Head of Social Sciences

We require a talented and enthusiastic Head of Social Sciences - Psychology, Sociology and Criminology to join Plympton Academy from September 2023. 

Come and join a fabulous team who foster innovation and promote opportunity, creating resilient learners with a love of challenge.

We seek to appoint a dynamic and strategic Head of Social Sciences who will lead by example, develop, inspire and motivate their team and be committed to achieving high standards. This person will be looking to enable our young people to achieve their very best. This is an excellent opportunity for an outstanding teacher who is now looking for promotion to head of department in a supportive and successful Academy or for an established Head of Social Sciences looking to continue the improvement journey that this department has already successfully started.

The candidate should be able to demonstrate excellent communication and team building skills.  They should be an outstanding classroom practitioner, with enthusiasm for their subject and be required to teach KS5 only in this role. Candidates should preferably have previous experience in a position of responsibility, or be able to demonstrate a proven record of experience and achievement.

The successful candidate will have exceptional interpersonal skills, an unwavering belief in the potential of every child and committed to developing a culture of high expectations.

Plympton Academy is a thriving school on an exciting journey where there is a commitment to support all members of the Academy community who continually strive to achieve the best. We are excited that substantial redevelopments to the Academy’s campus will provide first class, inspirational learning environments to match the commitment of both students and staff. 

Our School:

At Plympton Academy we believe in inspiring a culture of success for all, including our staff. We have a strong culture of staff development and support - high quality CPD, based on research and evidenced best practice, which is prioritised and supported through a tailored coaching programme. 

We work collaboratively with the best schools locally and nationally so that all teachers continue to thrive and engage in the latest teaching developments and practice. We prioritise good behaviour and strong pastoral support so that learning is disruption-free, teachers can teach and students’ can focus. As a result, we are incredibly proud of our students and staff who love the challenge of learning, are equipped to achieve their dreams and take pride in their success. 

What you will need to succeed:

• Be a qualified teacher and have a thorough knowledge of present curriculum developments, particularly those relating to your subject
• Be able to deliver consistently good or outstanding practice
• To implement and support all Academy policies.
• To collaborate with other leaders and managers in raising standards within the curriculum to Good and Outstanding including all student groups. 
• To raise standards of teaching, learning and progress to ensure all subject staff deliver and all students receive Good and Outstanding lessons.
• To coach and mentor subject staff to raise standards in learning and progress to be Good and Outstanding.
• Be experienced in planning an appropriate and challenging curriculum 
• Be an inspiring teacher with real enthusiasm for your subject
• Be able to motivate their pupils 
• Be committed to high standards for both staff and students 
• Be prepared to contribute to the extra-curricular life of the Academy 

The Thinking Schools Academy Trust

The Thinking Schools Academy Trust is a family of schools consisting of both primary and secondary schools across Kent, Hampshire and Plymouth. 

We believe that every young person in our community deserves to have the best opportunities at life regardless of their individual circumstances.

Education is the key to transforming life chances and we support and develop every member of our community to:

• Think about their Thinking
• Be their Best self
• Shape their Success

In this way we transform life chances

Click Here To view our Trust video to gain an insight into The Thinking Schools Academy Trust

What our Trust will offer you:

• Minimum starting salary £28,817 for all ECTs
• Revised Teacher Payscale to retain and reward excellent teachers
• With an outstanding Leadership and Management team, we are focused on providing our staff with bespoke CPD tailored to the stage they are at in their career.
• The opportunity to work with happy and well-behaved children who are excited about learning and work with parents who are supportive of our school values and ethos. 
• Vast support network from senior leaders and other teachers within the school and our Trust to help you deliver outstanding teaching and learning through resources, mentoring and school visits.
• Benefit from an internationally accredited pedagogy approach to thinking and learning, which has been proven to enhance classroom practice
• Excellent CPD opportunities including our Early career, Middle and Senior Leadership programmes
• As an accredited Chartered Teacher organisation, you can become a recognised Chartered Teacher
• A 24/7 employee assistance programme which provides counselling and support / advice on a wide array of areas

What you need to do now:

If you are interested in working at our school, benefitting from a supportive network of colleagues across our Trust, and are keen to progress your career then please apply today!

We strongly encourage anybody who may be interested in working at our school to direct any question they may have to recruitment@tsatrust.org.uk

If you experience any issues in applying for this role via our careers site, please click here to submit an application via Microsoft Forms

If this position  is not quite right for you, but you would be interested for any other positions within our Trust please click here to join our Talent Pool.

We also encourage any early applications and we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we suitable candidate is found.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. As per KCSIE we will also undertake online searches for all shortlisted candidates, if you have any questions regarding this process please email recruitment@tsatrust.org.uk