations of students in terms of learning, achievement and behaviour

Have enthusiasm for developing innovative and creative approaches to learning, teaching and student participation

Have a sound subject knowledge which they can utilise to challenge all pupils

Have a clear understanding of the latest curriculum and pedagogical developments in DT

Have an ability to engage and motivate pupils

Have a commitment to support our enrichment programme by facilitating co-curricular clubs

We would warmly welcome applications from ECT's and experienced teachers.

In return we are offering a highly attractive salary, along with the benefits of being part of United Learning, opportunities to share good practice and collaborate with colleagues across every phase of education.

United Learning

We are part of United Learning, a large, and growing, group of schools aiming to offer a life changing education to children and young people across England.

Our schools work as a team and achieve more by sharing than any single school could. Our subject specialists, our Group-wide intranet, our own curriculum and our 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. We are open to discussing flexible working options.