Head of Politics and Criminology

Ferndown Upper School is a very special place to work because we have well behaved students, who allow their teachers to teach, we focus on work life balance to ensure that staff spend their time on the activities that actually make a difference and we have a friendly and supportive staff body. Politics responsibilities - the successful candidate will:

• Deliver our A Level course - Edexcel specification.
• Develop the current curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities.
• Be able to demonstrate previous excellent results in this specific field.
• Be willing to recruit students to our ever-increasing cohort.
• Be able to provide students with exam specific preparation and guidance.
• Provide lessons which encourage high engagement and high participation.
• Show a commitment to continuous CPD.
• Provide intervention and revision sessions for students.
• Regularly analyse data to track students' progress.
Criminology responsibilities - the successful candidate will:
• Deliver engaging and interactive lessons aligned with the WJEC Level 3 Criminology curriculum.
• Develop and adapt resources to support differentiated learning needs.
• Monitor, track, and assess student progress to ensure high achievement.
• Provide effective feedback to students, supporting their academic growth.
• Implement strategies for student engagement and motivation.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of criminology and related fields.
• Support students in developing independent research and analytical skills.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to enhance the delivery of the course.
• Prepare students for internal and external assessments.
• Ensure compliance with assessment and moderation procedures.
• Ideally have experience with WJEC assessment methods and moderation processes.
What Ferndown Can Offer You:
• Great students who behave - you can make a difference to their learning.
• The opportunity to work with outstanding colleagues.
• Tight, robust behaviour systems.
• Centralised detentions, including homework detentions (you do not need to organise/run/chase), helping to underpin our excellent behaviour, so you are free to teach.
• Ongoing 'no-stakes' feedback, helping you to continuously develop.
• We believe that trusting our staff with autonomy helps to develop a strong staff culture.
• Centralised, shared units of work and resources.
• Excellent, ongoing CPD, career development and promotion opportunities.
• A well-kept site and a very pleasant location in beautiful Dorset.
• A tax efficient Childcare or Car Lease Scheme through salary sacrifice.
• Private Healthcare Cashback Plan including 24/7 access to a GP by phone, gym discounts and cashback for optical, dental and other appointment expenses for employees and their children.
• Access to the staff benefits and discounts portal through Dorset Council.
An Application Form is available on our website www.fernup.dorset.sch.uk - please follow the link to Job Vacancies or via 'apply now' on the Dorset Jobs website. Completed application forms should be sent to andreabaxter@fernup.dorset.sch.uk. If you require any further information, please contact Andrea Baxter on . Contact Director of Learning for Social Sciences for further details emmaelliott@fernup.dorset.sch.uk. CLOSING DATE: Sunday 30th March midnight. Interviews to be held week beginning 31st March. This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be required to have an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check (formerly CRB) in line with the Governments safer recruitment guidelines. Ferndown Upper School values the diversity of our workforce and welcome applications from all sections of the community. This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be established as part of the appointment process. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are 'protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ's guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide. Ferndown Upper School will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. This check will be part of a safeguarding check, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not be on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.

What Ferndown Can Offer You:
• Great students who behave - you can make a difference to their learning.
• The opportunity to work with outstanding colleagues.
• Tight, robust behaviour systems.
• Centralised detentions, including homework detentions (you do not need to organise/run/chase), helping to underpin our excellent behaviour, so you are free to teach.
• Ongoing 'no-stakes' feedback, helping you to continuously develop.
• We believe that trusting our staff with autonomy helps to develop a strong staff culture.
• Centralised, shared units of work and resources.
• Excellent, ongoing CPD, career development and promotion opportunities.
• A well-kept site and a very pleasant location in beautiful Dorset.
• A tax efficient Childcare or Car Lease Scheme through salary sacrifice.
• Private Healthcare Cashback Plan including 24/7 access to a GP by phone, gym discounts and cashback for optical, dental and other appointment expenses for employees and their children.
• Access to the staff benefits and discounts portal through Dorset Council.