Lead Teacher Modern Foreign Languages

Location: Barnet, London — a five minute walk from High Barnet tube station

Start: September 2019

Opportunity for an exceptional teacher to be a founding middle leader, shaping a brand new Ark secondary school in Barnet

Next September, Ark Pioneer, a non-selective secondary school, will open its doors to our brand new building in Barnet and welcome in our first year 7. By the time they reach year 13, we’ll have over a thousand pupils. We will deliver a standard of education matching the very best schools in the country. Our vision is that every pupil leaves Ark Pioneer with real options, be it embarking on the university course of their choice or starting out in their chosen career.

We are recruiting a founding team of exceptional staff to achieve our vision and work together to create a genuinely outstanding school. The new founding lead teacher of MFL will shape our languages provision and will recruit and develop an exceptional team of linguists.

Middle leadership experience will not be a determining factor. The successful candidate will grow with our school: we will develop you, providing one-to-one support, coaching and access to extensive network training. You will also have the opportunity to collaborate on network-wide projects.

The ideal candidate will

·         Have a strong academic background, with good A Levels or equivalent, and a good degree

·         Combine subject matter expertise with a passion for teaching languages

·         Have the commitment, skills and character required to build a successful department

·         Share the Ark Pioneer vision and be aligned with the six pillars underpinning it

·         Value and support practices driving continued progress across the network of Ark schools

Please submit your application by midnight on Wednesday 30^th January. For further information, a confidential discussion or any technical queries please contact Aishling Ryan, the principal, at aishling.ryan@arkonline.org 

 
Job Description and Person Specification.pdf
Ark Pioneer Academy Vision.pdf

Closing Date: Wednesday 30^th January  

Interviews: Tuesday 12^th February

Salary: ARK MPS £28,286 - £39,937 / UPS £41,925 - £45,086 plus TLR 1a-1b

Contract: Full-time hours, permanent contract

We value diversity and are committed to safeguarding and promoting child welfare. The successful candidate will be subject to DBS and any other relevant employment checks.

Job Description: Lead Teacher Modern Foreign Languages

Reports to:   Vice/Assistant Principal

Start date:    September 2019

Salary: ARK MPS £28,286 - £39,937 / UPS £41,925 - £45,086 plus TLR 1a – 1b

The Role

As lead teacher, you will develop a team from scratch and lead the effective delivery of an outstanding curriculum, enabling the highest level of pupil progress and attainment.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Management  

·         Embed Ark Pioneer’s vision and the six pillars in all department provision and ensure they drive strategy, feeding into department evaluations and development plans

·         Codify your department’s provision to embed high quality practice in all areas

·         Line manage team members including departmental post holders

·         Ensure all post-holders are systematically trained to complete their roles to an exceptionally high standard

·         Mentor NQTs, ATTs and any student teachers

·         Support team members through coaching and/or mentoring as required

·         Develop all members of the team through department-specific CPD, inset training days and regular lesson observations and learning walks

·         Use progress and attainment data, pupil work and lesson observation to monitor staff performance  

·         Manage the departmental budget, resources and learning environment

Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment

·         Plan, monitor and evaluate the curriculum provision and enrichment for all year groups within the subject

·         Contribute to the development of the network’s curriculum strategy within the subject

·         Lead and coordinate effective collaborative planning for every year group and ensure the team’s collective experience feeds into improvements in the curriculum

·         Monitor, evaluate and continually improve the quality of planning, teaching and assessment in your team

·         Monitor your subject’s provision for pupils with individual needs, and develop differentiated learning and teaching methods and schemes of learning as necessary

·         Be accountable for pupil progress across the school at all key stages, ensuring that every pupil achieves results in line with, or better than, national expectations

·         Track pupil progress and make intelligent use of data to identify underperformance, plan appropriate support and achieve excellent outcomes for our pupils

·         Set ambitious pupil targets in line with the ARK model

·         Predict pupil outcomes as required

·         Keep up to date with any changes in learning and teaching related to languages, including DfE guidance and curriculum changes and ensure staff are kept informed

Teaching Responsibilities

·         Set high expectations so that all pupils are inspired, motivated and challenged to reach their full potential

·         Create a positive climate for learning, by explicitly teaching lesson routines and applying behaviour systems consistently and fairly

·         Plan and teach well-structured, differentiated lessons which allow adequate time to embed new knowledge, understanding and skills

·         Nurture every pupil’s intellectual curiosity, asking pertinent questions to deepen pupils’ understanding

·         Systematically check pupils’ understanding and act to correct any misconceptions

·         Provide pupils with individual feedback aimed at moving his or her learning forward, developing a growth mindset in each pupil

·         Review and reflect on each assessment to identify gaps in pupil learning and take steps to address them

Culture and ethos

·         Lead your department’s behaviour management, ensuring the team implements school systems consistently and in a kind and respectful manner

·         Develop strong partnerships and ensure regular communication with parents

·         Complete duties around the school, modelling best practice for all staff

Development of the Ark Network

·         Value and support practices driving continued progress across the network of Ark schools

·         Participate actively throughout the network, by attending relevant meetings, and, as appropriate, delivering network-wide training and initiatives

Other

Person Specification: Lead Teacher Modern Foreign Languages

Qualification Criteria

·         Qualified to teach and work in the UK

·         Strong A Levels, or equivalent

·         Degree in language(s) taught

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

·         Mastery of and enthusiasm for languages

·         Excellent understanding of both subject and general teaching pedagogy

·         Experience of leading a team and/or developing others

·         Experience of improving the quality of teaching and learning through the development of schemes of work and high quality resources

·         Experience of leading successful enrichment which inspire and motivate learners

·         Experience of raising attainment in a challenging classroom environment

·         Experience of interpreting pupil data to drive lesson planning and pupil progress

·         Effective and systematic behaviour management

·         Knowledge of the national secondary education system, examinations and curriculum

 Personal Characteristics

·         Genuine passion for and a belief in the potential of every pupil

·         Deep commitment to Ark’s mission of providing an excellent education to every pupil, regardless of background

·         Excellent interpersonal, planning and organisational skills

·         Resilient, motivated and committed to achieving excellence

·         Reflective and proactive in seeking feedback to constantly improve practice

·         Commitment to regular and on-going professional development and training to establish outstanding classroom practice

·         Commitment to and understanding of professionalism in line with the National Teaching Standards

Other

·         Commitment to equality of opportunity and the safeguarding and welfare of all pupils

·         Willingness to undertake training

·         This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in our academies.  In order to meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process. This process is outlined here, but can be provided in more detail if requested. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.