Head of Department for MFL

Don Valley Academy are looking to appoint a Head of Department for MFL to join our academy in January 2025 on a full time, permanent basis.  

OUR VISION 

At Delta Academies Trust we understand the importance of learning a modern foreign language and we believe that every single one of our pupils should have that opportunity. We have invested significant time, expertise, and money in the creation of an outstanding curriculum offer which has increased pupil engagement, and as a result the number of pupils studying MFL in our 17 secondary academies has risen dramatically. 

OUR CURRICULUM 

We have created carefully sequenced five year curriculum plans for both French and Spanish using the national curriculum and the key recommendations of the 2016 MFL Pedagogy Review, and we regularly update them. Each one is fully resourced, with detailed lessons prepared for you to adapt to the needs of your classes. We use an online coursebook to underpin our teaching, along with our trust knowledge organisers. Every unit of work includes a cultural topic to help instil a love of languages as well as promote a desire to get to know more about people from those countries. We subscribe to an online learning platform to support the learning of vocabulary. Perhaps our biggest and most impressive investment is in our team of modern language assistants. We currently have 17 native level speakers in our academies and our pupils love working with them! 

HOW WILL WE SUPPORT YOU

Our Senior MFL director is a specialist in both French and Spanish and leads a team of two MFL directors and a lead teacher. They are all based in our academies working to support teachers and pupils on a daily basis.  We recognise the value of high quality CPD and the director team run subject specific CPD every half term, meaning that staff from across our trust can meet to share best practice and stay up to date with research findings and national developments. Although our curriculum model is standard across our trust, we are all individuals, and you will have the opportunity to develop as a professional in your own right. We pride ourselves on recognising and developing talent and are passionate about sharing our love of teaching languages.

OUR FUTURE

Our director team are held in high regard and have worked with the DFE and the examination boards in consultation about the existing and new GCSEs. We are passionate about languages in any way, shape or form and have recently had four academies approved to join the DFE Latin Centre of Excellence programme. We are currently preparing a bid to become one of 15 MFL hubs in England which would give us the opportunity to help shape the future of MFL teaching at a national level.

OUR ACADEMY

Don Valley Academy is proud to be rated Ofsted GOOD (April 2019) for the first time in its history! This has been achieved by having dedicated and enthusiastic staff who are committed to giving our community an extraordinary educational experience. Having secured our students their best Y11 outcomes this summer, being newly appointed an EEF Research School and working in state of the art facilities we welcome you to come and join us. We pride ourselves on being the most dynamic and energetic academy and are looking for someone who wants to be part of something special. 

We are delighted to have been recently awarded £210000 in funding across 3 years to form a new Research School, joining the Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) network of Research Schools across England. You will join us at a pivotal time as we; continue to develop evidence informed teaching strategies in our Academy and across Delta, build affiliations with local schools to improve pupil outcomes and provide professional development opportunities for senior leaders on how to raise outcomes based on the best available evidence.  

We are a vibrant Academy with over 1000 students on roll. We benefit from a new building which opened in November 2016 enabling our students and staff to use state of the art facilities. We serve a significantly deprived community with 42% of students being pupil premium and 38% being in the bottom 10% for deprivation. Despite these challenges, you will find Don Valley students to be polite and engaged with learning. 

As a community we embrace all opportunities and strive to support and challenge each other. We have a comprehensive professional development calendar which is tailored specifically to meet the current needs. Staff enjoy the leadership opportunities found within our ‘DEEPs’ model and are able to gain experiences of roles across the Academy from Aspiring Leaders to Associate Assistant Principals.

Collaboration is at the heart of the Academy for both students and staff and you will find Don Valley Academy to be positive and reflective towards their own professionalism, with wellbeing as a pivotal aspect of our Academy ethos.

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE?

Ultimately, we understand that our pupils are most successful when they feel happy, valued, challenged, and supported to achieve their very best. We believe this also applies to our staff. We are passionate about giving people the chance to develop and progress their careers.

For more information and to apply for this position please visit our website at https://www.deltatrust.org.uk/careers-with-delta/

Visits to the academy would be warmly welcomed by appointment. Please contact the academy on 01302 651035 if you would like to arrange a visit.

In accordance with DfE Keeping Children Safe in Education, an online search will be completed on all shortlisted applicants prior to interview. Any relevant information will be discussed further with the applicant during the recruitment process. 

The Trust is committed to safeguarding the welfare of its students and the successful applicant will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service certificate and checks of the relevant barred list / prohibition lists.

Delta Academies Trust undertake to treat all applicants for posts fairly and not to discriminate unfairly against volunteers or paid staff who voluntarily reveal that they have a criminal conviction. Equally, we will not discriminate unfairly against volunteers or paid staff where a Disclosure and Barring Service check reveals a criminal conviction or other information about offences.

Therefore, we will consider job applicants who have a criminal record based on their skills, abilities, experience, knowledge and, where needed, qualifications and training. However, our approach depends on the job, and whether it is covered by, or exempt from, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post. However, it is important to note that if we receive a high volume of applications, we may limit the numbers of interviews offered to people with and without a disability.

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