Lead Practitioner Science

Thank you for your interest in this important post. Stantonbury School has undergone a rapid transformation since it joined Tove Learning Trust in September 2021 and we are at a crucial and exciting time in our development. The predecessor school was judged as inadequate with serious weaknesses in 2021 and in a little over two years we have developed a strong collaborative culture and effective practices that have been recognised positively by Ofsted when they inspected the school in January 2024. We are in a really strong position to continue our improvement journey and we are looking for talented and committed people like you to join us.

Working in any school is always a rewarding experience but by joining the team at Stantonbury School you are going to make a genuine difference to the lives of our students and to help in growing a stronger sense of pride in our school and community. So many staff at Stantonbury make a long term commitment to the school because they love working with our amazing students and enjoy forming strong bonds with colleagues as they grow professionally together.  

We are proud of our broad and ambitious curriculum and we invest heavily in staff training and development to ensure that our practice in and out of the classroom is strong so we help our students to reach their aspirations and become effective citizens. We provide lots of support for our staff team to help them perform this essential job through an effective induction programme for new team members and bespoke ongoing CPD. Supporting staff wellbeing is a priority and we make every effort to ensure that we manage workload as well as possible and to recognise when support might be needed. Being part of Tove Learning Trust is very important to us and Stantonbury School is well supported by the highly effective central team. One of the strongest features of being part of the Tove family of schools is that each school is encouraged to be autonomous - in recognition that each school community is unique and therefore a centrally prescribed model will not work. We like being autonomous but we also benefit greatly from working collaboratively with other Trust schools, in receiving specific expert support and advice from the school improvement team and in a wide range of back office functions. The school is also supported by the Trust executive team and an experienced Executive Principal

There are some tangible benefits of working at Stantonbury School too.

• an onsite leisure centre, pool and gym where we can offer staff highly reduced membership rates
• an employee rewards scheme with a range of discounts in a wide range of stores
• access to a comprehensive employee assistance programme including access to individual advice and counselling
• free parking!

But most importantly we have a diverse student and staff community which makes working at Stantonbury School an enriching experience where everyone is valued and welcome - we hope you will want to join us too.

The specific details of this job role are described in the job description and the requirements we need from you are listed in the person specification. In your application you should show how you meet the person specification and outline how you would contribute to the Stantonbury team.

We welcome informal pre application visits - there is nothing better than seeing the school in action. If you can't make a visit then a phone conversation is a great alternative. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

Key Responsibilities

·        Work with Science leaders to develop consistently good pedagogy across the faculty.

·        Support and coach Science staff in developing and extending their pedagogic repertoire.

·        Model best practice in ensuring that Science lessons are well differentiated, including providing for the least able and for the most able so that others can learn from your practice.

·        Model best practice in the effective use of student performance data and student and staff target-setting, so that this impacts on classroom practice and contributes to raising achievement in Science.

·        Lead Practitioners are expected to contribute significant added value to their faculty and the wider School.

·        The Lead Practitioner will have a key role in delivering of the school’s CPD programme and to support staff who require support to improve their teaching.

A full job description is available.

Candidates may be interviewed prior to the deadline.