JFS is a thriving school with nearly 2,000 students and is currently ranked fifth in the country by the Sunday Times. It is part of a fantastically supportive community and a community that has stood steadfast with the school following the high-profile Special Measures judgment that OfSTED recorded in May 2021. At the time, OfSTED said that the school failed to create a culture of openness and mutual respect but that could now not be further from the truth. There is a huge amount of pride in the school's reform and, working with Sir Michael Wilshaw and Dame Joan McVittie, the school has seen a radical overhaul of its processes. The safeguarding team is now one of the largest in the county and a number of external reviews have praised the work that has been done.

The response of the school to the OfSTED report has been to relentlessly seek improvement rather than question decisions and that approach is something that will define us as a school going forward. David Moody who previously led Harris Battersea from Special Measures to Outstanding and who has also worked across a range of secondaries as Regional Director for Academies Enterprise Trust, now leads an exceptional group of people and JFS will never rest in its pursuit of excellence.

Of the highest priority in that pursuit is the appointment of brilliant staff. In seeking people to join us we are looking for highly driven, passionate, caring and intellectually curious staff who wish to work with us to define what state education should be at its very best. With a Sixth Form cohort of over 500 incredible students, the school will be built around academic challenge in every lesson alongside superb pastoral care to ensure that students leave us ready to lead happy lives and with as many doors as possible open to them.

Our aim is for our teachers to be able to focus on the staff in front of them and, to that end, no teacher is ever expected to make a phone-call about behaviour, nor are teachers ever expected to run a detention or do a break duty. It is our intention that every member of staff is free to spend their time resourcing brilliant lessons and, if in a leadership role, supporting teachers to improve in that endeavour.

With specific regard to the Head of Department role, the Business team is seeking someone with the desire to do justice to the challenge that our students deserve; someone who will do whatever it takes to ensure the life chances of our students are maximised and someone who approaches their work with personal humility and intense professional dedication. Matching your efforts, will be our efforts to support you development and our desire is that our middle-leaders are our senior leaders of the future.

Should you wish to join us in our journey or seek more information regarding the position available then please do contact the Headteacher directly.

Applications from candidates of faith or non-faith backgrounds are most welcome.

Closing date for applications: noon on Monday, 23 May 2022

Interview date: w/c 23 May 2022

JFS shall reserve the right to shortlist candidates and interview prior to the closing date.

Any unsolicited CVs sent by any agency to us, in any situation where we have not directly engaged the agency in writing to supply candidates for a specific vacancy will be considered to be a “free gift”, leaving us liable for no fees whatsoever should we choose to contact the candidate directly and engage the candidate’s services. Unsolicited CV’s will in no way establish any claim by the agency to representation of that candidate.

Please note, it is not part of JFS' recruitment process to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants at the application stage.