Head of History

Head of History Full Time Commencing: September 2026 Salary Scale: MPS/UPS plus TLR 2C (£8,610) We are seeking to appoint a dedicated and inspirational individual to lead our thriving and successful department. They should combine excellent historical and pedagogical knowledge to inspire students in and outside the classroom. You must be a reflective practitioner and be committed to continuing professional development and pedagogical research. This position would suit an ambitious and passionate teacher looking to gain leadership experience, or an accomplished leader seeking further experience in a new context. Our Outstanding Ofsted Report (February 2024) stated that “Leaders have designed a highly ambitious curriculum for all pupils. Teachers have excellent knowledge of the subjects that they deliver. Pupils’ work is consistently of high quality”. Ofsted highlighted the department for well planned and sequenced lessons that have a clear rationale: “Pupils apply their knowledge across different time periods, such as when studying the Norman invasion, the reign of Henry VIII or migration. This enables pupils to identify and debate more-complex issues of causation when they go on to study history at GCSE and A Level” Curriculum knowledge mapped clearly. SEND have ambitious curriculum. Recapping and revisiting through retrieval and do now. Strong subject knowledge across the department. Books reflect curriculum plans. Regular opportunities to revisit and recap; Pupils find this useful. Effective questioning. Clear understanding of pedagogy by teachers and Leaders. Therefore, joining Barking Abbey School represents a rare opportunity to join an outstanding department. This is an exciting time to join us. Our curriculum has geographical scope, depth, utilises enquiry questions & allows students to develop their understanding of key second-order concepts. We are a successful department, achieving an ALPS 3 score at KS5 in Summer 2025, with over a third of students achieving the highest grades at KS4. Wellbeing & professional development, particularly subject knowledge, is prioritised in the department, in which you will be supported. The History Department is vibrant and ambitious and leads on several highly successful extra-curricular activities involving various trips to local archives, museums, workshops, to name just a few. The full current curriculum for all year groups can be viewed on our website: https://www.barkingabbeyschool.co.uk/home/curriculum/history/ Full details are provided on the job description and person specification. Barking Abbey is an Ofsted Outstanding heavily over-subscribed dual campus secondary school in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, with a well-deserved reputation for academic excellence and a supportive professional environment. The school is located less than 10 minutes walk from Upney tube and 15 minutes from Barking mainline station. Barking Abbey celebrates its diversit