Head of Modern Foreign Languages (Spanish Specialism)

The Cottesloe School, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, LU7 0NY

15 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  September 2026

• Closing date

  20 March 2026 at 9am

• Date listed

  5 March 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Head of department or curriculum
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £32,916.00 - £51,048.00 Annually (Actual) MPS - UPS plus TLR 2C

Head of Modern Foreign Languages (Spanish Specialism) job summary

Are you a visionary linguist ready to lead a department into a new era of growth and global connection?

At The Cottesloe School, we are embarking on an inspiring journey to reshape our Modern Foreign Languages provision. From September 2026, we are launching Spanish as a core pillar of our MFL curriculum, alongside French, and we are seeking a dynamic, strategic Head of MFL to lead this exciting evolution.

Our curriculum exists to help students Prepare, Aspire, and Succeed. By introducing Spanish, we are providing a more accessible and globally relevant pathway that ensures our students can thrive in a modern world. As the architect of our new curriculum, you will lead the strategic rollout of Spanish starting with Year 7 in 2026, building toward our first GCSE cohort in 2029. Alongside this expansion, you will drive the continued excellence in our established French provision and provide professional, phased management of our legacy German curriculum, ensuring students currently mid-course receive outstanding support.

The Role As Head of MFL, you will:

• Drive the strategic introduction of Spanish from Year 7 in 2026, building a modern and rigorous curriculum through to the first GCSE cohort in 2029.
• Champion pedagogical excellence by acting as the primary lead for Spanish and French, and through fostering a culture of research-informed practice and innovative teaching that inspires students across all Key Stages.
• Develop a high-performing team by leading and inspiring a diverse team of subject specialists, ensuring professional growth and a collaborative culture during this period of positive change.
• Ensure continued excellence through direct accountability for student outcomes across all languages, ensuring every student is supported to achieve their full potential.

About You You are an ambitious Spanish specialist with a proven track record of sustaining high standards. You possess the educational foresight to see the fantastic potential this curriculum shift offers and the leadership skills to bring that vision to life. Experience or the ability to teach French to GCSE level is highly desirable, as is a passion for making languages accessible and exciting for every child.

Join Us This is a unique opportunity to leave a lasting mark on a school’s academic future. You will have the autonomy to design a forward-thinking curriculum and the support of a leadership team committed to making MFL a beacon of success at the Cottesloe School.

Please contact Louise Baldwin, Head of School, for an informal conversation about the role or to arrange a visit: lbaldwin@cottesloe.bucks.sch.uk

The deadline for completed applications is 9:00am on Friday 20th March with interviews taking place soon afterwards.

We reserve the right to interview and appoint before the closing date, so early applications are encouraged.

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

The Cottesloe School is committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people. and all staff, volunteers and governors are expected to share this commitment, to follow the school’s safeguarding policies and procedures and to behave appropriately towards children and young people at all times both in work and in their personal lives.

Offers of employment will be subject to Enhanced DBS clearance, satisfactory teacher status, qualification, online searches, health and reference checks as part of our Safer Recruitment Policy. The school has a policy of renewing all DBS checks every five years.

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 The Cottesloe School

• School type: Local authority maintained school, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 1141 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: The Cottesloe School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/the-cottesloe-school

While our postal address is Leighton Buzzard, and our postcode is LU, our school is actually situated in the picturesque rural village of Wing, in Buckinghamshire. Situated close to the border with Bedfordshire, we offer a vibrant and inspiring learning environment in a peaceful setting.

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