Head of Religious Studies, Philosophy and Christian Ethos

Are you ambitious to lead a core department to greater success? 

Are you passionate about how high-quality curriculum thinking, planning and delivery can transform young people’s lives? 

Are you able to bring the best out in colleagues, working collaboratively to deliver on challenging targets? 

We are seeking to appoint a knowledgeable and ambitious leader who can lead a successful Religious Studies department of 5 specialist teachers and drive whole school initiatives which will develop our school’s distinctive Christian Ethos. RS is a core subject up to GCSE level and is highly popular in the Sixth Form with over 40 students currently taking the subject. 

The post offers an exciting opportunity for someone looking to move into middle leadership or someone looking to broaden their management experience ahead of taking the step up to senior leadership. As such, this role will provide opportunities for leadership development including secondment to the Leadership Group. Applicants from a GMH background are strongly encouraged with the school actively involved in the Church of England’s ‘Leaders Like Us’ programme. 

The candidate: 

You, like us, will share our belief in the highest standards of academic attainment in a comprehensive setting.  

The successful candidate will have: 

• Strong personal values of integrity and compassion 
• Excellent subject knowledge and a commitment to continually developing it 
• Experience of developing and delivering an excellent Religious Studies curriculum 
• Strong knowledge of curriculum and assessment thinking 
• The ability to motivate a large team to deliver excellent student outcomes. 
• A keen interest in developing leadership and management skills 
• Cognisance of current best practice and want to foster in others a research-based approach to designing and implementing a highly impactful Religious Studies curriculum. 

You will deliver lessons to a consistently high standard, and you will have a proven track record of excellent outcomes at GCSE and A level. 

You will be joining a team of highly skilled subject leaders who are ambitious in ensuring our vision of a powerful knowledge curriculum enables all pupils to take part in the great conversations in society. 

"Leaders have introduced a broad and ambitious curriculum for all…and have thought carefully about how to capture students’ wider interest in the subjects they learn." OFSTED 2022  

We believe in developing our staff and have a dynamic and supportive management team and an effective CPD programme which includes a regular teaching and learning forum, peer-coaching and teacher journal club.  At Westminster City School, we will offer you: 

• A supportive and collegiate staff culture; 
• An evidence-informed approach to teaching and learning; 
• A bespoke CPD programme; and 
• Staff benefits, including an interest-free season ticket loan and cycle-to-work scheme 

Westminster City School is a successful 11-18 boys’ Christian non-denominational comprehensive academy with a heavily oversubscribed, mixed sixth form. Ours is a vibrant learning community situated in the heart of central London with all the opportunities and advantages of an inner-city school. In March 2022, the school’s OFSTED inspection confirmed that the school remains a ‘Good’ school, but we are restless in our ambition to be ‘Outstanding’ in time for the school’s 150th anniversary in 2027.  

“Leaders and Governors are proud of and ambitious for the school. They consider staff workload carefully, for example when introducing recent changes to the school’s feedback policy” OFSTED 2022  

The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment. The successful applicant will need to undertake a criminal record check via the DBS.  

If you would like to apply for this post, please click apply now (below) to obtain and submit our application form. If for any reason this is not possible, please print out the application and send your completed form by post to the school or e-mail  recruitment@wcsch.com  

If you would like to discuss the role informally with the Deputy Headteacher (Academic) via phone or video call or to talk informally with the Headteacher please e-mail  l.ellens@wcsch.com (PA to Headteacher). You may also wish to visit our website (www.wcsch.com) to research more about the school.  

Closing date for completed applications: Monday 5 February at noon. 

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 7 February or Thursday 8 February 2024.