Head of English

About the role

We are seeking a highly skilled and committed Head of English to join our team and build on a very successful department that has excellent outcomes in KS4 and 5. The successful candidate will be an expert classroom practitioner who is passionate about English and the development of our students.

As a Head of English, you will be part of the Ark English network which provides many opportunities to work with colleagues across Ark to develop excellent practice. This subject network supports all English teams to continuously work to better the provision on offer to our students and strive to be the best.

Key Responsibilities

• Ark Mastery – At Ark Putney we follow the Ark Mastery English curriculum, with some modification.  We are aligned to the Ark assessment programme at KS4/5.
• Implementation of the English curriculum and subject coordination across the academy.
• Conduct collaborative planning and development, including the sharing of resources and best practices within the department.
• Be accountable for student progress across the school at all key stages, ensuring that all students achieve results in line with value-added predictions.
• Monitor the identification of and provision for students with individual needs and develop different learning and teaching methods and schemes of learning.

Skills and experience

• Experience of having designed, implemented and evaluated effective, imaginative and stimulating schemes of work and of leading successful enrichment programmes, including establishing a high achieving department.
• Experience of improving the quality of teaching and learning.
• Experience of leading a team and/or working to support the significant success of others within a secondary school, including professional development and effective management of underperformance.
• Effective and systematic behaviour management.
• The ability to motivate and challenge learners of all abilities.
• The resolve and enthusiasm to make a real difference to the lives of our students.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.

If you would like to discuss this opportunity or for any queries, please contact Julie Rickard at [email protected] or call 020 8161 4974.

• Tailored professional development based on the needs of the teacher and department to ensure everyone achieves their full potential.
• We also take the wellbeing of our staff seriously as we recognise that teaching can be a challenging profession. Therefore, staff receive regular rewards and recognition for effort.
• Salaries 2.5% higher than main pay scale.
• Generous pension scheme.
• Access to Ark rewards – a scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers
• Interest-free loans – up to £5,000 available for season ticket or to buy a bicycle.
• Gym discounts – offering up to 40%.
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme – providing free, confidential counselling, legal advice and a range of different support.

Ark Putney Academy opened in September 2012 as part of the Ark network in the London Borough of Wandsworth.  We’re a non-selective, mixed secondary school with 750 students, ranging from year 7 through to sixth form. 

We offer a rich curriculum emphasising core academic subjects, whilst providing the facilities, time and specialist staff to ensure students develop across a range of subjects. Music is at the heart of our school, with every student learning an instrument and all secondary students having the chance to be part of our band programme.

We adopt a holistic view to educating young people. Through our commitment to inclusion, equality and attainment, we prepare every student to be a pillar of any community.

We’ve also been celebrating a successful year so far with extremely strong GCSE results. This reflects our excellent teaching and the dedication of our staff both to the students and each other.

In our 2022 Ofsted inspection we were rated ‘Good’ in every category with real strengths in teaching and learning, curriculum breadth and personal development.