Job Description
Are you seeking a new opportunity to join a highly successful comprehensive school that is committed to providing an outstanding education of excellence for all? Would you like to be a successful Lead Practitioner who would thrive when working with other committed and innovative practitioners? The Halley Academy is now recruiting a Lead Practitioner who will lead on coordinating the support for our ECTs at the Academy.
This is a truly fantastic opportunity for a passionate educator to become part of a well established, collaborative and successful Lead Practitioner team which ensures that the highest teaching and learning standards are modelled and developed across the Academy. Lead Practitioners do this work through whole-academy initiatives and bespoke support which enhance the learning of staff, students and parents/carers.
This vacancy has arisen as the current post holder is retiring after decades of happy service at the Academy. We have a long track record of providing excellent support to our trainee teachers, many remaining at the Academy and progressing in their careers with us. Within the role, you will coordinate the support for ECTs through mentorship, observations and internal training sessions to support teaching and learning. You will work closely with our ECT training provider, and will be responsible for ensuring ECTs meet the program deadlines and requirements. In September 2024, we will be a newly established training hub for ECTs and mentors across the local community. As part of this role, you will act as the facilitator for these sessions, working with our training provider to lead training for ECTs and mentors from several schools and academies, throughout the year.
This permanent opportunity offers a competitive MPS/UPS + Inner London salary, commensurate with experience + TLR2A (£3,214). We welcome applications from prospective colleagues who would wish to work part-time, as well as full-time. Colleagues from across all curriculum areas are able and welcome to apply.
Suitable and interested candidates are encouraged to make contact with the Principal, Ben Russell, by contacting him at ben.russell@thehalleyacademy.org.uk
We deem this to be a great position on the basis that;
- We offer a vibrant and committed Academy, passionate about all subjects and dedicated to supporting students throughout their learning experience and securing the best possible outcomes for them.
- We offer pupils the very best in learning opportunities by delivering high-quality teaching via our bespoke curriculums, alongside inspiring extracurricular opportunities.
- We believe in developing staff into outstanding practitioners through our excellent CPD programmes.
- This is further supported through our membership of the Leigh Academies Trust which provides regular teach-meets and co-operative training sessions within the trust to facilitate staff and student growth.
If this sounds like an environment within which you would like to work, apply to join our team. The successful applicant will be enthusiastic, flexible, well organised and able to work as part of a team as well as having the ability to work alone when required.
Key responsibilities, as outlined in the job description, include;
- Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge students.
- Promote good progress and outcomes by students.
- Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge.
- Plan and teach well-structured lessons.
- Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all students.
- Make accurate and productive use of assessment.
- Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment.
Welcome to The Halley Academy - Click here to view a message from Ben Russell (Principal).
I am delighted to welcome you to The Halley Academy. We are an aspirational, disciplined and inclusive academy where human-scale education, a dynamic curriculum, and excellent teaching and pastoral care, maximise student achievement.
Our core values - respect, achievement, collaboration, integrity and resilience - permeate everything we do. We believe in the potential of every student. We champion the highest outcomes for all young people. Our staff are driven by the belief that education can transform our students’ lives. We take our role as educators seriously and sincerely - we know that the culture of our academy affects the character of our students, which in turn shapes the culture of our society.
It is for this reason why we are so proud to be a caring community where everybody feels empowered and supported to be the best version of themselves. Students are inspired to work hard, play an active role with the world around them, and to achieve more than they thought possible. Safeguarding is of paramount importance; our students are happy, safe and successful in our care.
We build strong partnerships with parents and carers, working closely together to ensure all students enjoy a fulfilling and rewarding education. Our teachers lead with professionalism and scholarship; they are experts in their field and love sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm for their subject with their classes. All of us are part of a warm and compassionate family of staff, Governors and Trust colleagues who have boundless ambitions for those we work with and a deep commitment to learning and self-improvement. We know that working with children every day is the best job in the world.
The Halley Academy has a diverse and dynamic staffing body of committed, creative and hardworking educators who enjoy coming to work as they benefit from:
- A calm, organised and professional learning environment;
- An academy culture that is committed to the holistic development of children;
- Evidenced-based teaching and learning policies rooted in the strongest possible evidence about how children learn best;
- A clear and consistent behaviour policy which ensures that disruption to learning is minimal;
- A visible and approachable leadership team;
- A comprehensive weekly CPD programme that supports all staff in their academic and pastoral roles;
- Opportunities to collaborate with, and learn from, colleagues across the Leigh Academies Trust.
Our ambitious world-class curriculum delivers an education of excellence for all. The Halley Academy has been an International Baccalaureate World School since 2019. We are committed to students engaging deeply and comprehensively with both substantive and disciplinary knowledge so that they achieve strong outcomes throughout each phase of the curriculum: the Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Years 7, 8 and 9; a two year Key Stage 4 where students study a range of GCSE and vocational qualifications in Years 10 and 11; and the International Baccalaureate Careers Programme (IBCP) and T Level programme in our Sixth Form.
We have enjoyed unprecedented investment and refurbishment as part of joining Leigh Academies Trust, providing excellent learning facilities in an historic listed building which has real character and charm. All students at The Halley Academy are given access to a personal Chromebook, which they use every day in lessons and at home to support their learning. All physical classrooms have a corresponding virtual classroom, and all teaching staff have Google Educator certification so that technology can enhance the learning experiences of students. With considerable investment from the Tallow Chandlers Livery Company, our new Engineering and Design Centre opened in June 2022. Students and staff also benefit from a modern sports complex on our 16 acre site and a number of cutting edge science laboratories. Construction has also commenced this January on our state-of-the-art visual and performing arts centre, to be completed in Spring 2024.
We know that happy and supported students will be successful and engaged in their learning. This is why students between Years 7-11 join one of our three small school communities - Easley, Franklin or Turing - each with a team of staff dedicated to helping them surpass their potential. Our fourth small school - Hawking - offers bespoke academic and pastoral support to our Sixth Formers.
Our curriculum is rich and dynamic because it invests deeply in the holistic development of our students. We offer a wide range of enriching extracurricular clubs both before and after school. We maximise opportunities for learning outside of the classroom through trips, visits from outside speakers, Cultural Capital Days and careers guidance that opens our students’ minds to the possibilities and opportunities in the world around them. Our Values programme and Global Citizenship lessons help develop the global mindedness of our students, whilst IT classes ensure that they can use technology safely and responsibly.
This is an exciting time for colleagues to be joining our Academy community. Our first cohort of Halley Academy students achieved the best ever GCSE results in the school’s history in August 2023. We’re immensely proud to now be one of the top performing mixed comprehensive schools in Greenwich, and we were celebrated in Schools Week magazine as the third most improved school in the country for the progress of disadvantaged pupils, compared with pre-pandemic performance. Our Year 13 cohorts have a consistent track record of outperforming international averages in the IBCP programme, and we are becoming oversubscribed in many Key Stage 3 year groups.
We are proud to be a local school of choice for the community we serve. Our school equips students with the knowledge, skills and experiences they need so they can lead fulfilling and successful adult lives. If you feel that you want to be a part of our exciting and unique learning community, then we look forward to hearing from you.
Ben Russell (Principal)
Being part of Leigh Academies Trust: As of 1st April 2024, our Trust comprises 32 geographically organised academies (16 secondaries, 14 primaries and 2 special) educating more than 20,000 students and employing 3,000 talented staff. Nearly 40% of our academies are judged outstanding overall by Ofsted, versus 15% nationally. The Trust is establishing four ‘clusters’ of academies: North Kent; Central Kent; South East London; Medway. In addition, the Trust is responsible for one of the region’s biggest initial teaching training organisations, a large teaching school hub and is an accredited apprenticeship provider.
Our future plans are found in our Vision 2030 document available on our website.
As part of Leigh Academies Trust, you will have ample opportunity to collaborate with your peers both within the academy and across the whole Trust. This is an important part of our vision as we know through experience that we perform better when we work together. You are supported to undertake regular self-development to continue your professional development and hopefully progress further within the organisation.
Click here to view the benefits available to all LAT employees from day one.
Our commitment to safeguarding: Leigh Academies Trust and all of our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair, robust and consistent recruitment process across all academies and business units which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates - you can read more about this in our Recruitment Guidance. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.
Our commitment to equality and diversity: As a Trust, we are passionate about diversity and recognise that as individuals, we all bring something unique to the role regardless of any protected characteristics which is why we treat all of our people equally, without compromise. We are committed to providing equality and fairness throughout our recruitment and employment practices and not discriminating on any grounds.
Based on the quality and quantity of applications received, Leigh Academies Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy sooner than the specified closing date. Applicants will be notified of this where possible. Therefore, early applications are encouraged.