EXPIRED

Head of Religious Studies

Burnham Grammar School, Slough, Buckinghamshire, SL1 7HG

This job expired on 3 February 2020 – see similar jobs

• Job start date

  20 April 2020

• Closing date

  3 February 2020 at 10am

• Date listed

  22 January 2020

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teacher
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Subject: Religious education
• Working pattern:
  • Full time
• Full-time equivalent salary: Main pay range 1 to Upper pay range 3, £25,543 to £41,635
• Additional allowances:

  MPS/UPR + London Fringe, TLR2b (£4,657 pa)

  We are offering you: ; • Enthusiastic, motivated and intelligent students ; • An outstanding culture & ethos where students & staff enjoy & achieve ; • A school in which every student studies RS GCSE ; • A socially and culturally diverse school community ; • A well-resourced department ; • An enthusiastic and friendly department ; • Gold IIP Award & IIP Champion reflects personalised and nationally recognised CPD

Head of Religious Studies job summary

We are looking for a committed and enthusiastic teacher to lead this very successful department

We are offering you:
• Enthusiastic, motivated and intelligent students
• An outstanding culture & ethos where students & staff enjoy & achieve
• A school in which every student studies RS GCSE
• A socially and culturally diverse school community
• A well-resourced department
• An enthusiastic and friendly department
• Gold IIP Award & IIP Champion reflects personalised and nationally recognised CPD

We want from you:
• Excellent interpersonal and team building skills
• To be an outstanding classroom practitioner
• The ability to engage and inspire our students
• Commitment to developing the highest standards of Learning and Teaching
• Innovative and dynamic leadership
• The ability to teach A level RS or Philosophy
• A track record of securing outstanding student progress

Job Description for the Head of Religious Studies

A. Name

B. Job Title - Head of RS Department

C. Job Purpose - To lead, develop, support & hold accountable a team of more than four people focusing on a discrete curricular area (department) to ensure high standards of teaching & learning and the development of staff & students.

D. Accountable - To the governors and senior leadership of the school for the effective discharge of all duties.
For the effective teaching learning and support of the school's students in the department.
For enabling the staff of the department to identify and address their continuing professional development needs, providing opportunities for cascading new learning to other colleagues, as appropriate.
For evaluating all factors in the department contributing to student achievement and intervening appropriately to promote success.
For line managing the second in department or, where relevant, teacher in charge of subject.

E. Responsibilities
1. School improvement and school self-evaluation
Lead the department in relevant school improvement and school self-evaluation activities, with specific attention to the service to students in the department.

Lead departmental preparation for inspections by OFSTED and other accredited bodies.

Contribute to whole school developments as appropriate, in consultation with the senior leadership team and, where appropriate, to have a whole school responsibility as directed by the Headteacher.

Fulfil any whole school responsibilities or projects allocated to them by the Headteacher.

2. Co-operate with internal Departmental Reviews for their department and to assist in the reviews of other departments as directed.
Lead and manage the creation of a three-year Departmental Strategic Plan and Vision and a one-year Departmental Development Plan. Review and evaluate these plans with the line manager as directed in the line management schedule.

Monitor and quality assure department members’ report writing and assessments and monitor and quality assure staff planners to ensure agreed schemes of work are followed.

Complete monthly line management proformas, leading to the production of a Departmental Evaluation Form (DEF), which includes the one-year Departmental Development Plan & Departmental Vision

3. Teaching and learning and student development

Ensure that departmental teaching and learning practices and schemes of work (SOW) clearly reflect the principles and guidance in the Learning and Teaching policy and meet identified whole school requirements for SOW.

Stay abreast of recent subject developments and plan, enact and evaluate, at least annually, all courses, appropriate syllabuses, materials, schemes of work and revision programmes.

Ensure that the department’s SOW and lesson resources have clearly identified aims and objectives and success criteria which are shared with the students.

Ensure that the department’s curricular provision includes citizenship, cross-curricular themes and spiritual, moral, social and cultural dimensions.

Lead the provision of varied methods of teaching and learning, appropriate to the abilities and aspirations of the students and which enable them to take maximum responsibility for their own learning.

Ensure that the SOW are used as working documents to share resources and decrease workloads.

4. Student assessment, reporting and support
Monitor the assessment of work by teachers within the department at least twice annually to ensure that it, and the work sampling process itself, follows departmental and whole school policies and offer guidance to teachers on improvement where necessary.

Meet the published data standards to analyse student performance and value-added data in the subject.

Ensure that all members of their department are abiding by the whole school Feedback Policy and the Marking Code as well as any additional departmental feedback requirements.

Use SIMs behaviour to monitor behaviour across the department and identify students, classes or teachers that require additional support and liaise with the HOH as appropriate. Ensure that appropriate support and direction is given to them, monitored, evaluated, altered where necessary and communicated to the HOH

Explore trends in achievement and progress according to age, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background, ability and any other groups of learners including targeted under performing groups and Pupil Premium students.

Take responsibility for the allocation of students to particular classes in the subject, in consultation with the curriculum manager and according to school policy and practice.

Ensure the effective and efficient provision of a programme of formative and summative student assessment, consistent with the whole-school Feedback and Learning and Teaching policies.

Ensure that key assessment of students’ Effort and Progress Grades, especially controlled assessments and required practical work, are standardised within the department and that a timetable for such work is communicated to relevant staff.

Ensure that accurate and up-to-date records of student achievement and attendance are kept within the department.

Participate in all school-wide activities for responding to such records, including the monthly Line Management proformas preparation of a DEF to governors and the line manager on progress of action plans, the examination results of the previous academic year and key developments for the coming year.

Manage the controlled assessments and required practical work for the relevant syllabi and ensure that examination board directions are known by all relevant staff and acted upon. Annually review procedures to take into account syllabi changes and moderators reports from the previous year.

5. Finance and resource management
Manage the stock, consumable and financial resources of the department and any other allocated whole school budget, in a cost–effective way, following the school’s financial procedures and order and allocate materials and equipment as appropriate and maintain an up-to-date inventory of equipment and resources using school procedures only and at all times.

Prepare Capitation spreadsheets as directed to request annual funding for their department.

Advise the senior leadership of the school on the staffing, resource and accommodation needs of the department.

Prepare the annual analysis of the staffing needs of the department according to the current staffing policy of the school and work with the timetabler to plan staffing and accommodation allocation in the department.

Provide departmental statistics as required by senior leaders, governors or other relevant bodies.

6. Personnel
To line-manage staff in the department and to manage the work of non-teaching staff allocated to the department, including appraisal where relevant.

Convene department meetings as specified by the school calendar, ensuring that agendas and minutes are circulated according to school policy. Convene extra ad hoc department meetings as necessary.

Contribute to the process of appointing staff to the department and follow the Safer Recruitment Policy without exception.

Design and implement an appropriate programme for the departmental induction of new staff or staff who are taking on new departmental responsibilities.

Participate in the school's staff appraisal and performance management systems, both as appraiser and appraisee as appropriate.

Contribute to the identification and support of career development and continuing professional development and training for members of the department and run whole staff INSET as required as an associate member of the leadership team (where appropriate).

Ensure adherence to school policies by members of the department.

Annually review department risk assessments and alter in the light of changes to department practice. To termly pass signed and dated risk assessments to line manager and to ensure that the health and safety policy is followed by the department and its members, in particular that risk assessments are made.

Ensure that all members of the department follow the school Communications Policy.

Ensure that the department handbook is up-dated annually as a reference document for departmental staff, which, it is suggested, should contain the following sections:

• Table of contents
• Departmental aims
• Breakdown of responsibilities within the department
• Current staffing including individual staff timetables
• Teaching and learning, including sharing good practice
• Programmes of study including syllabuses and schemes of work
• Differentiation
• Cross-curricular themes in practice
• Assessment, recording and reporting practice
• Independent study practice
• Examinations, including recent history of results
• Departmental improvement plan
• Monitoring and evaluation practices
• Governor links
• Health and safety, including risk assessments
• Accommodation and other resources, including stock lists
• Links with feeder primaries, higher education and industry
• Report forms and any other frequently-used documentation

7. Liaison within and outside school
Foster links with feeder and partner schools, higher education and outside agencies relevant to the department, in accordance with school policies.

Ensure that the departmental page on the BGS website is regularly updated and contains all required information

Ensure the preparation of up-to-date and appropriate liaison and publicity material relevant to the department, in accordance with school guidelines.

Work with the attached governor, arranging at least one annual governor visit and to prepare the annual Departmental Evaluation Form to report to the governing body on the department’s work.

Liaise with any other outside agencies or organisations as directed by the Headteacher.

8. General Duties
Participate in appropriate meetings with colleagues, students, parents and governors relative to the role of Head of Department, having the line management responsibility for a significant number of people.

Carry out a share of supervisory duties in accordance with published rosters.

Comply with and promote school policies and procedures.

Abide by and actively promote the school’s Child Protection Policy and Procedures and Safe Working Practice for the Protection of Children and Staff in Education Settings.

This job description allocates duties and responsibilities but does not direct the particular amount of time to be spent on carrying them out and no part of it may be so construed. In allocating time to the performance of duties and responsibilities, the post holder must use Directed Time and have regard to section 52 of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions of Document 2018.

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.

This job post has expired.

About Burnham Grammar School

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary
• School size: 1264 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report (opens in new tab)
• School website: Burnham Grammar School website (opens in new tab)
• Email address: vacancies@burnhamgrammar.org.uk
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/burnham-grammar-school (opens in new tab)

We are a caring school where exceptional relationships are fostered and every student is valued as an individual. We get to know our students to enable us to personalise the support they need to fulfil their potential. Our friendly but purposeful environment produces both excellent examination results and well-rounded individuals.

We have high expectations of our students and involve them in decisions about all key developments in the school. The maturity of our students is reflected in the school aims which they designed:

Caring Individuals – all members of our community work hard to support each other, to respect each other and most importantly themselves, whilst celebrating the diversity of our community.

Responsible Learners – students are supported to take responsibility for their own learning, understand the key importance of effort and making mistakes and develop the skills required to become responsible independent learners to fulfil their potential.

Active Citizens – students are involved in the decision making processes of the school and are given opportunities for leadership in all key stages. They understand how, and do, make their voices heard in the school, local, national and global communities and support those less fortunate through an exceptional programme of fund raising events for the adopted school charities

Prepared for their Future – students identify their passions and are assisted in reviewing the opportunities in those fields, whilst developing those wider skills that are essential to achieve in the outside world, but not always required in the exam hall.

Healthy and Safe – all students participate in the extraordinary range of extracurricular activities on offer and are equipped with the knowledge and assertiveness to make positive informed lifestyle choices.

Burnham Grammar School is an idyllic learning community where the relationships and teamwork between staff and students are exceptional and provide the support and reassurance for our students to strive to be their very best.

Quite simply our students; discover their passions and fulfil their academic, artistic, sporting and personal potential in order to choose their own futures!

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