Teacher Of Social Science

Location: Acton, West London — Excellent transport links, Acton Town station only 5 minutes’ walk and ample car parking onsite.

Role: Teacher of Social Science

Start Date: September 2024

Salary: £37,667- £48,857

Closing date: 17^th May 2024.

Interviews: On a rolling basis – (We reserve the right to close the advert early on appointment of a suitable candidate, early application is advised)

Contract: Full-time hours, permanent contract.

In the words of Christine Counsell, without knowledge of one’s own past, one cannot live as a human. All our thoughts and acts are tissued with memory. Without knowledge of a collective past, we cannot think or act socially or politically. That is why knowledge of Social Sciences is emancipatory. Only when young people can generalise appropriately, draw on enough precedent to give explanatory power to their argumenta and share enough common terms of reference to challenge the grounds of others’ generalisations and arguments can they hope to engage with educated discourse and especially serious political discourse.

At Ark Acton we believe therefore that the principal function of Social Sciences is to develop ‘historically literate’ pupils who do not view the past as dead and fixed but as a means to examine the world and what it means to be human.   As they progress through KS3 and into KS4 and 5, students learn to orient themselves in time and critically contextualise issues of the past to see their relevance today. 

To do this, our curriculum aims to develop:

1. An extensive general knowledge of the past underpinned by a strong understanding of historical concepts, such as Empire.
2. Strong conceptual understanding, underpinned by second order concepts such as interpretations.

We also need to understand that Social Sciences should serve to develop inclusive communities, one where pupils can affirm their emerging identities with the curriculum and see their learning as meaningful. To do this, our curriculum incorporates world Social Sciences, such as the Mali Empire, local Social Sciences such as the Industrial Revolution and Acton and a Social Sciences of migration over time.

We therefore aim to ensure that both substantive and disciplinary knowledge work to serve one another and to ensure that our students come to see the past as a contested space; where knowledge does not arrive in fixed stories that can never be reconfigured, challenged, or defended.

We place the curriculum – what we teach – at the heart of the academy and it informs all decisions we make. We are looking for someone who shares our belief in disciplinary thinking and who will help improve and refine our curriculum thinking.

In the words of Alex Standish we believe that “school subjects then are a way of inducting children into the intellectual habits of humankind, and hence into a disciplinary conversation about knowing our world” and we are looking for someone who shares this belief to join our team.

View more information on our Social Science Curriculum here

Benefits of Working at Ark Acton: 

At Ark Acton we have stripped away anything we feel gets in the way of being a great teacher so that we can focus on the main thing.

This includes:

• Feedback policies that sit at department level
• No graded lesson observations
• No report writing
• No parent’s evenings
• Only 2 data points a year
• No ½ termly data metrics to track progress
• Protected Department meeting and co-planning time built into the timetable and a teacher’s overall loadings.

We are heavily committed to staff welfare and development, and this includes:

•  weekly staff training and coaching for every teacher
•  Subject-specific knowledge development
• free use of our leisure centre
• access to the school counsellor
• access to Ark’s employee rewards and benefits programme.

The ideal candidate will: 

•  Combine subject matter expertise with a passion for teaching Social Science
•  Have the commitment, skills and character required to be a team player
•  Share the Ark Acton Academy vision and be aligned with the six pillars underpinning it
•  Value and support practices driving continued progress across the network of Ark schools

View more information and a full job description here.

For Further information on the school please visit the school site at https://arkacton.org

View our Safeguarding information and  policy here

View more information on the benefits of working for Ark here.

I look forward to receiving your application and welcoming you to our Academy. Please email M.Murphy1@arkacton.org for an informal chat with me.

To apply, please visit our website via the button below.

Please submit your application by 17^th May 2024.

For further information, a confidential discussion or any technical queries please contact Tara Moran, Operations Manager at tmoran@arkacton.org 

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants. 

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands, or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link. 

Ark Schools are committed to attracting, developing and retaining a diverse workforce, with a broad range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. To read more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion statement, please click this link.