Ark Charter Academy is at an exciting time in its journey, and with pupils at the heart of our passion and enthusiasm, we’re looking for hardworking individuals to join us on our mission to provide every student, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life.
Ark Charter is growing and there are some very exciting projects taking place such as our new building extension that completed in September 2020. The £4.1million project will transform Ark Charter Academy, Portsmouth, increasing the number of pupil places by 300 students, an eventual total increase in student capacity to 900.
As well as our pupils, facilities, and opportunities, we want our staff to grow too. We recognise that teaching can be a challenging profession. That’s why we give our staff ample periods for planning, preparation and marking and ensure most meetings take place during our working day to protect our valuable free time, and receive regular rewards and recognition from the Principal for our effort and enthusiasm.
We are seeking to recruit a Head of our PE Department. The successful candidate will lead, develop and manage the effective delivery of an outstanding curriculum, which enables the highest level of student progress and attainment. You will lead the professional community of PE teachers and promote outstanding teaching and learning and a strong school culture within a nurturing and rigorous environment.
Interviews will take place on a rolling basis and an appointment may be made prior to the closing date. Early application is strongly encouraged.
Job Description: Head of PE Department
Reporting to: SLT
Location: Ark Charter Academy, Southsea
Start Date: September 2021
Contract: Permanent
Working Pattern: Full Time
Salary: MPS/UPS (Depending on Experience) + TLR2b
Key Responsibilities
Leadership and Management
· Lead, develop and line manage the department’s staff, through the provision of CPD, inset training days, supervising NQTs, ITT students and support staff, etc.
· Monitor, evaluate and continually improve the quality of planning, teaching, and assessment of all members of the PE team
· Manage departmental budget and resources effectively and efficiently
· Lead behaviour management in the department, securing strong routines for learning, consistent with the academy’s policy, and liaising with tutors and parents when necessary
· Develop strong partnerships and ensure regular communication with parents and carers
Improving Teaching & Learning
· Model outstanding teaching and lead collaborative planning and development, including the sharing of resources and best practice within the department
· Be responsible for tracking student progress across the faculty, analysing all relevant data to make data-driven changes to the curriculum design and intervention strategies and using the data to monitor the performance of subject staff
· Be accountable for student progress in PE across the school at all key stages, ensuring that all students achieve results in line with, or better than, value-added predictions
· Monitor the work of the department through rigorous and regular lesson observations, work scrutinies, and provide detailed, constructive feedback
· Lead joint practice development across the faculty subject teams, ensuring that outstanding practice is shared with all staff in the faculty and the wider school, and work with other department heads to exploit cross-year and cross-curricular links
· Plan, deliver, monitor and evaluate the curriculum provision and enrichment for all year groups within the department consulting with the relevant subject leaders
· Monitor the identification of and provision for students with individual needs, and develop differentiated learning and teaching methods and schemes of learning
· Participate actively throughout the network, by attending relevant meetings, and, as appropriate, delivering network-wide training and initiatives
· Work with colleagues, students and families to develop a strong school community
Other
· Actively promote the safety and welfare of our children and young people
· Ensure compliance with Arks data protection rules and procedures
· Liaise with colleagues and external contacts at all levels of seniority with confidence, tact and diplomacy
· Work with Ark Central and other academies in the Ark network, to establish good practice throughout the network, offering support where required
· Assist the Principal in maintaining and developing all that is distinctive in our Church of England school
· Participate fully in the Christian Life of the school
· To ensure the Christian ethos, Academy vision and Christian values of the Academy are clearly articulated, shared, understood and acted upon effectively by all
· To lead student assemblies and acts of collective worship, ensuring that key messages and aspirations are reinforced, and the Christian ethos of the Academy is developed (where applicable)
This job description is not an exhaustive list and you will be expected to carry out any other reasonable tasks as directed by your line manager.
Person Specification: Head of PE Department
Qualification Criteria
· Qualified to teach in the UK
· Degree in Physical Education or related subject
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
· Demonstrable commitment to raising attainment of all pupils in a challenging classroom environment
· 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 within a large school
· Experience of improving the quality of teaching and learning
· Experience leading a team and/or working to support the significant success of others, including professional development and effective management of underperformance
· Experience of interpreting complex student data to drive lesson planning and student progress
· Mastery of and enthusiasm for Physical Education
· Effective and systematic behaviour management
· Knowledge of the national secondary education system, examinations and curriculum
Behaviours
· Genuine passion for and a belief in the potential of every student
· A robust awareness of keeping children safe, noticing safeguarding and welfare concerns, and understanding how and when to take appropriate action
· Deep commitment to Ark’s mission of providing an excellent education to every student, 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
· Right to work in the UK
· Commitment to equality of opportunity and the safeguarding and welfare of all students
· Willingness to undertake training
· This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check
This post is covered by Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) and therefore the ability to speak fluent English is an essential requirement for the role
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.