What skills and experience we're looking for
Head of Department for MFL
The Laurel Academy are looking to appoint a Head of Department for MFL to join our academy in September 2025, on a full time, permanent basis.
What the school offers its staff
OUR VISION
At Delta Academies Trust we understand the importance of learning a modern foreign language and we believe that every single one of our pupils should have that opportunity. We have invested significant time,expertise, and money in the creation of an outstanding curriculum offer which has increased pupil engagement, and as a result the number of pupils studying MFL in our 17 secondary academies has risen dramatically.
OUR CURRICULUM
We have created carefully sequenced five-year curriculum plans for both French and Spanish using the national curriculum and the key recommendations of the 2016 MFL Pedagogy Review, and we regularly update them. Each one is fully resourced, with detailed lessons prepared for you to adapt to the needs of your classes. We use an online coursebook to underpin our teaching, along with our trust knowledge organisers. Every unit of work includes a cultural topic to help instil a love of languages as well as promote a desire to get to know more about people from those countries. We subscribe to an on-line learning platform to support the learning of vocabulary. Perhaps our biggest and most impressive investment is in our team of modern language assistants. We currently have 17 native speakers in our academies and our pupils love working with them!
HOW WILL WE SUPPORT YOU?
Our Senior MFL director is a specialist in both French and Spanish and leads a team of two MFL directors and a lead teacher. They are all based in our academies working to support teachers and pupils on a daily basis. We recognise the value of high quality CPD and the director team run subject specific CPD every half term, meaning that staff from across our trust can meet to share best practice and stay up to date with research findings and national developments. Although our curriculum model is standard across our trust, we are all individuals, and you will have the opportunity to develop as a professional in your own right. We pride ourselves on recognising and developing talent and are passionate about sharing our love of teaching languages.
OUR FUTURE
Our director team are held in high regard and have worked with the DFE and the examination boards in consultation about the existing and new GCSEs. We are passionate about languages in any way, shape or form and have recently had four academies approved to join the DFE Latin Centre of Excellence programme. We are currently preparing a bid to become one of 15 MFL hubs in England which would give us the opportunity to help shape the future of MFL teaching at a national level.
OUR ACADEMY
The Laurel Academy is an 11 -16 Academy of 660 pupils serving the town of Mexborough and its surrounding area. The Laurel has a rich history within the town since it was established in 1904 and has numerous notable alumni including Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. Mexborough is an ex mining town with a strong sense of community and some wonderful pupils. People who visit the Academy always comment on the excellent behaviour and conduct of the pupils and the welcoming ethos of the Academy. The Laurel is a great place to work where you can make a real difference to the lives of young people. In April 2023 Ofsted rated our school ‘Good’ in all areas.
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment. Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance. Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant): childcare disqualification Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) medical online and social media prohibition from teaching right to work satisfactory references suitability to work with children You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.