Head of Music

Walthamstow Academy opened its impressive new building in 2006 and since then we have achieved excellent results both at GCSE and at A Level. In 2023, Walthamstow Academy students achieved a Progress 8 score of 0.47. At A-Level, our students achieve excellently with many of them progressing to Russell Group institutions. Because we are so successful, the school is now full and oversubscribed on first choices alone. We do not achieve these results by accident. At Walthamstow Academy, we believe in the best in everyone. We have a relentless focus on high expectations and aim to identify barriers to success and provide necessary support as quickly as possible to ensure our students achieve. We do not accept excuses and always strive for the best.

The Academy is proud of its multi-cultural character, and we celebrate the diversity of heritage in our community. 90% of our students are from minority ethnic groups, many coming from African, Caribbean, Eastern European, Turkish and Pakistani communities. Within the community served by the Academy there is social and economic disadvantage with 35% of students being eligible for Pupil Premium. Almost 60% have a first language other than English and a significant number have low levels of literacy on entry. Many students enter the Academy with low levels of attainment and the staff work hard to add value to their performance. Standards across the Academy are above national averages in most subjects.

Walthamstow Academy has achieved the CPLD Gold Award in recognition of our investment in professional development, because we know that without our wonderful staff, what we have achieved would not be possible. It starts with someone like you believing you can contribute further to our community. Walthamstow Academy is part of United Learning, a large, and growing, group of schools aiming to offer a life-changing education to children and young people across England. United Learning is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All positions are subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and shortlisted candidates will be subject to an online check. We always appoint on merit, and we are open to discussing flexible working options.

We seek an outstanding and innovative Head of Music with the ability to be a role model, identify and develop talent, and inspire others. We are looking for someone who is committed to securing high standards of learning and teaching in order to raise academic achievement. You will have the opportunity to lead part of our large enrichment programme and share expertise across a growing group of Academies and independent schools within United Learning. As Head of Music, you will be an outstanding practitioner across all three Key Stages, and a strong leader of people, who will look to you for outstanding line management, support and challenge.

Our purpose built music facilities and new equipment make teaching and learning music at Walthamstow Academy a joy. We have five practice rooms, an ensemble rehearsal room and a studio control room capable of multi-track recording from multiple rooms. The spacious main music classroom has a live performance area which includes a Yamaha C1 upright piano. In addition to this, we have new computers, enough for one per student. The main classroom has 30x M1 Macs running Logic Pro X, Garageband and Ableton Live 11. Each computer has a 49 key MIDI keyboard. The department has recently benefited from significant investment through a ‘Restore the Music’ grant which was spent on brand new instruments, including new digital pianos, keyboards, guitars, amplifiers, PA systems, a Roland electronic drum kit, a class set of djembe drums, a large samba band kit, a class set of Novation Launchpads and enough ukuleles for an entire year group.

In summary, we need someone who is passionate about making a difference. Our students are amazing, so are our staff. If you have the qualities to be part of the team to take outcomes for the Academy to the next level, please get in touch.

Main Responsibilities

• To set high expectations for standards of teaching and learning and to model good practice in Music.
• To promote the building and sharing of good practice and successful innovation.
• To ensure the consistent application of teaching and learning strategies that meet the needs of all learners.
• To ensure the ongoing development and evaluation of appropriate specifications and schemes of work and that these are followed by all teachers.
• To monitor and evaluate standards of teaching and learning of Music through classroom observation, sampling pupils’ work and student feedback.
• To oversee effective assessment, recording and reporting of pupil progress in Music.

Here at Walthamstow Academy, we are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued and appreciated and this includes your employee benefits. We recognise that flexible working has a key role to play in attracting, retaining, developing and rewarding outstanding members of staff. We are committed to encouraging and enabling flexible working opportunities at Walthamstow Academy.

We want to ensure staff wellbeing is at the forefront of the Academy and all members of staff feel valued and appreciated therefore in addition to other benefits we offer 1 Paid Personal Day to all members of staff per year. More pay, more time, and more support.