
Director of Sport
West London Free School, London, W6 9LPThis job expired on 23 March 2023 – see similar jobs
Job start date
1 September 2023
Closing date
23 March 2023 at 11:59pm
Date listed
17 March 2023
Job details
Job role
- Head of year or phase
- Head of department or curriculum
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Key stage
- Key stage 3, Key stage 4, Key stage 5
Subject
- Physical education
Working pattern
- Full time: our working day lasts from 8.30am to 4.00pm.
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- Commensurate with experience
Additional allowances
A management TLR
What skills and experience we're looking for
PE and Games are an integral part of the WLFS curriculum. All pupils from Years 7 to 11 take part in two hours of Games per week, with the aim of introducing them to a varied diet of different sports. In Years 7 and 8, pupils have one hour a week of PE, allowing for a more technical and curriculum-based study of sport and physical fitness. PE is a well-established option subject at GCSE, and this year have introduced it as a new subject at A-level. Sport is incredibly popular at WLFS, and we have a busy schedule of clubs and fixtures. WLFS teams have a strong track-record and growing local reputation, with recent success including:
- Netball borough champions across three year groups.
- Finalists in six QPR Football League finals, having entered seven teams both boys and girls.
The large majority of our sport provision takes place at Kings House Sports ground, a top-of-the-range facility located 5 minutes away from our school site.
Key characteristics of the role include:
- to impart your passion for sport to all pupils at WLFS.
- to lead the planning and delivering of schemes of work for Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 within your Department, and monitor their effectiveness.
- to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in the department by lead on collaborative planning, sharing resources, mentoring and observing teachers, and participating in continuing professional development within your department.
- to manage a full schedule of sports clubs and fixtures across the school.
- to line manage other members of the PE department.
- to build the profile of PE and Sport within the West London Free School, and encourage other teaching staff to take part in coaching and fixtures.
What the school offers its staff
The West London Free School (WLFS) is a non-selective state school based in Hammersmith, West London. We are suited to teachers at all stages of their careers, priding ourselves on a supportive working environment and valuing the importance of staff wellbeing.
The WLFS provides all pupils, irrespective of their background, with a Classical Liberal education. By a Classical Liberal education, we mean a rigorous, knowledge rich education that draws from the most important work in both the humanities and the sciences. We believe that knowledge is a good in and of itself, empowering pupils to understand and take an interest in the world around them. We believe a secondary education is not just a preparation for work, but a preparation for life. As such, we value the knowledge of our teachers, and the passion for their subject that they bring to the classroom.
We have a firm
but fair approach to behaviour:
- senior leaders see it as their responsibility to ensure all teachers can teach without disruption;
- school rules are non-negotiable, and poor behaviour is met by escalating sanctions;
- pupil detentions are centralised and run every day by heads of year and senior leaders.
- teachers can therefore prioritise planning and teaching their lessons.
We are very proud of our exam results at WLFS. In 2022, our headline figures were as follows:
A-level: 45% of entries were graded A* to A, and 73% were graded A* to B.
- GCSE: 49% of entries were graded 9 to 7, and 88% were graded 9 to 4. Progress 8 was 0.61.
Further details about the role
The successful candidate will have:
- a passion for sport, strong subject knowledge, and an ability to communicate that passion and knowledge to pupils;
- a commitment to ensuring as many pupils as possible learn an enthusiasm involved in sport, regardless of ability or prior experience;
- an ability to teach PE at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 to all ability levels, including pupils with SEN;
- a proven track record of excellent PE teaching and, where relevant, outstanding outcomes for pupils at both GCSE and A-level;
- an understanding of the ethos of the WLFS, and our approach to teaching;
- high expectations of pupil conduct and behaviour;
- excellent team working skills and communication skills with both pupils and staff.
Commitment to safeguarding
The Knowledge Schools Trust is an equal opportunities employer. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the School is therefore permitted to ask job applicants to declare all convictions and cautions (including those which are "spent" unless they are "protected" under the DBS filtering rules) in order to assess their suitability to work with children.
Additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About West London Free School
- School type
- Free School, ages 11 to 18
- Education phase
- Secondary
- School size
- 915 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- West London Free School website
- Email address
- r.peal@wlfs.org
- Phone number
- 020 8600 0670
The West London Free School is one of the country's pioneering free schools, renowned for academic excellence, high standards of behaviour and a wide choice of co-curricular clubs. Since our foundation in 2011, we have provided all children with a rigorous, knowledge-rich education irrespective of their background. We offer a challenging curriculum, with a supportive environment, underpinned by fantastic teachers. Through this combination, pupils at the West London Free School excel. In 2024:
• A-level: 52% of entries were graded A* to A, and 83% were graded A* to B.
• GCSE: 51% of entries were graded 9 to 7, and 90% of entries were graded 9 to 4. Our Progress 8 was 0.96, and our Attainment 8 Grade was 6.4, placing us in the top 1% of comprehensive schools in the country.
• The Sunday Times named us ‘London Comprehensive School of the year’ for 2025.
At the West London Free School, we aim to build a culture of sustainable success. We have a stable body of staff who feel supported and fulfilled.
• Senior leaders are highly visible and approachable.
• The pastoral team take responsibility for ensuring all teachers can teach without disruption. School rules are non-negotiable, and poor behaviour is met by escalating sanctions.
• Our staff surveys have regularly shown staff morale and other indicators of professional satisfaction at the WLFS to be significantly higher than national benchmarks.
As well as a knowledge rich education, the WLFS runs an extensive co-curricular programme that encourages children to develop outside the classroom. The school specialises in music and offers a range of sporting opportunities as well as general interest clubs. All staff are encouraged to share their co-curricular enthusiasm by committing one hour a week to running a school club.
School location
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