This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced and ambitious English teacher to shape the future direction of English at one of Scotland’s leading independent schools.
The successful candidate will provide academic and professional leadership for English across S1–S6, including National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher. They will be an excellent classroom practitioner with a genuine passion for English language and literature, committed to maintaining the highest academic standards while inspiring in pupils a love of reading, writing, critical thinking and communication.
Main Responsibilities: Whole School Responsibilities
- Develop the School’s reputation for excellence in English and continue to embed this reputation by actively participating in the promotion of the School e.g., Open Days, marketing activity, and informal promotion to those outside the School.
- Enhance the standing of the Department within the School and continue to embed English within the academic, intellectual and cultural life of the School.
- Play a full role in ensuring good pupil discipline in the School and in the English Department.
- Contribute to the School Improvement Plan, implement improvements to processes and activities, and encourage others to do the same.
- Participate in school cover as required.
- Support the admissions office of the school in the assessment of S1 and intermediate entrants.
- Support the wider life of the School, and in particular co-curricular activities, by attending events, providing management help, and encouraging participation.
Departmental Management
- Lead and promote the vision for English at Hutchesons’ Grammar School and advise senior managers on developments in English as an academic subject.
- Lead and oversee the teaching of all curriculum English within the School from S1 to S6, including National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.
- Lead regular, purposeful and appropriately recorded meetings of English staff.
- Ensure that Schemes of Work are up to date in the light of new developments in the subject, pedagogy, assessment, digital technology and artificial intelligence, and the demands of national examinations.
- Manage the departmental budget, ensuring resources are used efficiently and effectively, including:
- Working collaboratively with Finance to agree an annual budget.
- Ensuring departmental expenditure throughout the academic year is in line with the agreed annual budget.
- Seeking approval for unbudgeted expenditure.
- Attending budget and cost review meetings as requested by Finance.
Line Management of Staff
- Support teachers who teach English, ensuring Schemes of Work are followed and that appropriate standards are maintained through the provision of CPD, departmental discussion, the agreement of guidelines, and maintaining high standards in teaching, learning and assessment.
- Oversee the professional development of the Department’s staff, including updating subject expertise, providing development opportunities in terms of their professional role and career aspirations, and participating in the School’s PRD process.
- Encourage and support colleagues to create and share high-quality teaching resources.
- Hold regular departmental meetings to discuss departmental matters and ensure that the Department works effectively as a team.
- Support Probation Teachers and new colleagues in their roles as they develop their knowledge and skills as practitioners.
- Select, order, and manage teaching materials and resources necessary to facilitate pupil learning.
- Take responsibility for Health and Safety policies and practices within the departmental area.
- Ensure the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistent and appropriate to the needs of pupils through lesson observation and other relevant methods, adhering to the relevant School policies.
- Manage employee relations issues within the Department, keeping senior managers informed of any issues that may arise as appropriate.
- Monitor the homework and marking policy.
- Oversee the internal assessment and tracking of pupils and establish a common approach to task work within School policy.
- Ensure the quality of reporting home from the English Department is of the highest standard.
- Prepare annual analysis of the Department’s end of year national examination results, with self-evaluation appropriate for the annual review meeting with the Rector and the Depute Academic.
- Ensure all School policies, standards and expectations are maintained within the Department through appropriate monitoring, sharing, and development of good practice.
- Work with the Timetabler to finalise the Departmental timetable.
- Work with SLT to address issues arising out of staff absence.
Learning and Teaching Responsibilities
- Ensure appropriate timetabling of classes and a fair distribution of teaching load across the Department.
- Ensure consistency of experience for all pupils within the English Department.
- Ensure a high quality of experience of English for all pupils and create an environment for all pupils to achieve to the best of their ability and maintain ambitious outcomes in terms of attainment for all young people.
- Ensure all pupils have opportunities to develop a genuine interest in English, including reading, writing, language and literature, and create an environment that maintains and develops strong pupil engagement and uptake at senior levels.
- Ensure that they and the teachers they lead are up to date with best practice and knowledge in pedagogy and that this is reflected in the everyday practice of the Department.
- Provide appropriate whole year internal assessments for all years and robust Prelim examinations for S4, S5 and S6 pupils to challenge and encourage them to achieve their potential.
Pupil Flourishing and Safeguarding
- Take the lead for the standards and development of literacy policy and practice in the secondary school. Work closely with the ASfL Department in this area.
- Manage the use and provision of classrooms, resources and equipment to ensure that all English areas are safe, secure, orderly and stimulating environments for pupils.
- Plan and prepare lessons, including examination classes.
- Ensure teaching is adapted according to the educational needs of each pupil.
- Set and mark pupils’ work produced in school and elsewhere and ensure that all work is consistently and purposefully assessed.
- Assess, record, and report on the development, progress and attainment of pupils, including:
- communication and consultation with parents.
- communication and co-operation with people or bodies outside the School.
- attendance at Parents’ Evenings.
- maintaining good order and discipline among pupils and safeguarding their health and safety both when they are on the School premises and when they are engaged in authorised School activities elsewhere.
Ideal Candidate: The successful candidate will:
- hold an appropriate degree and recognised teaching qualification;
- be registered, or eligible for registration, with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS); and
- demonstrate appropriate continuing professional development relevant to the teaching and leadership of English.
Experience
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- an excellent record as a classroom teacher of English;
- substantial experience of teaching English across the secondary age range, including experience of teaching senior examination classes;
- experience of teaching at Higher level, with Advanced Higher experience highly desirable;
- experience of leading, supporting and developing colleagues;
- evidence of maintaining and improving high standards of teaching, learning and pupil achievement; and
- experience of contributing positively to wider school development.
Knowledge and Skills
The successful candidate will have:
- excellent and wide-ranging subject knowledge and a genuine intellectual enthusiasm for English language and literature;
- a strong understanding of the curriculum and relevant national qualifications;
- a clear understanding of excellent teaching, learning and assessment in English;
- the ability to articulate and implement an ambitious and compelling vision for the future development of English at Hutchesons’;
- the capacity to lead an experienced team effectively, building trust while maintaining high professional expectations;
- excellent organisational, planning and administrative skills;
- the ability to use pupil and departmental performance information intelligently to support improvement;
- excellent written and verbal communication skills;
- the ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with pupils, colleagues and parents;
- sound judgement and the confidence to make appropriate decisions;
- an understanding of current educational developments and their implications for English teaching; and
- confidence in the appropriate use of digital technology to support teaching, learning and departmental leadership.
Personal Qualities
The successful candidate will be:
- an outstanding and inspirational teacher;
- an enthusiastic advocate for English and its importance within a broad education;
- an ambitious and thoughtful academic leader;
- able to inspire a love of literature, language and learning in pupils and colleagues;
- approachable, collegiate and supportive while maintaining appropriately high expectations;
- an effective team leader who values the expertise and contribution of colleagues;
- intellectually curious and open to new ideas;
- organised, dependable and able to manage competing priorities;
- resilient and able to exercise sound judgement under pressure;
- committed to equality, diversity and inclusion;
- committed to the safeguarding and wellbeing of children and young people;
- a person of high personal and professional integrity; and
- enthusiastic about contributing to the wider life and community of Hutchesons’ Grammar School.