Head of Geography

Tes is supporting the appointment of a Head of Geography to join a Free School based in Greenwich.

The school reserves the right to close this advert early and interviews may take place before the advertised closing date. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early for this role to avoid disappointment.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to work at one of the highest performing schools in the country (Progress 8: +1.14). If you are committed to making a lasting difference in their local community and want to work in an ambitious and high performing school with traditional values, this could be the job for you. 

The School takes the wellbeing and workload of their staff seriously and make sensible choices. They are committed to sustainable high performance and recognise their staff are their most important resource.

This is a new, ambitious school model based on what they know excellent schools do. They have created a highly respectful and disciplined environment where their staff and scholars can fulfil their potential. They are one of the highest performing schools in the UK. Progress 8: +1.2, Attainment 8: 6.3, EM5 +: 81%, EBacc entry rate: 90%.  

The School exists to empower young people, regardless of socio-economic background, to grow and be successful. Expectations for all members of their community are unashamedly sky high. They work hard to impact the lives of the young people they serve. They also place a primacy on their industry leading extra-curricular and character education programmes. 

How is this School different?

• They benefit accordingly from outstanding networking and career opportunities and first-class CPD. 
• Staff wellbeing is one of their main priorities. They provide breakfast for staff each morning, lunch for early careers staff and have a 6pm/weekend work-related communication cut off. They do not do knee jerk reactions, fads or last-minute deadlines. Their systems and processes for communication, marking and feedback and assessment are streamlined and the approaches they take are research led and based on their local context. They offer a WFH day to HoDs for curriculum design and also offer external marking of scripts to support workload. 
• This is a small school model (600 scholars aged 11-16) because they believe that their close-knit family community provides the optimum conditions for success.  
• Scholar behaviour is exceptional with clearly defined and embedded routines. This means their teachers can focus their time on the things that matter – planning and delivering brilliant lessons for their scholars. 
• This is a strict no excuses, no mobile phone school. Phones are not permitted onsite at all. Scholars wear business dress to prepare them for a professional career. 
• Their curriculum is traditional and academic, and they do not take shortcuts to seek to boost their position in school league tables – they do not, for example, offer equivalencies such as Btecs or Vcerts. >90% Ebacc entry rate.   
• They put high-quality teaching at the heart of what they do. They are committed to providing staff with weekly high-quality training. They run coaching for staff who want to see rapid progress in their discipline. Live coaching and current best practice in the field of education is central to their approach. 
• They don’t grade individual lessons or ask for lesson plans but they do place a primacy on curriculum design, independent learning and formative assessment.
• Their scholars enjoy a compulsory co-curricular program on a Wednesday afternoon which includes a strong focus on community volunteering and they facilitate 12 drop-down days per academic year ensuring scholars benefit from a range of life-enriching experiences. 

If you are ready to add further value to their high performing Geography department and to work alongside a brilliant school leadership team, then you will find this job extremely rewarding. 

Alignment with the school’s vision, values and approach to education is essential. 

The Role and the Department 

Their Geography provision is robust, with all scholars studying geography as a discrete subject for two hours weekly at Key Stage 3. Strong outcomes over the last five years have contributed to an Ebacc bucket score of +1.5 in 2022. They embrace a mastery approach to teaching and learning, with the core focus on identifying and repeatedly practising the fundamentals of success in each discipline. The geography department places a primary emphasis on developing deep knowledge of place at the centre of its approach.

What makes them stand out? Their department offers full-resourced lessons spanning from Year 7 to Year 11. They proudly hold a prestigious Top 5 ranking in the network, boasting the highest number of grade 9 achievements. Looking ahead to 2024, their projection is a promising +1 progress score for Year 11. Moreover, there's abundant space for personal and professional growth within the department or pastoral team.

The role offers an excellent opportunity to train as a HoD under an experienced leader in a supportive environment to develop skills around data, leadership and pedagogy.

They seek a successful candidate who can further enhance a traditionally strong subject at their school. Essential qualities include a passion for your subject and a commitment to extracurricular activities.

All applicants need to have the Right to Work in the UK to be considered for the role.

By applying to this job advertisement, you are providing consent for the Tes Recruitment team to propose and discuss your application with the employer.

Tes Recruitment Services (UK) represent Schools and Academies across the globe, supporting them to secure a great teacher/leader for every role. 

To learn more about this role please email managedrecruit@tes.com for an information pack that includes school name, role specifics and context. 

Please include REF: LC2106190 in the email subject line. Please note that we are unable to accept CVs sent to us via email so please use the stated application route.