Nord Anglia Education Hiring for Head of Department (Science) Job at Brighton, England , UK Full Time

About Nord Anglia Education

Nord Anglia Education is the world’s leading premium schools organisation, with more than 81 schools located across 32 countries in the Americas, Europe, China, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East. Together, our schools educate over 74,000 students from kindergarten through to the end of secondary school.

Our philosophy for education rests on our four pillars of creativity, well-being, excellent academic outcomes, and global connectedness. These are delivered through the innovative use of educational technology to create a personalised 21st-century learning experience for all students.

Every parent wants the best for their child — so do we. Nord Anglia schools deliver high-quality, transformational education and ensure excellent academic outcomes by going beyond traditional learning. Our global scale enables us to recruit and retain world-leading teachers and to offer unforgettable experiences through global and regional events, while our engaging learning environments ensure all of our students love coming to school.

https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/careers/working-for-us

The College

Oxford International College Brighton is an international boarding school opening in Ovingdean, Brighton in September 2023. For the right candidate, this is an exciting and highly rewarding opportunity to lead and develop a new College, shaping its academic trajectory within Nord Anglia’s world-class international network of schools. The College’s curriculum will be based on the proven success of Oxford International College’s three-pronged curriculum model which has led to outstanding academic outcomes; OIC Brighton intends to join OIC Oxford at the top of the UK league tables, preparing our leavers for the most competitive courses at the world’s best universities. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in shaping the College’s opening phase and strategic direction, both in terms of increasing pupil numbers and developing a world-class curriculum.

The Role

The delivery of a world-class curriculum in Science is a top priority for OIC Brighton, ensuring from the outset that the teaching and learning of Science are of the highest quality and that our students go on to achieve top examination grades and are prepared for Science courses at the best universities in the world. The ideal candidate would therefore be a graduate from a top university, who has an understanding of the UCAS process and a passion for educational excellence.

The associated duties and responsibilities of this position can, generally, be broken down into: Managing Staff; Teaching and Learning; Departmental Administration, and Academic Progress and Monitoring. The expectations of the role should be read as indicative rather than exhaustive.

The Department

All students in Years 9 to 11 will be studying individual Sciences. In Sixth Form the majority of our students will be studying at least one Science and therefore our Science will be a vital part of our students’ academic success.

Managing Staff

• Overall responsibility for the quality of teaching and learning in Science and for ensuring that all the students in the department are making good progress, by developing and implementing policies and practices that promote effective teaching and learning.
• The ongoing management, monitoring, and support of the teaching staff in the Science departments, both informally and through regular performance reviews.
• The Head of Science will normally be expected to conduct professional development reviews for members of their department, completing all necessary paperwork/electronic records as required.
• Observing lessons of members of their department and of other teaching staff as required, in line with the College’s policies on lesson observation.
• Playing a leading role in the induction and, where necessary, training of new members of staff.
• Serving as subject mentor for ECTs within his/her department.
• Identifying and supporting the training needs of teachers within the department.
• Liaising with the Head of Teaching and Learning if there are concerns about the performance of any member of the department.
• Assisting the Principal and Head of Teaching and Learning, as required, in the recruitment of members of staff to the Science department.
• Liaising with the Head of Teaching and Learning and Principal over the deployment of teaching staff.

Teaching and Learning

• Choosing the specification to be followed by teachers within the department and ensuring that the specification chosen is appropriate for any public examination for which the students are to be entered;
• Analysing the needs of students, the resources of the department and planning effectively to support student progress;
• Devising detailed schemes of work for all year groups; and
• Undertaking student learning reviews, observations etc. to ensure schemes of work and specifications are being taught effectively by all teachers in the department.

Departmental Administration

• Writing schemes of learning, departmental development plans and departmental policies, minutes of meetings and reviews of examination results.
• Submitting examination entries for the department to the examinations officer.
• Submitting and managing the budget of the department.
• Developing and maintaining the relevant sections of Firefly/One Note/Teams (or equivalent virtual learning environments), along with the use of other forms of interactive and digital technology.

Academic Progress and Monitoring

• Oversee the provision of outstanding teaching and learning in their department.
• Collate and submit predicted examination grades for tracking procedures.
• Oversee setting and marking of progress tests and mock exams.
• Ensure discussion of student progress and development and review of appropriate action plans, as a regular feature of departmental meetings (including monitoring the progress of different student cohorts such as gender, EAL, SEN and most able).
• Oversee the calibre and consistency of assessments, feedback, report writing and grade predictions across the department.

• Organise and where appropriate run additional clinics or support or revision sessions, both to stretch and extend the most able and to help students who are struggling.
• Support the Director of Global Strategic Pathways in ensuring that students are well prepared for and supported in the university application process in your subject.
• Organise and where appropriate run super-curricular sessions, in liaison with the Super Curricular Manager.
• Identify, promote and support students’ competing in national competitions and awards.
• Develop opportunities for students in their department to enrich their learning beyond the curriculum through opportunities to attend lectures, talks and workshops.
• Share a general responsibility to ensure the academic, moral and physical welfare of all students within the department.

Other responsibilities

• Convening regular departmental meetings, with all staff in the department. Ensuring that minutes are taken and sent to the Head of Teaching and Learning and relevant members of the Senior Leadership Team.
• Meeting periodically with members of the Senior Leadership Team to review departmental development plans and examination results.
• Attending meetings with colleagues, parents or other appropriate persons to discuss the welfare and academic progress of students.
• Heads of Department are senior members of staff and will have a general duty to contribute to the academic management of the school, including attending meetings organised by the Principal, or other senior members of staff for this purpose.
• Heads of Department, along with other senior members of staff are expected to be available for teaching on our programmes such as Headstart and/or meetings from mid-August onwards as guided by the Director of Studies and Director of Global Strategic Pathways
• The Head of Science plays an important role in promoting the department e.g. at Open Day Events; as part of the progression programme; providing taster sessions for potential students; and maintaining up-to-date information on the subject for potential students (e.g. on the website).

Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher in a relevant academic discipline.
• An experienced and highly successful Science teacher, who is respected as a classroom practitioner, who is used to teaching very high-ability students, and who is results-oriented.
• Strong academic and intellectual credentials.
• A high level of familiarity and expertise with examination specifications and assessment.
• Experience as a Science examiner is desirable.
• Evidence of the ability to effectively build and lead a team, able to support and facilitate the professional development of teachers in the department.

Attributes

• A commitment to improving teaching and learning across the Science department, engaging with appropriate CPD, and keeping abreast of developments and initiatives in Science teaching in the educational world.
• An effective administrator, capable of planning, implementing, and reviewing all administrative procedures related to the Science department and wider school requirements.
• In possession of the analytical and data-tracking skills necessary to evaluate departmental performance and improve student progress.
• Able to manage and prioritise their own working life, balancing departmental responsibilities alongside other professional responsibilities in the College.
• Flexibility and resilience, with a willingness to ‘get stuck in’ the development of a new school and the demands of shaping and guiding the College in its infancy.
• A genuine commitment to the values and ethos of the College.
• High levels of personal and professional integrity.

Role: Full time, Permanent

Salary: Competitive

Start date: 1 August 2023

Other benefits:

• free meals during term-time
• access to ‘We Care’ medical and counselling services
• participation in the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme
• fee discounts for children of staff attending OIC Brighton

Our schools

Each Nord Anglia Education school is unique in character and designed to meet the needs of its community. We are united by our philosophy, to be ambitious for our students, our people, and our family of schools. We believe that being part of our family of schools gives them a special advantage. Working together, we can achieve more than we can individually. Our schools have access to a wide range of resources and support to enhance their success.

We also create unique opportunities to benefit our students and people, such as the Global Campus, Nord Anglia University, and our collaborations with The Juilliard School, MIT, UNICEF, and King’s College London.

Global academic results

The 2021-2022 school year was one of the strongest ever in terms of Nord Anglia Education’s academic results. For the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, our students achieved a 35.1 global point average, far exceeding the global average of 31.9. A third of students eared a perfect score of 45. In the A-levels, our students achieved 60.5% of grades at A*-A, along with 77.3% at A*-B. The group’s latest IGCSE student cohort, consisting of 2,351 students across 41 Nord Anglia schools, achieving an outstanding set of results, with 52.8% of grades at 9 – 7 for the year and 90.8% at 9 – 4.

At Nord Anglia Education we are committed to providing a world class, safe, happy environment in which children and young people are able to thrive and learn. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our pupils irrespective of race, ability, religion, gender, or culture.

All post holders in regulated activity (having regular unsupervised contact with children) are subject to appropriate national and international vetting procedures including satisfactory criminal record checks from both your country of residence/birth and any country of residence within the last 10 years.