Head of at River Academy

Job Reference

EDV/2025/RA/44610

7 Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8EQ

Permanent, Full‑Time (1.0

FTE)

£32,916.00 – £45,352.00 Annually (FTE) + £8,611.00 for Head of Year Responsibilities (MPR 1 to 6 Plus TLR2C)

Closing Date: 11:59pm, 12th Jan 2026

Start Date:

1 September 2026
Interview:
Week commencing 19 January 2026

River Academy is expanding and we are looking to appoint a Head of Year to start in September 2026. The school opened in September 2024 with 180 students and seven in its resource base. From September 2026, student numbers will increase again as the school welcomes its next cohort of Year 7 students. The school is currently oversubscribed, with waiting lists in all year groups, and expects continued high demand for September 2026.

The Head of Year will be a member of a strong and committed school team, contributing to the delivery of clear routines and the setting of expectations in line with the River Way. River Academy has a strong focus on calm, purposeful learning environments. Classrooms are quiet, corridors calm, and systems are designed to reduce workload so teachers can focus on their teaching craft.

Tutor time is carefully structured and includes reading, assemblies and settling activities to support learning throughout the day. Students are expected to demonstrate good manners, strong oracy skills, and high standards of personal and academic presentation. Reflecting this focus on consistency and high expectations, River Academy is ranked in the highest decile across all DfE attendance measures, and Sparx homework completion rates consistently exceed 98%.

The Head of Year provides high‑quality leadership and pastoral management for an allocated year group, ensuring that all students are known, supported and challenged to make exceptional progress. The role requires a positive and solutions‑focused approach that places students’ life chances at the centre of all decisions.

Postholder responsibilities include: upholding and modelling the highest expectations for conduct, attendance, attitudes to learning and personal development; leading the year team, implementing school and Trust policies robustly, and ensuring the year group benefits from a highly effective Personal Development programme, including assemblies and enrichment activities; working closely with colleagues across the school, the Trust and external agencies to safeguard students, remove barriers to learning and support smooth transitions between key stages.

• Lead the engagement of students with the school and Trust values.
• Oversee the personal and academic development of all students in the year group.
• Ensure the wellbeing and safety of students, working closely with Inclusion and Safeguarding Leads.
• Line‑manage the pastoral team to ensure consistent support and high‑quality PD delivery.
• Implement and uphold school and Trust expectations regarding uniform, behaviour and presentation.
• Lead and quality‑assure the tutor and assembly programme.
• Organise and evaluate parents’ evenings, information evenings and other year events.
• Support internal and external examinations, including supervision.
• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date communication for staff, students and parents.
• Recognise student effort and progress through established reward processes.
• Monitor and record incidents, detentions and behaviour patterns.
• Contribute to enrichment, electives and the wider school community.

• Review student progress after each Data Collection Point in collaboration with the Assistant Headteacher and Standards Team.
• Lead intervention strategies to address underachievement and reduce performance differences.
• Adapt the pastoral and assembly programme to meet the specific needs of the year group.
• Support transitions for students entering Year 7, moving between key stages or preparing for post‑16 pathways.
• Work with senior leaders to ensure no student becomes NEET (for Year 11).

• Model assertive and positive behaviour and attendance expectations.
• Uphold the highest standards of conduct and…