General Teacher + Leader of Upper School
The Stephen Longfellow Academy, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS11 8PG13 days remaining to apply
Start date details
As soon as possible
Closing date
2 November 2026 at 9am
Date listed
20 October 2026
Job details
Job role
- Head of year or phase
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Key stage
- Key stage 4
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- MPR/UPR + TLR1a
What skills and experience we're looking for
The Stephen Longfellow Academy is seeking to appoint an exceptional and ambitious colleague to the role of General teacher & Leader of Upper School. This is a key leadership position within the academy and an exciting opportunity for an accomplished practitioner to make a significant impact on student outcomes, curriculum development and whole-school improvement.
We are looking for an inspirational leader who combines excellent classroom practice with a proven ability to drive improvement. The successful candidate will provide strategic leadership for upper school, ensuring that all students benefit from an ambitious curriculum, excellent teaching and the highest standards of support, challenge and aspiration.
Working closely with senior leaders, you will lead and develop Curriculum Leaders and wider staff teams, championing a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement. You will play a crucial role in raising achievement, improving attendance and behaviour, and ensuring that every student is supported to achieve their full potential and progress successfully into further education, employment or training.
We are looking for someone who:
- Is an outstanding classroom practitioner with a strong track record of securing excellent outcomes for students.
- Has successful leadership experience and the ability to inspire, support and challenge colleagues.
- Can analyse performance information effectively and use it to drive improvement.
- Has a detailed understanding of curriculum development, teaching, learning and assessment.
- Demonstrates a commitment to inclusion and ensuring all students can succeed.
- Has the vision, determination and leadership skills to make a substantial contribution to academy improvement.
- Shares our unwavering belief that every child can achieve highly, regardless of background or circumstance.
Applicants should also have:
- A detailed knowledge of current developments in education including the effective use of the Pupil Premium.
- The ability to put vision into practice
What the school offers its staff
What we offer you:
As a trust, we want to ensure that professionals at every stage in their career have the opportunity to enjoy expert support and training. We are pleased to offer a generous benefits package to our team – as we work together to create a rewarding future for all including:
- Membership of the teacher pension scheme.
- A commitment to continued investment in our professionals, supporting every member of staff throughout their career in the trust.
- Access to an Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential professional advice and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Discounts and online offers at major high street/online retailers.
- £2k Cycle to work scheme.
Further information about the job
About us:
The Stephen Longfellow Academy is an Alternative Provision setting based in the South of Leeds that has changed the face of Alternative Provision, both locally and nationally. Opened in September 2017, The Stephen Longfellow Academy serves schools across Leeds to support some of the most vulnerable young people in the city to re-engage with education by following a bespoke curriculum offer that reopens the doors of opportunity that were, at one point, firmly closed. This is because our exceptional team of staff create personalised pathways that combine an academically rich curriculum with personalised therapeutic support. This allows significant numbers of students to re-engage in mainstream education or successfully enter further education, employment or training.
Inspected in October 2019, inspectors told us that, ‘Leaders want the very best for pupils and have established an effective alternative provision in a short period of time. They are working together well to make this school even better for the benefit of its pupils and their families.’ They also judged all areas of the academy to be Good. We will continue to further improve our provision with this exciting role.
If you would like to know more about our academy, please visit our website at https://www.stephenlongfellow.leeds.sch.uk/about/principals-welcome/
How to Apply:
If you are as excited about this role as we are, you can download the Job Description, Person Specification, and Application Form from the GORSE Academies Trust website (www.tgat.org.uk/jobs), request them by email at janine.findlay@stephenlongfellow.leeds.sch.uk, or call us on 0113 468 5999.
Please note if you submit an electronic application, we will not require a hard copy. CVs are not accepted.
Closing date for applications: 2 November 2026, 9am
Interviews will take place: TBC
We are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to full employment checks, including an enhanced DBS disclosure and barring service check. We promote diversity and aim to establish a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds.
Employment is conditional on confirmation of the right to work in the UK – either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.
Please note that, as a sponsor licence holder, we only provide sponsorship for teacher vacancies.
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.
Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.
Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children
You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
Applying for the job
Apply for the job by following the link below.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
View advert on school website (opens in new tab)Additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About The Stephen Longfellow Academy
- Organisation type
- Free School, ages 5 to 16
- Size
- 0 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 5 to 16
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- Email address
- janine.findlay@stephenlongfellow.leeds.sch.uk
- Phone number
- 0113 468 5999
As the Principal of Stephen Longfellow Academy, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our TES recruitment page. Here, prospective applicants can learn more about our academy, our ethos and values, and what makes Stephen Longfellow Academy such a rewarding place to work.
The Stephen Longfellow Academy is part of GORSE, a nationally renowned, not-for-profit charity whose drive is to create exceptional schools. The Chief Executive Officer and founder of The Stephen Longfellow Academy, Sir John Townsley, is passionate about providing the highest standard of educational experience for all children, regardless of background, across the age range. Sir John inspires professionals with his vision, a vision that all colleagues at the Stephen Longfellow Academy wholeheartedly share.
The Stephen Longfellow Academy is named in honour of a man who died tragically in a climbing accident in 2015 and who made an enormous contribution to the lives of hundreds of vulnerable and disadvantaged children across the city. Our commitment to carrying on this legacy is evident in the work that we do with children from across our district.
We are exceptionally proud of what has been achieved since the academy’s inception and I am honoured to have the opportunity to continue the brilliant progress as the Academy moves into its eighth year.
At the academy we offer both exceptional education and therapy. Students are taught national curriculum subjects and have access to a range of therapeutic services such as counselling. Therapy is delivered as both an integrated part of our timetable but also within discrete groups or on a one-to-one basis. We believe that a therapeutic and nurturing approach allows our students to grow in confidence and increase their self-esteem, so they can successfully integrate into their learning environment and the wider community. We pride ourselves on our global therapeutic and pastoral offer which supports all students and their families. The academy has been recently recognised for our work in this area as it was awarded the Gold Mental Health Award from the Carnegie Centre of Excellence, along with a variety of nationally recognised achievements.
By developing personalised learning programmes to meet the needs of vulnerable young people, we aspire for all our students to have opportunities similar to those found in mainstream schools. This will allow students to leave as confident young adults, ready to seize the opportunities of further education, training, or work through the “Gift of choice” that a solid portfolio of qualifications provides. As an academy, we place a strong emphasis on extra-curricular activities and offer a wide range of enrichment opportunities as we recognise the importance of the learning that goes on outside of the classroom in supporting our student’s personal development.
The academy works in close partnership with our families and mainstream schools and the length of time that a student is with us is dictated entirely by the personal need of that student. For a small number, these will be shorter placements. For many a much longer placement is required because of the profound need of the student concerned. Where possible, and if appropriate, our students will transition back to the mainstream setting as we work collaboratively with our commissioning partners with the child at the centre of this partnership.
Our aim is to do all that we can to support students and their families to get back on track to achieving their goals and ambitions. To, ultimately, make a difference, that otherwise would not have happened. We put kindness at the heart of everything that we do and instil this ethos within our school community, alongside our core values – aspiration, inclusion and resilience. We are relentless in our pursuit for excellence and our desire for a continuous cycle of 1% improvement every day.
We walk together.
Mr Neil Poskitt Principal
If you would like to know more about The Stephen Longfellow Academy, please visit; The Stephen Longfellow Academy
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