Head of Department: Modern Foreign Languages

Swanshurst is a large, outstanding school for girls aged 11-19 years. We offer excellent support and CPD for staff at all stages of their career. Ofsted (May 2024) described our school to be “an exceptional place for pupils to learn”. They described the curriculum as “exemplary” and one which "explodes into life in the classroom". In relation to staff wellbeing, they noted that “The school is conscious of staff workload and well-being and is committed to achieving excellence in a sustainable way.”. We are exceptionally proud to have been judged ‘Outstanding’ in two consecutive inspections.

The school is part of the newly formed West Midlands Academy Trust (WMAT) which opened in January 2025. As one of the three founding members, the school has been integral to forming the Trust’s mission:

• Relentless focus upon delivering an excellent Quality of Education, resulting in strong progress and attainment for all groups of pupils.

• Emphasis upon personal development and well-being for staff and pupils.

We are seeking to appoint an exceptional Head of Modern Foreign Languages to lead and further develop our vibrant and successful MFL department at our outstanding secondary school.

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and inspirational teacher with a passion for languages to make significant impact on teaching, learning and curriculum development across the department, sustaining the excellent outcomes currently achieved by our students (2026: grade 4+ 83.8%, 5+ 76.3%, 7+ 40.8%).

We are looking for someone who can inspire a passion for learning languages and bring out the best in our pupils and staff by developing a strong curriculum that explodes into life in the classroom through exceptional teaching. We are looking for a leader who can capture and share their own enthusiasm for languages with both the MFL team and our hard working, well behaved and aspirational pupils.

The languages department is a highly successful one, making a significant contribution to pupil progress scores that are consistently in line with, or above, the national average. We would expect the successful candidate to teach French and Spanish at Key Stage 3 and at least one of these languages at Key Stage 4 and 5. The department also teaches GCSE German and GCSE Arabic.

By joining the team at Swanshurst, you will be joining a supportive, forward-thinking school committed to innovation and success. We have an exceptional professional development package for teaching staff and middle leaders and support all staff to engage in a range of leadership growth opportunities because we value and harness your ambition and creativity.

If you are ready to lead, inspire, and make a difference, we would love to hear from you.

The successful candidate will lead on the following areas:

• Leading and being the expert on identified courses/subjects.

• Sequencing the curriculum and writing schemes of work that fulfil school requirements.

• Leading and coordinating all aspects of the delivery and quality assurance of the curriculum

• Working in collaboration with other departments to share strong practice.

• Leading on training staff on new curriculum developments and school teaching and learning priorities.

• Developing and delivering training to staff to develop subject knowledge and pedagogical subject knowledge.

The successful candidate will be an inspirational professional with:

• A track record of strong teaching and impact.

• A track record of strong attainment and progress in KS3, KS4 and/or KS5 MFL.

• A track record of impact on curriculum development and/or the practice of others.

• An eagerness to further develop leadership skills.

• A vision and passion for growth and development of colleagues at all levels.

• The skills to effectively lead and manage.

• A relentless commitment to outstanding support for youngsters.

• A driving ambition to make a difference to every child at Swanshurst.

WMAT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020 which means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’ so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account.

Safeguarding is our top priority. We encourage all applicants to review our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy which outlines our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of students.

The successful applicant will be subject to all necessary pre-employment checks including enhanced DBS, Prohibition Check, qualifications (where applicable), medical fitness, identify and right to work.

This post is covered by Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016). Therefore, the ability to speak fluent and spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.

To comply with Keeping Children Safe in Education , we will seek and scrutinise references prior to interviews. Referees will be contacted to provide further clarification if needed. All information provided by referees will be compared for consistency against the information disclosed in your application form, and you will be asked about any discrepancies at interview.

Short listed candidates – an online search will also be carried out as part of due diligence on all short-listed candidates.