Director of Learning (Head of Year) Job

Salary: Main Pay Scale / Upper Pay Scale (£36,745 to £56,959) + TLR 1A (£9,272)
Required: September 2024
Contract/Duration: Permanent, Full Time
Location: SE3 0XX, Blackheath, London Borough of Lewisham

Are you a highly motivated and inspirational teacher who is looking for a new challenge?

Do you have a real passion and desire to enthuse and motivate all pupils to improve on present best?

If yes, we seek to appoint a committed and ambitious Director of Learning (Head of Year) to join our Academy. We would like to offer you the opportunity to work with us here at St Matthew Academy, a high performing Catholic school where pupils flourish both academically and socially.

In October 2019, Ofsted confirmed SMA as a good school where all pupils, through their hard work and commitment, are able to ‘let their light shine’. We are now pursuing our mission to embed ourselves as a truly great school at the heart of the community we serve. Our primary and secondary phases are situated on one site allowing a truly unique all through setting with opportunities for transition, collegiate working and subject development. A rare opportunity has arisen for a teacher to join the SMA pastoral team, which includes five Directors of Learning, two Assistant Heads, a Deputy Head and a strong team of pastoral support staff.

As a Director of Learning, no particular teaching specialism is sought, but it is expected the successful candidate will have wider school pastoral experience. Directors of Learning at SMA are responsible for securing pupils’ rounded development by celebrating successes and providing support in relation to overall academic performance, wider school involvement, and general conduct. The person appointed will be able to deal effectively with staff, parents and outside agencies and lead a team of form tutors and their year group decisively and by example. Applicants should be well qualified, successful teachers with an impressive track record of raising achievement and have a desire for providing high quality pastoral care. This role requires outstanding communication skills, energy and a firm commitment to upholding the academy standards and expectations.

The successful candidate will be:
Passionate about enabling every child to exceed expectations.
An enthusiastic and successful classroom practitioner.
Able to motivate, challenge and inspire pupils to succeed.
Committed to ensuring high expectations for pupils, staff and themselves.
Well organised, an excellent communicator and keen to take an active role in academy life.
An active promoter of our Catholic ethos.

Able to fully support and drive the Academy’s aim to ensure equality and diversity permeates throughout the Academy

St Matthew Academy is a diverse, vibrant Catholic all-through academy for girls and boys aged 4 to 16, where there are high expectations for everyone in our community. At St Matthew Academy our school motto is ‘let your light shine’ and we ensure that we live this vision every day at the academy by encouraging, promoting and celebrating success with all of our pupils in everything that they do. Our academy is situated between Blackheath and Lewisham in South East London, benefiting from excellent public transport and road links to all parts of London and Kent. Our magnificent buildings offer state of the art resources and the latest technology. Our primary and secondary phases are situated on one site allowing a truly unique all through setting with opportunities for transition, collegiate working and subject development.

We offer:
Fantastic pupils with enormous potential.
Staff who are supportive to each other and enjoy working collaboratively.
A personalised programme of professional development and coaching for all staff including access to NPQ qualifications.
A modern building, in a delightful setting and excellent resources.
Excellent public transport and road links across London and Kent.
Fully equipped gym and fitness suite, Season Ticket Loan, Cycle-to-work scheme, Tech Scheme, Employee Assistance Programme.
A strong commitment to staff well-being.

We value the importance of diversity in our community and the significance of having staff that are representative of the children we teach. We particularly welcome applications from candidates that are people of colour as these groups are currently under represented within the Academy at leadership level.

Our school motto is ‘let your light shine’ and we ensure that we live this vision every day.

How to Apply

Your application is a direct permanent application to SMA. To apply, please request an application form from Ellie Field or call Ellie on for more information. Your application is a direct permanent application to our school (not through agency), Hays is our recruitment partner for all permanent appointments.
We warmly welcome applicants who wish to visit us in advance of making an application and will be delighted to show you around our fabulous school.

Closing: Immediate, no later than 12pm, Monday 22nd April 2024
Interviews: To be confirmed date in April 2024

Please note: Early applicants will be considered for interview as soon as application is received.