Head of Department - PE at Waterside Academy in London

Location: 317-319 Kingsland Road, London, Greater London, E8 4DL

Contract Type: Permanent

Contract Term: Full-Time

Salary: Main Pay Scale + TLR 2b

Closing Date: 9:00am, Wed 20th May, 2026

Positions Available: 1

About This Role

Are you a visionary leader ready to redefine what excellence looks like in Physical Education? We are seeking an inspiring and high-achieving Head of Department to lead our PE faculty into its next chapter of success. The primary focus of this role is to provide strong leadership and effective management of the PE Department, ensuring that both students and staff are supported to reach their full potential. You will be responsible for maintaining an outstanding standard of education by setting clear, demanding targets and providing the necessary support to achieve them. We are looking for a leader who will consistently challenge staff and students to exceed their own expectations and push beyond their perceived limits.

Waterside Academy is part of Community Schools Trust. We serve a wonderfully diverse community, many of whom face challenges through no fault of their own. It is for this reason we want to level the playing field for all of our students, regardless of their background, by providing a world class education.

We care about outcomes. We know good grades lift life chances and impact health, wealth and even mortality. We know that teachers have the greatest impact on pupil outcomes and so we take professional development seriously, whatever our role in the school. Whether we have taught for two months, two years or twenty years, we believe in our capacity to always improve in the classroom.

Our professional development provision is fundamental to our commitment to improve. We invest in our own and each others’ development and use principles of instructional coaching to provide feedback to each other. Our training involves deliberate practice, video models of excellent practice and lots of fun! The desire to improve a little bit every day permeates the culture in our school.

Our approach to teaching is evidence informed. We avoid ‘discovery learning’ methods and instead, we teach explicitly. Our teachers are experts in the classroom and lead from the front. We focus on perfecting routines for behaviour, like entry into lessons and transitions between tasks so that we can maximise time spent on learning. We have excellent behaviour systems which mean teachers can focus on what we love doing most - teaching!

As well as excellent outcomes, we want our students to be well rounded individuals who will thrive beyond school years; that’s why we deliberately teach prosocial behaviours like making eye contact when greeted, listening attentively and showing gratitude. We know these skills will set all of our students up for life, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

When students fall behind, our teachers run interventions outside of their lessons. We provide an extra session after school for all year 11 students so their families don't have to worry about paying for a tutor. Teachers work hard here. Our students deserve nothing less and we expect the highest of standards from them because we know they are capable of achieving them.

But we invest in working smart too: we have a 3 week Christmas holiday, no retrospective book marking, no student report writing and a 4 and half day week.

We recognise talent and impact. There are lots of opportunities for promotions within the school and Community Schools Trust. Our staff body at all levels is a true reflection of the makeup of the community we serve - we are proud of this and welcome anyone who will add value to our wonderful school community.

The Community Schools Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. In line with Safer Recruitment guidelines, all appointments are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and satisfactory references. We are an inclusive employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Waterside Academy would like all candidates to answer specific questions for the personal statement section.

• Why do you want to work for Community Schools Trust? (Show us you have researched our values and approaches. Maximum 300 words)
• What impact have you had in your career so far? (Use data, where possible, to evidence your impact. Maximum 300 words)

Join Our Talent Pool

Let us know you are interested in working with us by joining our Talent Pool. If you are available for opportunities within our wider family of schools, why not join our Trust Talent Pool?