Head of History
King Alfred's, Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 9BY19 days remaining to apply
Start date details
1st September 2025
Closing date
22 April 2025 at 9am
Date listed
25 March 2025
Job details
Job role
- Teacher
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Subject
- History
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £31,650.00 - £49,084.00 Annually (FTE) M1 - UPR3 Plus TLR 2(2) £5,643
Head of History job summary
Are you passionate about History and dedicated to helping every student thrive? Join our academy as the Head of History, where you'll lead a supportive and successful team that consistently inspires students to achieve their best. History is a popular subject at our school, with strong engagement and uptake in Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5.
At our academy, you'll find a welcoming environment, opportunities for professional growth, and a commitment to your success.
We're looking for someone who can spark curiosity, build confidence, and nurture a lifelong love of History—both inside and outside the classroom.
Your Role:
Course Delivery
Regularly walk into subject lessons to determine the consistency and quality of the delivery (in accordance with the T&L and behaviour blueprints and priorities and subject curriculum vision) and provide feedback to staff to share excellent practice or to address any concerns.
Course Design
Oversee the curriculum design in the relevant subject, make the rationale and narrative explicit, and clear to staff and students. Produce and make high quality resources available.
Professional Enthusiasm and Fostering Curiosity
Promote excellence in your curriculum area both internally and to the staff members and externally via Twitter. Lead on CPD workshops to support staff's subject knowledge and how best to implement this in the classroom.
Where possible, foster a love of learning outside of the classroom by organising events or trips and working with the King Alfred’s Enrichment Programme.
Resilience and Strategic thinking
Offer support and actively find ways to solve problems with the line manager. Occasionally provide support with cover for lessons.
Supportive and Strategic Line Management
Liaise with the line manager each fortnight to agree on strategic ways to move your subject forward and to manage the staff teaching the curriculum as effectively as possible. This meeting might also involve learning walks or ‘book looks’. Line manage members of the Faculty by helping them to set meaningful targets to further their development and support the vision and goals of the faculty. Meet with these people each term to discuss progress against these.
Support teaching staff to evidence their effective practice for the Appraisal process.
Independent Learning
Have a clear view on the quantity and quality of independent learning being set in the subject and how it fits with the overall curriculum design. Monitor the independent work set.
Reflecting on Assessment Data
Develop and implement accurate and robust assessments and monitoring systems.
Monitor and analyse profiles. Contribute to feedback on assessment data with the Head of Faculty (providing solutions to problems highlighted by the data and sharing strengths).
Use the tracking of students to identify underachievement and support teachers to put in place actions to improve the achievement of those students. Identify and support specific groups of students, particularly Highly Able, Pupil Premium and SEN groups.
A Point of Contact for Parents and Students
Addressing parental or students' concerns via e-mail or at parents’ evening.
Exams
Work with the Head of Faculty to run standardisations and moderations of students’ work and liaise with the exams office to ensure the smooth running of any exams where applicable.
We’re looking for someone who brings enthusiasm, creativity, and a deep commitment to student success. If that sounds like you, we’d love to welcome you to our team!
You’ll be expected to fulfil the professional responsibilities of a teacher as outlined in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions document, or any subsequent legislation.
About the school:
King Alfred’s Academy is a welcoming, ambitious, and dynamic school, brimming with energy, opportunity, and possibility. Rated “Good” by Ofsted, our mission—"Opportunity for All"—is at the heart of everything we do. We are passionate about creating a supportive and inspiring environment where both students and staff can thrive every day.
As a fully comprehensive secondary school with a thriving sixth form, we are proud of our strong culture of respect and responsibility. Our classrooms are calm and purposeful, guided by a “warm but strict” approach that ensures every student feels valued, supported, and encouraged to achieve their very best.
Beyond the classroom, our KA Klubs enrichment program offers over 130 exciting clubs and activities every fortnight, giving students the chance to explore new passions, develop skills, and build lifelong friendships.
Nestled in the heart of Wantage, King Alfred’s Academy is easily accessible from Oxford, Swindon, Newbury, Abingdon, and Didcot. Whether in the classroom or beyond, we are committed to helping every student reach their full potential in a school that feels like a community.
Benefits of working at King Alfred's Academy include:
- A commitment to offer flexible working whenever we can and to support the work-life balance of our employees
- An open and honest approach to school leadership where leaders regularly invite feedback and respond to it directly
- A full staff wellbeing charter that is regularly reviewed and updated (see attached)
- Full support for your professional development and future training needs (CPD)
- Forward-thinking pedagogical approaches grounded firmly in research
- Commitment to a positive culture and robust positive behaviour management
- A commitment to recognise previous, continuous service.
- A 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme.
- A Cycle to Work Scheme.
- Opportunity to attend school residential trips from Normandy or Barcelona to skiing in Austria, Canada and USA
- Complimentary fruit, tea and coffee and subsidised lunches
- Eligible for Blue Light discount card
- Optional gift on your birthday
- Free parking
- Free Eye Care Voucher
King Alfred’s is proud to be part of the Cambrian Learning Trust, a network of schools nurturing opportunities and career development. Collaboration is an important benefit of working at King Alfred’s, with students and staff benefitting from our work with Trust schools and other schools locally and regionally. More information about the trust can be found here: Cambrian Learning Trust - Home
Interview process
Shortlisting will take place week commencing 22nd April with interviews taking place week commencing 28th April.
The interview process will include teaching a lesson, lesson drop ins, a student Q&A and a panel interview.
For an informal discussion about the role please contact Adam Wood (Deputy Headteacher) via email on: awood@kas.cambrianlt.org.
The school reserves the right to consider and interview candidates ahead of the closing date if appropriate. An offer may be made to an exceptional candidate in this instance.
Cambrian Learning Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and preventing extremism; all staff must ensure that the highest priority is given to following the guidance and regulations to safeguard children and young people. The successful candidate will be required to undergo an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) as part of their job role.
Commitment to safeguarding
SAFER RECRUITMENT STATEMENT
King Alfred’s Academy and The Vale Academy Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and preventing extremism. We expect all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All post holders in regulated activity are subject to appropriate vetting procedures and a satisfactory “Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Check.
Shortlisted candidates will be subject to online searches for publicly available information.
The Vale Academy Trust is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from a range of backgrounds to represent diversity in line with our schools’ community.
Applying for the job
This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.
CVs are not accepted.
About King Alfred's
- School type
- Academy, ages 11 to 18
- Education phase
- Secondary
- School size
- 1682 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- King Alfred's website
King Alfred’s is a learning community with a passionate, talented and dedicated staff, new and refurbished learning spaces for 21st century learning, the offer of an outstanding sixth form ranked amongst the best in the country, and a wealth of extra-curricular trips, visits and activities for students to enjoy as part of their wider learning outside the classroom.
Furthermore, King Alfred’s has an enviable reputation for providing outstanding quality and breadth of pastoral care to all students through an experienced and dedicated team of pastoral staff and student managers.
This enables students to develop as individuals with confidence and well-being throughout their school career. This strength of King Alfred’s was, quite rightly, recognised by inspectors in the recent Ofsted inspection when inspectors noted that: ‘Pupils’ welfare and safety has the highest priority. Personal, social and health education plays a key part in ensuring that pupils are happy, safe and very well cared for.’
Most importantly, for pupils making the transition from Year 6 to secondary education, West Site offers a bright, welcoming campus where they can make the change safely and happily into secondary education. The advantage of the bespoke KS3 site is that it offers a unique environment for them to make new friends, get to know a dedicated team of tutors and teachers, and adjust to the new phase of their educational lives. It is an environment in which our core values of Responsibility, Respect, Tolerance, Courage and Determination will be seen, experienced and lived consistently every day.
What is very evident throughout the school, is the impressive spirit and desire amongst the governors and staff to ensure that King Alfred’s Academy continues to grow and flourish to become the outstanding school of choice for the local community and beyond and that we truly can offer "Opportunity for All".
School location
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