Head of Department - English

Kingsmead School, Enfield, EN1 1YQ

14 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  April 2026

• Closing date

  2 February 2026 at 9am

• Date listed

  19 January 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teacher
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Subject: English
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £37,000.00 - £54,152.00 Annually (FTE) TLR 1d £17216

Head of Department - English job summary

About the School

Kingsmead is a large, oversubscribed school that, despite serving a postcode in the top 20% most deprived parts of England:

• Has an ambitious curriculum, with almost an almost exclusively GCSE KS4 and A Level KS5, aiming for 90% EBacc while also having a performing a visual arts specialism.
• A track record of above average progress scores in spite of the challenge posed by such an ambitious curriculum.
• Exceptional behaviour, with a consistent approach that combines explicit boundaries with the space to build relationships and support those children who need it.
• A thoughtfully constructed wider school experience for the children, with an ambitious combination of clubs, trips, careers guidance and wider enrichment.

English at Kingsmead School and Sixth Form

The English department at Kingsmead is pupil-centred and the curriculum we teach is thematically built in order to best support our students in finding, keeping and growing their love of our subject and achieving their best possible academic outcomes within it.

Within the context of our large and diverse secondary school and sixth form, the English curriculum at Kingsmead is built around the themes of culture and identity in Year 7, ideas about hierarchy in Year 8 and gender in Year 9. Through these themes, our children read and write both fiction and non-fiction texts, finding themselves and their community within them. In continuation of this approach at Key Stage 4, Year 10 students study and enjoy the new AQA Worlds and Lives poetry anthology and return to ideas of gender and hierarchy through their study of Macbeth, Jekyll and Hyde and An Inspector Calls and at Key Stage 5 our students are offered two routes - Language and Literature combined or Literature.

Students make strong progress in English at Kingsmead. Last summer’s GCSE results were our strongest ever, as 73% of children achieved a grade 4 or higher in English Language and 81% of children achieved the same in Literature.

The department is comprised of 13 members of hard-working and dedicated staff who believe, absolutely, in the ability of every child to succeed in our subject and who arrive at every lesson, each week, full of passion for the subject we teach.

The school reserves the right to close this vacancy early if a suitable candidate is found prior to the deadline date for applications, therefore it is strongly advised that all applications are made early.

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

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

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About Kingsmead School

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 1502 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Kingsmead School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/kingsmead-school-enfield

Kingsmead is a large, mixed, oversubscribed school – easily accessible from both central London and surrounds – with loyal staff, an established standing in the community and a very strong track record. We are consistently above average in Progress 8 and A Level value added, with high Ebacc entry and a wide range of options at KS4 and KS5. Those outcomes are built on a calm, purposeful and collaborative atmosphere.

Despite the school’s size and standing, the Headteacher was appointed relatively young after experience of leading for a high-performing academy chain and in one of the most successful London boroughs. He has restarted the school culture and approach over the last few years and is determined to push it forward from being in the top 20% nationally to being somewhere where things are achieved others do not think possible.

School location

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