Assistant Principal and Director of Sixth Form

Main Areas of Responsibility

Please ensure you read the below overview and requirements for this employment opportunity completely.

Your Responsibilities Will Include

Providing strategic leadership of HAWI6 to secure exceptional academic and pastoral outcomes

Line managing Heads of Year 12 and 13, ensuring highly effective and consistent pastoral provision

Overseeing the quality of teaching and learning across the sixth form through challenge and support

Designing, developing and implementing an ambitious, inclusive sixth form curriculum, including EPQ and the super-curriculum

Ensuring the curriculum supports strong progression to competitive post‑18 destinations

Leading UCAS and post‑18 application processes to secure aspirational pathways for all students

Leading the academy-wide More Able programme to prepare students for a rigorous sixth form experience

Analysing progress and performance data, identifying trends and implementing targeted interventions

Overseeing high-quality pastoral care and PSHE provision to support wellbeing and personal development

Monitoring and improving attendance, punctuality, behaviour and adherence to dress code

Leading sixth form recruitment, promotion and external engagement to meet recruitment targets

Contributing to whole-school strategic leadership, vision and policy development

Leading designated whole-school priorities and evaluating their impact

Ensuring effective use of data to drive school improvement and address underperformance

Supporting curriculum planning and enhancing pedagogical practice across the academy

Modelling outstanding teaching, learning and assessment as a role model for staff and students

Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will have:

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or equivalent

Degree or equivalent

Evidence of sustained and relevant professional development, particularly in teaching, learning and leadership

Evidence of outstanding teaching practice

Minimum of five years’ successful teaching experience, including Key Stage 5

Experience of working in a pastoral leadership capacity within a sixth form setting

Experience of leading or contributing to sixth form provision, including curriculum, pastoral systems or student outcomes

Experience of supporting students through post-18 pathways, including UCAS or equivalent application processes

Proven experience of leading, managing and developing staff and teams to secure high performance

Experience of monitoring teaching and learning (e.g. lesson observation, work scrutiny) and providing high-quality feedback

Strong experience of using data effectively to monitor progress, identify underachievement and implement impactful interventions

Experience of improvement planning, implementation and evaluation with measurable impact

Proven track record of raising student achievement and aspirations

Experience of curriculum development, including adapting provision to meet cohort needs

Experience of successfully leading or contributing to whole-school priorities or change initiatives

Evidence of contributing to high-quality teaching, learning and assessment across a department or school

Rewards & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, electric car scheme, and many other benefits. Learn more about on our website.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.

About Us

We are an ‘Outstanding’ (Ofsted 2023) secondary academy, established in 2018 to provide an excellent education for children in Wimbledon.

Two years after opening, we moved into our brand-new building which is modern, bright and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in every area of the curriculum. We are oversubscribed and fortunate to have an amazing level of support from the community with waiting lists for entry into every year group of our academy.

Our academy is an exceptional place to learn, providing an ambitious but happy and inclusive environment. We have high expectations of our students of all starting points and abilities. We know that our students will leave us academically successful, but we also want them to be well-rounded individuals with a highly developed social conscience, ready to lead in their communities and beyond. Our motto is ‘make a difference’ and our students and staff give nothing except their very best in pursuit of making a difference to their lives and the lives of others around them.

Three words are crucial to how we guide students to be able to ‘make a difference’: independence, integrity and resilience.

Independence means we support students to develop their skills and attributes, so they have everything they need to succeed. We set challenging targets and raise aspirations so every single one of our students reaches their potential.

Integrity means staff and students must be fair and truthful and have the courage to take the right action in every situation, even when no-one is looking.

Resilience means we give students the tools to recover from difficulties. xlqdzyr We show students how taking risks and making mistakes is all part of the learning journey. We also show students how hard work brings success, and support them to persevere with all challenges