Head of Religious Education

This is an exciting opportunity for an existing Head of Department or experienced teacher ready to step into leadership of a department and continue to develop their skills. The successful candidate will provide the RE team with strategic and operational leadership, supporting teachers to improve their classroom practice with a focus on ensuring that students achieve their academic personal best, and broadening and deepening the opportunities to explore and engage with the Christian faith through the wider life and culture of the school.

Emmanuel Schools Foundation is committed to observing the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 and in particular to eliminating bias and all unlawful discrimination. We strive to ensure that our core virtues are placed at the heart of everything we do and that they provide a foundation for upholding fairness and creating a workplace that is free of bias. We are a school within a trust, with a distinctive Christian ethos, whose practices and policies are informed by Christian beliefs and principles.

The successful candidate will lead opportunities for students to engage with the Christian faith and support the development and implementation of a Christian worldview RE curriculum. There is an occupational requirement that the post-holder be a practising Christian. As a Head of Department, you would be a member of the College Leadership Group where you would have the opportunity to share your opinion and input into a wide range of issues across College. We believe that Heads of Department should have the autonomy they need to lead their department and that they should be fully supported to do this by giving them a line manager who understands their department and subject well.

Alignment with our school wide determination to ensure that our students receive the best possible quality of education, regardless of their barriers to learning, and grow in character is essential. All members of the department are valued and supported; strength of practice is celebrated as well as the cultivation of opportunities to grow the development of the individual.

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the RE department.
• Support teachers to improve classroom practice with a focus on students achieving personal academic best.
• Lead opportunities for students to engage with the Christian faith and support the development and implementation of a Christian worldview RE curriculum.
• Collaborate with the College Leadership Group to contribute to school-wide decisions and policy implementation.
• Ensure alignment with the school’s ethos and inclusion principles while upholding safeguarding and equality standards.

• Be a practising Christian.
• Be committed to student learning and raising achievement of all students through teaching.
• Have very high expectations for the learning and achievements of all students.
• Be enthusiastic with the ability to inspire students.
• Demonstrate consistently the qualities of an outstanding learning practitioner through professional work.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies or a related subject.
• Teaching qualification (Secondary).
• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
• Awareness of current developments in Religious Education with lifelong commitment to learning.
• Evidence of successful secondary teaching/teaching practice.

• Defined benefit pension scheme.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Daily lunch allowance.
• Free parking.
• Access to our exclusive Benefits Hub.
• Employee centred and family friendly policies and practices that support you in and beyond the workplace.
• Enhanced sick pay, maternity leave and paternity leave (dependent on length of service).
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Funded eye tests and glasses for DSE users (subject to T/Cs).

Grace College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff to share this commitment. Where the post is engaged in regulated activity, and/or an opportunity for contact with children the position will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. In addition, as part of the shortlisting process, and in accordance with statutory guidance, we may carry out an online search (for publicly available material) to help identify any incidents or issues that have happened which we may want to explore with shortlisted applicants at interview.

If, prior to submitting your application, you wish to visit Grace College to find out more about the role and the College, then you would be most welcome.