Head of Performing Arts

Astrea Academy Dearne, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S63 9EW

16 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  January 2027

• Closing date

  18 October 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  2 October 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teacher or lecturer
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full time equivalent salary: £34,399.00 - £53,887.00 Annually (Actual) MPS/UPS Plus TLR 2D £6,091

Head of Performing Arts job summary

Head of Performing Arts

Astrea Academy Dearne

Salary: MPS/UPS + TLR 2D
Contract: Full Time, Permanent
Closing Date: 18 October 2026

About Astrea Academy Dearne

Astrea Academy Dearne is a vibrant and inclusive 11-16 secondary academy in Barnsley, serving around 1,100 students. As part of Astrea Academy Trust, we are committed to ensuring every young person achieves their very best, both academically and personally. Our approach is centred on a knowledge-rich curriculum, high expectations and a culture that is both warm and disciplined. We believe that all students deserve access to powerful knowledge and exceptional teaching, creating an environment where scholars can thrive, develop confidence and fulfil their potential. Conveniently located within easy reach of Sheffield, Doncaster, Wakefield and Leeds, Dearne is a fantastic place to build and develop your career.

The Role

We are seeking an ambitious and inspirational Head of Performing Arts to lead our Music and Drama provision. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced teacher or aspiring middle leader to shape the direction of Performing Arts across the academy, driving high standards of teaching, learning and achievement while fostering a love of creativity and performance.

You will lead a dedicated department, ensuring a high-quality curriculum, exceptional classroom practice and enriching opportunities that enable every scholar to flourish.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for Performing Arts, ensuring high standards across Music and Drama.
• Lead curriculum planning and development to deliver engaging, knowledge-rich learning experiences.
• Drive strong outcomes by monitoring progress and implementing effective intervention strategies.
• Support, develop and inspire colleagues through collaboration, coaching and professional dialogue.
• Promote high expectations for behaviour, participation and achievement in all Performing Arts lessons.
• Develop opportunities for performances, showcases and enrichment activities that enhance scholar experiences.
• Monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning across the department.
• Contribute to whole-school improvement and play an active role within the academy's leadership culture.

What We Can Offer

• Extensive support and clear progression opportunities within Astrea Academy Trust.
• A well-sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum supported by high-quality shared resources.
• Collaborative planning and reduced workload through centralised curriculum materials.
• Excellent Music and Drama curricula with strong resources to support delivery.
• Whole-class feedback approaches that allow teachers to focus on impactful teaching.
• Calm, disruption-free classrooms supported by a highly effective behaviour system.
• Visible and supportive senior leaders committed to staff success and wellbeing.
• Centralised behaviour systems, including detentions, reducing unnecessary administrative burden.
• Continuous instructional coaching and professional development, with no formal graded lesson observations.
• Access to NPQ qualifications and outstanding career development opportunities across the Astrea South Yorkshire region.
• An exceptional professional development and progression framework designed to help colleagues grow into future leadership roles.

This is an outstanding opportunity to lead a key curriculum area within a values-driven academy that is ambitious for every scholar. If you are passionate about Performing Arts and excited by the opportunity to inspire creativity, excellence and confidence in young people, we would love to hear from you.

Commitment to Safeguarding and EDI:

Astrea Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All appointments are subject to satisfactory background checks, including references and an enhanced DBS check. We value diversity and welcome applications from underrepresented groups. As a Disability Confident employer, we provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to ensure all candidates can fully demonstrate their abilities.

In line with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 and the statutory Code of Practice, the Trust requires all public-facing post holders to demonstrate fluent English. Within a school setting, this applies to all roles that involve direct or indirect interaction with pupils, parents, or members of the public.

Flexible Interview Dates:

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, so don't miss out on this exciting opportunity. Please note that interview dates are flexible, and the academy reserves the right to interview shortlisted candidates during the application window.

Ready to Make a Difference?

If you're ready to take the next step in your career and contribute to our dynamic and forward-thinking team, apply today and be a part of our mission to create a positive impact!

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

Astrea Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All posts are subject to satisfactory background checks including references and enhanced DBS checks.

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 Astrea Academy Dearne

• Organisation type: Academy, ages 11 to 16
• Education phase: Secondary school
• Size: 1071 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 16
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• Website: Astrea Academy Dearne website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/the-dearne-academy

Do you want to be part of a team where you will help make a lasting impact on our students and rapidly accelerate their progress?

Do you want to work in a school where you are free to teach, with impeccable student behaviour and unhindered by bureaucracy?

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced teacher or ECT.

Astrea Academy Dearne is an 11-16 secondary academy situated in Barnsley, with around 1150 students. We are within commutable distance from Wakefield, Leeds, Doncaster and Sheffield and are a proud member of the Astrea Academy Trust family of schools. We have the highest aspiration for our students to achieve their very best and grow both as individuals and as members of their community. We are a truly comprehensive and inclusive academy. This is reflected in our approach to all areas of our work.

We are committed to a knowledge-rich curriculum and a traditional approach to teaching, behaviour and culture. We believe that schools must teach powerful knowledge, ’the best that has been thought and said’ and an ‘entitlement curriculum’ for all. We believe in explicit instruction and have been greatly influenced by Lemov’s ‘Teach Like A Champion’, Rosenshine and recent developments in cognitive science. We believe that the creation of a scholarly culture that is warm and strict, disciplined and joyful, where there is ‘purpose not power’, ensuring impeccable behaviour, where teachers can focus on teaching and pupils can focus on learning, underpins everything

We are values-driven and our vision is to provide an inclusive, aspirational and academic education for all our students, so that all of them will learn, thrive and lead successful lives. We are unapologetically ambitious for every child, no matter what their background, prior attainment or needs. We want to ensure that all our students have the option to be able to go to university or aspirational alternative. We are not going to reduce expectations because of a child’s background or home life, or because they are new to English or have a special education need. In fact, the opposite is true. It is our job to redouble our efforts to help children overcome these barriers so that they can flourish.

We value our staff highly and treat workload very seriously. Our systems are high leverage, ensuring you can really focus on your core purpose – teaching, in a sustainable way, unhindered by bureaucracy or poor behaviour.

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