Head of Geography

About Us

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is a mixed Academy for 1,300 students aged 11-18, with a large sixth form of nearly 400 students.

The Academy has three consecutive Outstanding judgments by Ofsted, with the most recent inspection in 2014 finding the Academy to be Outstanding in every aspect. We are a consistently high performing school. Our motto, 'All Can Achieve' encapsulates our vision that all members of the Academy community are supported and encouraged to achieve their absolute potential. We believe that a well-supported and valued staff body is the key to our success.

We are the 'Teaching School Hub' for Croydon and Sutton and we are able to offer all teachers an extensive programme of first class professional development. Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is part of the Harris Federation and this enables us to offer you a comprehensive induction programme and training and development opportunities to support your career development including Masters and other qualifications.

Main Areas of Responsibility

The purpose of your role will be:

• To be accountable for leading, managing and developing the subject area.
• To raise standards of student attainment and achievement within the whole subject/curriculum area and to monitor and support student progress.
• To ensure the provision of an appropriately broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated curriculum for students studying in the department, in accordance with the aims of the academy and the curricular policies determined by the Governing Body and Principal.
• To teach the relevant subject across the age and ability range.
• To facilitate and encourage a learning experience which provides students with the opportunity to achieve their individual potential.
• To effectively manage and deploy staff, financial and physical resources within the department.
• To share and support the school's responsibility to provide and monitor opportunities for personal and academic growth.

Your main areas of responsibility will fall under the areas of:

• Operational and strategic planning (including formulating the subject and faculty improvement plans, and leading the development of appropriate syllabuses, resources, schemes of work, marking policies, assessment and teaching strategies)
• Ensuring the delivery of an appropriate, comprehensive, high quality and cost effective curriculum and leading development of the subject and its delivery
• Staff development (including recruiting, building and managing an effective team of motivated staff)
• Student outcomes (including ensuring the effective operation of target setting, monitoring and evaluation systems and the input and maintenance of accurate student data)
• Pastoral system (including being a form tutor to a selected group of students)
• Teaching, including acting as an outstanding role model

Qualifications & Experience

We would like to hear from you if you:

• Hold QTS (or equivalent) and a relevant undergraduate degree, and, ideally, management training
• Demonstrate successful teaching of GCSE at good or better level
• Have experience of initiation and effective management of change
• Show evidence of raising achievement in present post and showing good value added for groups
• Have knowledge of current curriculum developments in subject and their implications
• Have good knowledge and understanding of current educational thinking
• Show good understanding of how children learn and how to raise standards of achievement
• Have good communication skills in speech and writing
• Display excellent organisational skills
• Are able to build and sustain professional standards and relationships with students
• Are able to contribute towards creating a safe and protective environment

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.

Professional Development & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.