THE STANWAY SCHOOL

TEACHER OF ENGLISH

SEPTEMBER 2014

We are seeking to appoint a Teacher of English for September 2014.

English is the lead department in our Humanities specialism. The team has worked extremely hard to raise standards and continue to receive good results. KS3 SATs were above national average and KS4 results were above the national average.

The department has drawn on the experience and expertise of its members to develop resources. Through sharing ideas and working together, a range of interesting and attractive teaching materials have been developed and there is room for enthusiastic members to contribute new ideas to further develop the new syllabus and move the department forward. All resources are stored centrally to allow for easy access and maximum flexibility and support for the staff who wish to use them.

The school follows a one-week timetable and each period is 50 minutes long. Years 7 to 11 are allocated four periods per week for English.

The English department is housed within seven classrooms and is based on the first floor of the main school building. Most full time teaching staff have their own dedicated classroom; there is also a large, well equipped combined work and social area in the middle of this floor which is shared by all staff who teach on this level. There is a central stock room for English which are conveniently situated between the classrooms, offering storage for class sets of teaching materials and also additional storage space for personal resources.

The department is well-resourced with course books, literary texts and a variety of teaching materials. Dictionaries and Thesauruses are available in each teaching room and seven rooms are equipped with Interactive Whiteboards and integrated DVD/video players.

TEACHING GROUPS

At present students are taught in sets for both Key Stage 3 and for the GCSE English and English Literature courses in Years 10 and 11. Key Stage 3 Setting arrangements are based on National Curriculum levels and teacher assessment.

GCSE groups are organised on the basis of Year 9 teacher assessments and the suitability of the student to the two specified tiers of entry identified in the GCSE syllabi.

THE OUTCOMES

Students in years 7, 8 and 9 also have a Reading Record diary, in which they are expected to complete and record 30 minutes of reading at home each week. This record is signed by the parent and monitored by the class teacher and one lesson a week is dedicated to either the Accelerated Reader programme, which is an initiative based on improving reading ability for students who find reading more challenging, or private reading.

Within the department we are currently reviewing our Schemes of Work for KS3 to bring them in line with the new National Curriculum. A number of them are already in place but there is always room to collaborate with a dynamic and receptive team. Similarly, KS4 continues to undergo change due to the changes being introduced to the curriculum.

ASSESSMENT

Our assessment procedures are based on:

  • formative procedures where students are involved. For example:

a. All students are encouraged to plan and draft their work before the completion of a final, ‘best’ copy. This enables the student to involve the teacher during the planning stage, get advice and help and alert the teacher to difficulties and individual needs.

b. The student's completed work is marked by the teacher using National Curriculum levels for Reading, Writing or Speaking and Listening as appropriate. Targets will be set at the end of each piece of work according to the student’s individual target grade, to allow them to take responsibility for their own progress. APP is in place cross many of the Schemes of Work and is expected to be varied out every half term.

c. AFL is being used across the department to encourage self and peer assessment and a more collaborative approach to learning.

d.A whole school marking policy has been in place since September 2011.

  • summative procedures where teacher assessed coursework and assignments, completed under supervised classroom conditions, and the end of Key Stage 3 tests are marked against specific National Curriculum levels of attainment and GCSE criteria as appropriate.