Head Of English

Head Of English

Directly responsible to:

Vice Principal – Academic

Purpose of Role:

To provide leadership and management of all aspects of a specific subject area.

Role Definition

As well as establishing professional standards for the whole Department, he/she is responsible within guidelines laid down by the school, for the deployment, development and monitoring of staff who teach in the Department, maintenance of curricular standards ensuring grade-appropriate outcomes are met, allocation and use of resources and for the establishment and implementation of Departmental policy within the whole school structure.

Purpose of Job

The Head of Department is the curriculum team manager who shares with the School Leadership Team the school’s responsibility for delivering to the students the curriculum within a designated subject area or a domain of subjects, ensuring that each student receives excellent learning experiences as well as positive encouragement to develop their potential to the full according to the stated goals of the school.

General Responsibilities

Heads of Departments will:

• Build and sustain personal credibility by improving students' learning to a consistently high standard in all respects.
• Provide leadership and focus, setting the tone, and ethos of the department, and, through close liaison with the vice principal (Academic), ensure that the highest standards of teaching and learning are consistently delivered.
• Create a climate which enables all staff to develop positive attitudes towards the subject and confidence in teaching it.
• Create a climate which enables all students to develop positive attitudes towards the subject and confidence in learning it, achieving the highest levels of attainment.
• Contribute to and support the shared strategic vision for the school.
• Represent the Department within the school, to parents, visitors, and other schools.
• Ensure enhancement and foster a positive image of the department and the school in terms of public relations.

Job Description:

A. Curriculum

• Providing oversight for curriculum review and development, and curriculum documentation in designated subjects.
• Providing leadership and modelling for teachers in curriculum and lesson planning, including intervention and enrichment materials; backwards-designed unit and lesson planning processes.
• Developing academic support programs as needed to meet students’ needs.
• Leading weekly curriculum and assessment planning meetings based on teachers' and students' needs.
• Establishing and making explicit aims and objectives for the teaching of departmental subjects and reviewing, evaluating, and developing the curriculum to meet these objectives.
• Ensuring that syllabuses and schemes of work are produced, monitored, and implemented.
• Developing structures to ensure progression and continuity in terms of cross-curricular work.
• Contributing, as necessary, to the planning of the school timetable.
• Planning and leading department PLTs
• Providing individualized cognitive coaching as needed to department members.

B. Assessment & Students' Achievement Data

• Developing assessment processes which are compatible with international best practices and school policy.
• Ensuring that standards/learning outcomes are being achieved in every classroom, classroom data is prepared each semester and assessment of student work is based on evidence against the standard and an agreed rubric.
• Preparing teachers in the department to be able to support students achieving high standards on external tests, meeting set targets, and making significant progress from one year to the next.
• Preparing the common exams across schools according to their subject responsibility ensuring alignment with external exam expectations
• Providing leadership and modelling for teachers in analyzing students' attainment and progress data to inform their teaching practices to meet students' varied needs.
• Ensure that students’ work is regularly assessed, that feedback to facilitate progress is given and acted upon and that adequate continuous assessment is carried out.
• Organize the setting and marking of internal tests and examinations.

C. Professional Development

• Promoting teaching and learning…