Assistant Subject Leader of Humanities (Geography)

Assistant Subject Leader of Humanities

(Second in Geography)

MPS to UPS + TLR 2a

Full Time, Permanent

Required for September 2024 if possible or January 2025

Laurence Jackson School is a 11-16 oversubscribed comprehensive school of 1220 students. Our intake is wide ranging by nature and we are proud of our very inclusive philosophy of high standards and expectations.

We are seeking to appoint a passionate and committed Assistant Subject Leader of Humanities (second in Geography), this is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious and inspirational teacher to join our rapidly improving school and department.

The humanities faculty is made up of geography, history and religious studies at Laurence Jackson School. These lessons are primarily taught on one corridor on the ground floor of the school, where we have 8 dedicated humanities classrooms and a faculty workroom.

All classrooms have interactive touch screen television style displays to allow for professional use of audio and video within lessons. All rooms have visualisers for teachers to actively model learning or provide whole class feedback live within a lesson. The faculty workroom has four PCs and a printer for staff to use in non-contact periods should a classroom not be available. There is also a small seating area for staff to take a breather for a moment or socialise with other members of the team during break or lunch.

We have a comprehensive bank of centralised lesson resources for the topics which we deliver in all three subjects. These are constantly being updated and improved based on the needs of our learners, and in response to CPD. The faculty is well resourced with textbooks to support learning at KS3 and KS4, as well as stationery and equipment to support lesson delivery. We subscribe to Educake as a home learning platform for students studying geography and history, as we strive for our students to know more and remember more over time.

The faculty team currently comprises of ten members of staff. The leadership structure consists of a Subject Leader of Humanities and Assistant Subject Leader of Humanities (Geography Lead). The advertised post will add a third person to our leadership structure. Staff in our team are passionate about their subjects, collaborative in their approach as a team, supportive of each other, and are warm and welcoming people.

As part of a multi-academy trust, we are able to share good practice across all secondary schools. We are supported by trust directors for history and RE who have the oversight of these subjects across the trust schools, and we also have made links with the geography departments at the other schools in our MAT.

Our Curriculum

Students study both geography and history for three hours every fortnight at key stage 3 and study RE once a week. At key stage 4 students opting for the GCSE qualification study each subject five times over the fortnight. We follow the AQA GCSE specifications for geography and RE, and Edexcel for history.

Geography is a very popular subject at Laurence Jackson which regularly receives positive student voice about the learning experience in geography lessons, the passion and enthusiasm of staff, the positive relationships students have with their teacher, and the learning and progress students are making. The numbers of students choosing Geography as a GCSE option is extremely high, with approximately 150 students studying geography in both Year 10 and 11 for 2024-25. The department also organises a popular and oversubscribed trip to Iceland annually for students in Year 11.

You can find out more information about our subject specific curriculums and intent by viewing the curriculum area on our website

at: https://laurencejackson.org/curriculum/

Opportunities for extra-curricular activities and trips organised and led by our staff is an area we are developing in the faculty, and this is an area we would love to grow and enhance further for our students.

We have:

· A positive and caring ethos and working atmosphere.

· Friendly children, eager to learn and achieve.

· A committed, enthusiastic and supportive staff team.

· Excellent support from the Governing Body, the staff and parents.

· Opportunities for career development.

The successful candidate must have:

·        A passion for the subject and for developing student engagement and educational progress.

·        A commitment, drive and enthusiasm to work as part of our dedicated and successful team.

·        Measurable impact as an individual teacher.

·        An innovative approach to teaching and learning and model excellence in the classroom.

·        An ability to motivate and inspire students to achieve their full potential.

• The ability to establish good relationships with students, acting as a role model and responding to individual needs.
• The ability to help plan, deliver and assess outstanding learning opportunities for all.

We are part of a dynamic and supportive MAT, the Vision Academy Learning Trust, which was established in 2016 and currently consists of three secondary schools, of which one is a teaching school, and five primary schools.

Applications should clearly outline why candidates want to work at Laurence Jackson School and what other attributes they have to offer to the wider school ethos should be included.

Application forms and further details are available on the school’s website –

www.laurencejackson.org or visit Work for us (valt.org.uk)

Please email your completed application form to Mrs C Juckes, Headteacher  vacancies@laurencejackson.org

Closing date: 9am 1st July 2024

Interview date: w/c 1st July 2024

The 1590 Trust are in the process of consulting on the proposal to merge with Vision Academy Learning Trust (VALT) to form Vision 1590 Academy Trust with a proposed merger date of 01 September 2024.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Safer recruitment practice and pre- employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. This post is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.