teacher of geography

We are currently looking to appoint a qualified Teacher of Geography  in our vibrant academy.

What is our team looking for?

Are you looking for an exciting new opportunity? Our experienced Senior Leaders will help you grow and develop your skillset. With a variety of CPD on offer and great progression pathways, Ockendon could be the school for you! We are always on the search for authentic teachers who enjoy what they do, who have great subject knowledge, charisma and have a strong sense of moral purpose. 

As a teacher of Geography at Harris Academy Ockendon, you will be a part of a fantastic community of staff as well as benefit from a great range of CPD opportunities. Your role will be:

• To implement and deliver an appropriately broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated curriculum for students and to support a designated curriculum area as appropriate.
• To monitor and support the overall progress and development of students as a teacher/form tutor.
• To facilitate and encourage a learning experience which provides students with the opportunity to achieve their individual potential.
• To contribute to raising standards of student attainment.
• To share and support the academy's responsibility to provide and monitor opportunities for personal and academic growth.

Strong subject knowledge and the ability to teach up to and including A-level is essential, and you must hold QTS (or equivalent) and a relevant undergraduate degree. The appointed candidate will be well supported by an excellent induction programme and access to excellent facilities for teaching and learning.

The successful candidate will have:

• Passion for education, courage, integrity
• A flair for working with young people
• A great team player who will fit well with our optimistic and positive culture
• The ability to teach great lessons

Please download the Job Pack for a full job description and person specification.

Who are we?

We are an 11-18 academy with a thriving Sixth Form and state-of-the-art building.  It is a school where we are as passionate about developing our staff as we are about developing our students.

Harris Academy Ockendon is a school that aims to become the most successful school in Essex, providing all our students with a first-class education and amazing life experiences.  This reflects our personal outlook on life and on education.  We only get one life and we should all use it to make a real difference in the world, to enjoy being the best version of ourselves and to be the best we can possibly be.  We always tell our students and staff to 'enjoy being the best you can be'. At Harris Academy Ockendon 'being the best' is neither a destination nor a moment in time. It is a journey towards a consistent pattern of behaviour and attitudes that result in constant progress and achievement.

Our role here is to help students and staff dream bigger than they ever thought possible, and to make that dream come true through our culture of ambition, drive and integrity which beats at the heart of our school.   

Harris Academy Ockendon is new to the Federation and provides a fantastic opportunity for an experienced member of staff to hone their leadership craft and be part of a remarkable story.  The building and facilities are fantastic, and the staff are really on board and behind the vision of the school.

The Executive Principal is George McMillan, who led the transformation of Harris Academy Greenwich to being in the top 15% of schools in the country 6 years in a row.  Harris Greenwich is renowned as one of the best schools in the country in developing pedagogical excellence, leadership skills and leadership capability, but also as a place where work-life balance is genuinely valued.  One of their mantras is "zero burnout, ever."

As an executive coach, Mr McMillan works with teams both inside and outside the Federation, helping them to become more resilient, sustainable and highly effective.  He believes that students should feel inspired at school and that teachers should be happy and highly motivated at work.  Having a safe and positive environment at school where everyone can have fun, work hard and thrive is a key part of the Harris Greenwich success story.  Mr McMillan is "fiercely proud" of the students and staff he leads.  He looks forward to working with the Principal, Ms Jo Rainey, to create a similarly inspiring story for the staff and students of Harris Ockendon.

The Harris Federation is a highly successful group of schools who serve many of the most deprived areas of London.  We are collaborative, enterprising and share a passion for turning lives around, yet each school is autonomous and free to set its own vision and strategy for how it does that. 

Each Harris school feels completely different in terms of culture and ethos.  Perhaps this is the school you've been looking for.

What are we passionate about?

"I have the great privilege of not only seeing young people grow and flourish, but providing opportunities for staff to step into their greatness in an environment that feels really safe and rewarding.  We will make Harris Ockendon a brilliant place to work and learn - naturally we are all passionately student focused and we touch lives every day, but that shouldn't come at the sacrifice of staff.  I believe you can have it all in a school and experience tells me that happy teachers make great teachers so we work hard on that.  We don't grade lessons, we don't create fear in the workplace and we certainly don't burn out our staff.  Indeed, we are incredibly mindful of our 'life/work balance' which I hope will be refreshing to hear for staff in other schools who feel constantly bashed and ground down by relentless pressure from above.  What we aim to do is engage, motivate, energise.  Teach