Curriculum Leader of PE & Performing Arts

Role overview

We are seeking to appoint a well-qualified and inspirational teacher to lead our PE & Performing Arts Faculty. This is an exciting opportunity to become a key strategic leader within the school, contributing to self-evaluation, whole-school development planning and our wider ethos, working closely with the School Leadership Group.

• Lead a faculty comprising PE, Drama and Music; line-manage two Deputy Curriculum Leaders and support staff to deliver consistently strong outcomes.
• Be accountable for pupil achievement and progress across the faculty; set high expectations and a culture of high aspiration.
• Use data and quality assurance processes to evaluate impact, address underperformance and drive improvement.
• Model excellent classroom practice and develop teaching and learning across the team.
• Contribute to whole-school priorities through effective strategic leadership.

Who we are looking for

The successful candidate will be passionate about their specialist subject (PE, Drama or Music) and able to inspire and motivate both students and colleagues. You will be a thoughtful, creative practitioner, eager to share and develop excellent teaching and learning, and confident in challenging underperformance to secure sustained improvement.

Person specification

Criteria - Qualifications

Essential

- Qualified teacher status. Honours degree in a relevant specialist subject (PE, Drama or Music). PGCE (or equivalent). Evidence of effective CPD in teaching, learning and subject knowledge.

Desirable

- Middle leadership development/training.

Criteria - Experience

Essential

- Successful teaching across the full age and ability range in an 11–18 setting.

- Excellent classroom practice (able to role-model and coach others).

- Experience of leading and developing colleagues/teams.

- Secure understanding of quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation.

- Confident use of data to diagnose need and implement effective strategies and intervention.

- Practical knowledge of curriculum pathways.

Desirable

- Leadership of whole-school developments.

- Experience of designing and leading CPD.

Criteria - Skills & abilities

- High expectations and commitment to raising achievement for all pupils.

- Strong assessment and intervention practice.

- Excellent communication with staff, students and parents/carers.

- Ability to motivate and build effective teams; able to challenge underperformance appropriately.

- Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

- Ability to use technology effectively to support learning.

- Commitment to maintaining a safe working and learning environment, including appropriate risk assessment.

Criteria - Personal attributes

- Enjoys working with young people; able to inspire and motivate.

- Creative, reflective and solution-focused.

- Ambitious for pupils and the school; outcome-driven.

- Strong team player with a willingness to learn and develop.

- Commitment to the wider life of the school.

Job description

The current conditions of employment of school teachers as laid down by the Department for Education.

The Post

This is a strategic leadership post within the school and as such the post holder will be expected to make significant contributions to whole school planning and issues in addition to the principle responsibilities within the faculty.

The post holder will lead a team of staff across 3 different subject areas (PE, Drama and Music), directly line manage some staff (including x2 Subject Leaders) within the faculty and will report to their SLT link.

Core Purpose

• To be responsible and accountable for pupil achievement and outcomes at all levels in all 4 subjects across the faculty.
• To ensure that Subject Leaders and all Faculty members have the highest possible expectations of their pupils and create a culture of high aspirations across the team.
• Develop, implement and contribute to the vision, ethos and policies of the school in conjunction with Subject Leaders and across the faculty, reflecting the school’s commitment to high achievement, positive behaviour and attitudes to learning.
• Monitor, evaluate and review the performance of the faculty and the 4 subjects to promote good practice and raise standards which will improve outcomes for pupils.
• To monitor and analyse data with Subject Leaders across the faculty and based on this analysis to implement effective strategies and intervention to raise pupil achievement.
• To ensure curriculum coverage, continuity and progression in the faculty, across all subjects for all pupils, across the full ability range and within each subject.
• To lead, develop and monitor programmes of study across the faculty and in all subjects.
• To establish effective working practices with College Managers and relevant support staff across the faculty to ensure the best outcomes for pupils.
• To establish effective partnerships and communication with parents across the faculty to ensure the best outcomes for pupils.
• To ensure the effective and efficient management and organisation of learning and financial resources across the faculty.
• To use accommodation to create an effective and stimulating environment for teaching and learning across all subjects within the faculty.
• To ensure that there is a safe working and learning environment across all subjects in the faculty in which risks are properly assessed.

Strategic Leadership and Development

• Contribute to the self-evaluation and strategic development planning of the whole school, lead and monitor faculty and subject improvement plans as well as action plans to tackle any areas of underachievement.
• To develop and implement in conjunction with Subject Leaders, a clear vision (short, medium and long term) for the faculty which will drive it forward and adapt to current priorities and changes in the educational landscape.

Leading Staff

• To lead, support, recruit, allocate and challenge staff in achieving school, faculty and subject priorities and targets and delegate responsibilities for appropriate aspects of work. Must be prepared to challenge any staff underperformance to secure improvements within the faculty.
• To consider and take responsibility for your own professional development. In addition to supporting and encouraging the professional development of all staff within the faculty, especially the Subject Leaders (and beyond if needed), in line with whole school policy and practice. Which includes contributing to training and development activities within the faculty (and beyond if needed) and be aware of the latest trends and research in the area.

§ To establish clear expectations and constructive working relationships among those involved with the faculty (especially the Subject Leaders), including through team working and mutual support, coaching, devolving responsibilities and delegating tasks, as appropriate; evaluating progress and developing an acceptance of accountability.

• To lead the faculty and directly line manage Subject Leaders within the faculty through the appraisal/performance management process.

Leading Teaching and Learning

• To lead teaching and learning across the faculty by example through being an excellent classroom practitioner themselves.
• To be responsible and accountable for the quality of teaching and learning at all levels across the faculty.
• To evaluate learning and teaching across the faculty in the context of the school and use this analysis to identify effective practice and areas for improvement, and take action to improve further the quality of teaching and learning.
• To establish and implement clear practices for assessing, recording and reporting on pupil achievement in line with school policy and to use this information to recognise achievement and to assist pupils in setting targets for further improvement.

Other

• To undertake any reasonable duty at the request and discretion of the Headteacher.

This role will be reviewed and monitored through the Appraisal process. The person appointed will be expected to work co-operatively as part of a team in all aspects of developmental work, including contributing to schemes of work.

We look forward to appointing staff who are keen to become involved within all aspects of the PEPA faculty and school life in general.