Head of Art & Design
Westcliff High School for Boys Academy, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 0BP14 days remaining to apply
Job start date
1 September 2026
Closing date
15 May 2026 at 11:59pm
Date listed
1 May 2026
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
- Art and design
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- MPS/UPS + TLR2B
Additional allowances
TLR2B
What skills and experience we're looking for
The Art & Design Department at Westcliff High School for Boys (WHSB) has been a strong Department for a number of years. It has produced outstanding results consistently in GCSE and Advanced Level Art & Design (Fine Art). We have a passionate and committed team that enjoys teaching a broad and dynamic curriculum. Each teacher adapts their schemes of work to suit their strengths, while covering an agreed set of foundational knowledge that each year group needs to progress. The department works together closely, and responsibilities and creative skills are frequently shared.
The Department encourages our students to be independent and intellectually curious from Year 7 to the Upper Sixth. We set regular competitions and enrichment opportunities and the students are free to work on personal creative projects outside of the curriculum. The Department is open on selected lunchtimes for students to work on projects and has an annual Art & Design Exhibition. The WHSB Art department offers talks, trips and visits to enrich our students learning, including a recent overseas Art trip to Madrid.
What the school offers its staff
Accommodation and Facilities
The Art & Design Department is well-equipped. The Art Studios are located as a suite of rooms in the main building. The two studios are spacious, light and equipped with a number of network computers with Photoshop. Due to the ambitious nature of the Advanced Level work, we have a dedicated installation and exhibition room where students are given their own space to create large scale works of art. This has proved extremely successful and our 2025 summer results were 100% A* - B. The department also offers photography resources and ceramics facilities alongside core drawing and painting opportunities.
Curriculum
The new Year 7-9 syllabus has been designed by the Art & Design staff at WHSB to encourage independent learning and personalised outcome pathways. The Department uses a range of assessments and investigations to introduce, consolidate and extend pupils’ understanding of Art & Design. The teachers encourage pupils to develop an in-depth technical understanding and passion for the subject that enables them to refine and review what they are currently learning, and this gives pupils a secure knowledge of the subject.
The AQA GCSE Curriculum builds on the work that has been completed in Years 7-9, both consolidating parts of it that have previously been covered to GCSE Level but also extending other aspects so pupils can achieve GCSE Grade 9.
The Westcliff GCSE Art & Design (Fine Art) course has been designed to encourage the use of a wide range of mediums, from traditional drawing and painting to conceptual mulita media spaces.
In the Sixth Form, students can choose to study AQA Advanced Art & Design (Fine Art) if they attained a Grade 7, 8 or 9 in GCSE Art & Design (Fine Art). In the Lower Sixth, Art & Design (Fine Art) students explore a range of drawing, painting and thinking skills. Students are encouraged to discover new ways of creating visual journeys, as well as reinforcing previously taught skills. This work naturally sets the foundation for the Personal Investigation Portfolio. In the Upper Sixth, students will be encouraged to create their own work space which often becomes a unique outcome environment. Visiting Examination Board Moderators often comment on the breadth of approaches explored by the Department as being impressive.
Further information about the job
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 Westcliff High School for Boys Academy
- School type
- Academy, ages 11 to 18
- Education phase
- Secondary school
- School size
- 1292 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- Westcliff High School for Boys Academy website
- Email address
- vacancies@whsb.essex.sch.uk
- Phone number
- 01702 475443
Westcliff High School for Boys is an Outstanding Academy Grammar School located in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.
At WHSB we continue to hold dear our values and traditions whilst fostering academic excellence and a dynamism which allow us to provide a twenty-first century world class education.
Our record of outstanding success is reflected in our outstanding A Level and GCSE results and we are committed to providing the highest standards in all aspects of our provision for pupils.
We currently have around 870 boys on roll in Years 7 to 11, and 330 students in our mixed Sixth Form.
School location
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