Director of English
Harris Academy Purley, South Croydon, Surrey, CR2 6DT6 days remaining to apply
Start date details
September
Closing date
22 May 2025 at 11:59pm
Date listed
16 May 2025
Job details
Job role
- Head of department or curriculum
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Key stage
- Key stage 3, Key stage 4, Key stage 5
Subject
- English
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £53,731-£67,762
Pay scale
- L1-L11 (Outer London)
Additional allowances
Performance and Loyalty Bonus + Pension Scheme (TPS) + Harris Wellbeing Cash Plan + Additional Harris Benefits
What skills and experience we're looking for
Are you a passionate teacher looking for your next step? We are looking for a qualified, experienced teacher to join Harris Academy Purley as Director of English with whole school responsibility.
Kindly submit your application at your earliest convenience, as interviews will be scheduled throughout the advertising period.
We would like to hear from you if you:
- Hold QTS (or equivalent) and a relevant undergraduate degree, and, ideally, management training
- Demonstrate successful teaching of GCSE at good or better level
- Have experience of initiation and effective management of change
- Show evidence of raising achievement in present post and showing good value added for groups
- Have knowledge of current curriculum developments in subject and their implications
- Have good knowledge and understanding of current educational thinking
- Show good understanding of how children learn and how to raise standards of achievement
- Have good communication skills in speech and writing
- Display excellent organisational skills
- Are able to build and sustain professional standards and relationships with students
- Are able to contribute towards creating a safe and protective environment
For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.
What the school offers its staff
Working at Harris Academy Purley, you will make a real difference to the lives of young people and their families in South London who value the learning and school environment we offer. Our school is oversubscribed; we have families, from a number of boroughs, who choose us for the high standard of education we provide, and staff come from across London as well as Sussex and Surrey to come and work with us.
You will be given ample opportunities to develop and progress your career, and all staff are encouraged to develop their interests and areas of expertise. Our professional development is tailored to ensure all staff are able to continue learning regardless of their role or stage of career.
We strive for excellence and have high ambitions for the future whilst ensuring we maintain a clear focus on staff wellbeing and work-life balance. Our motto: To Learn, To Think, To Act is as true for our staff as it is for our students, and we are committed to investing in your experience with us.
Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level to senior leadership.
Teacher Development
At Harris, we have curated professional development pathways that will guide you towards achieving your career ambitions. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. With a strong network of passionate educators, expert development initiatives and a multitude of opportunities for career progression, your journey with Harris could be the most rewarding one yet.
We offer a wide range of high quality teacher professional development programmes via the Harris Institute of Teaching and Leadership.
Benefits
In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance (usually £2,000 for Inner London and £1,500 for Outer London), a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Teachers Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, Employee Assistance Programme, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.
Flexible working opportunities
We are committed to fostering a positive and supportive working environment for our staff, recognising that achieving a balance between professional and personal responsibilities is essential. We understand that each individual's circumstances are unique, which is why we offer flexible working options that can be adapted to meet the needs of both the academy and our employees.
Further details about the role
The purpose of your role will be:
- To be accountable for leading, managing and developing the subject area.
- To raise standards of student attainment and achievement within the whole subject/curriculum area and to monitor and support student progress.
- To ensure the provision of an appropriately broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated curriculum for students studying in the department, in accordance with the aims of the academy and the curricular policies determined by the Governing Body and Principal.
- To teach the relevant subject across the age and ability range.
- To facilitate and encourage a learning experience which provides students with the opportunity to achieve their individual potential.
- To effectively manage and deploy staff, financial and physical resources within the department.
- To share and support the school's responsibility to provide and monitor opportunities for personal and academic growth.
Your main areas of responsibility will fall under the areas of:
- Operational and strategic planning (including formulating the subject and faculty improvement plans, and leading the development of appropriate syllabuses, resources, schemes of work, marking policies, assessment and teaching strategies)
- Ensuring the delivery of an appropriate, comprehensive, high quality and cost effective curriculum and leading development of the subject and its delivery
- Staff development (including recruiting, building and managing an effective team of motivated staff)
- Student outcomes (including ensuring the effective operation of target setting, monitoring and evaluation systems and the input and maintenance of accurate student data)
- Pastoral system (including being a form tutor to a selected group of students)
- Teaching, including acting as an outstanding role model
Commitment to safeguarding
The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.
Applying for the job
Apply for the job by following the link below.
CVs are not accepted.
About Harris Academy Purley
- School type
- Academy, ages 11 to 19
- Education phase
- Secondary
- School size
- 1033 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 19
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- Harris Academy Purley website
- Email address
- info@harrispurley.org.uk
- Phone number
- 0208 681 1141
Harris Academy Purley is an oversubscribed 11-19 co-educational academy with currently 1050 students on roll, situated on the Croydon/Surrey border. Open since September 2009, we are judged Outstanding by Ofsted, and moved into a state-of-the-art new building in September 2012.
We are a happy, hard-working and highly ambitious community in which students and staff treat on another with care and respect, combining traditional values of discipline and good manners with contemporary best practice in teaching and technology. The academy’s leadership team and staff share an expectation that each and every student who joins Harris Academy Purley achieves his or her “personal best”. With an emphasis on Enterprise, the academy strives each and every day to create a culture and ethos which promotes curiosity, initiative and leadership in all our young people.
School location
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