£41,432 - £58,866 per year
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We are seeking to appoint a Head of Science to manage the small team and deliver a high-quality Science curriculum at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.


Atherton High is a school on the move and the successful candidate will join the school at a very exciting point of its transition. The school sits at the heart of the town’s community and has gone through transformational change in the past 18 months. It has recently joined the Educational Partnership Trust (EPT) and is over subscribed for the first time in its history.


At Atherton we care deeply about the development of staff and firmly believe in extensive CPD for all. Not only do senior and middle leaders have a vested interest in developing all staff but all teachers invest time in each other, with a real community sense but also with a great deal of fun!


Staff welfare is a strength at Atherton; we do not have a mere checklist approach but a genuine human touch to caring for our staff. Without great staff who are committed to our pupils, we can never achieve our goal of a world class education for the young people of Atherton.



Who we are looking for:
We are looking for an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher with a proven track record of success and raising pupil outcomes. The successful candidate will have a passion for Science and a strong commitment to making a difference to the lives of our pupils. You will be committed to developing pupils’ love of Science using a variety of delivery methods which will stimulate learning and drive students to reaching their potential.


The Job

• To lead the strategic development and improvement of the teaching and learning, within Science, by developing and implementing assessment strategies, data analysis and appropriate intervention programmes to ensure that identified standards of student achievement are met.
• To lead, manage and develop a stimulating, imaginative and intellectually challenging curriculum for Science.
• Lead, develop and enhance the teaching practice of others through monitoring/evaluation and promoting improvement strategies to secure effective teaching and learning for students.
• To be responsible for student progress in the Science.
• Line manage a team of staff including the effective recruitment, appraisal and development of its members in order that the team’s objectives are achieved.
• Facilitate an ethos within the team which encourages staff to work collaboratively, share knowledge and understanding, celebrate achievements and accept responsibility for outcomes.
• Manage allocated departmental budget and resources.

What are the job requirements?

• Qualified Teacher Status
• Excellent professional knowledge and understanding of national and examination curricular requirements of the subject
• Excellent knowledge of Science with the ability to plan lessons with clear objectives to ensure progression for all students
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of leadership in a school setting
• Able to analyse and evaluate curriculum data across key stages
• Awareness of development in national policy for education
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of safeguarding for pupils
• Effectively analyse, prioritise and action plan
• Evidence that you have made an impact on improving pupil outcomes
• Able to set clear targets, track progress an adopt strategies to achieve them

About Atherton High School:
‘Our curriculum ambition at Atherton High School is to make learning irresistible for all'. We have designed a challenging and ambitious curriculum to provide the best learning opportunities for all our students to aspire and achieve.


Our core values that drive our curriculum are:

• Aspiration for all to improve life chances for every student.
• Excellence in learning through an ambitious knowledge and vocabulary rich curriculum for all.
• Character and personal development to equip all of our students to succeed in life.

At Atherton High School what is taught is coherently planned and sequenced to equip students to succeed in life. Our curriculum supports students from all backgrounds, including those who are disadvantaged, so students can access a high-quality, knowledge-rich curriculum. Our school community believes strongly in providing disadvantaged pupils with a curriculum that enables them to reach the academic standards of their non-disadvantaged peers. Our goal is to bring our young people into the big conversations of subject disciplines, to bring depth to our curriculum, so they can understand the world around them.


About the Education Partnership Trust (EPT):
EPT was established in 2012 as a multi-academy trust and is an approved academy sponsor. Our vision is to create outstanding schools which transform learning, lives and communities. We benefit from our diverse and unique range of schools which include secondary mainstream, alternative provision and special and have a proven track record of sustained improvement. Our schools are united by a drive to improve opportunities and outcomes for children and young people within a collaborative learning culture.


Our extensive range of rewards and benefits include:

• Healthcare cash back plan provided free by the trust includes optical, dental, physio, diagnostics, health assessment, NHS prescription charges, hospital cover, discounted gym memberships plus lots more.
• Employee Assistance Programme including, counselling, CBT, and wellbeing initiatives.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Access to government pension schemes.
• Free parking.
• Electric Car Scheme (Salary Sacrifice).
• Training, mentoring and progression opportunities i
• Trust wide intranet to share knowledge and resources.

Safeguarding Information
The Education Partnership Trust is 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.
The post you are applying for is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). 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.
The Education Partnership Trust is 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.

Headteachers Welcome!


Welcome to Atherton High School. Our school sits at the heart of the community and encompasses the values and strengths of the town’s proud history. Atherton High School is part of the Education Partnership Trust (EPT), who are committed to creating outstanding schools which transform learning, lives, and communities.


Our school has a culture built around our values of respect, responsibility, and ambition; these core values underpin all we do. We promote our values through a strong, knowledge rich curriculum, whereby pupils develop depth of understanding across a wide range of subjects, to enable an ambitious education for all learners.


We are blessed with dedicated, talented, and highly qualified staff who expect the highest standards and academic effort from all our pupils. We encourage our pupils to take responsibility for their actions, decisions, and their future education and in doing so, we are providing an education for life. We believe every pupil is an individual that can achieve well; this is their responsibility, but we will support them every step of the way!


We are proud of our pupils and proud of our school. We expect pupils to demonstrate the highest standards of behaviour so that everyone can learn, free from disruption or barriers. We want all our pupils to feel safe and to develop into caring, responsible, and confident young people. Pupils will be given a wealth of opportunities to experience culture beyond their experience so that they may develop holistically.


Support for each other is a key component of any thriving community. We are proud to serve our local community. Our facilities are accessed by local clubs and organisations to help deliver important extracurricular opportunities to develop pupils beyond school. We are also proud of the many pupils who enrich local community groups and offer a great deal to the wider community as a result. We are committed to working closely with our pupils, families, partner schools and the wider community to contribute positively to the local area and ensure the best possible outcomes for the young people of Atherton.


Atherton High is a highly successful 11 – 16 school and over the past three years has achieved the following:

• Judged as ‘Good’ in all categories of the Ofsted framework in January 2024.

• Outcomes category move from ‘well below average’ to ‘average’ and the most improved outcomes in Wigan authority.

• Established as the ‘school of choice’ in the local area, oversubscribed in every year group and waiting lists across all cohorts.

I am incredibly proud to be Headteacher of Atherton High School and would be delighted to welcome you to see our school in action.
Leanne Turner
Headteacher