Job Title: Interim Head of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)
Responsible To: Assistant Principal (Curriculum & Outcomes)
Contract Type: Full-time, Temporary (Autumn Term: September 2026 – December 2026)
Working Hours: 8:00am – 4:00pm (Term time only)
Salary: Competitive, commensurate with Middle Leadership experience
Job Purpose
The academy is seeking a proven, highly skilled middle leader for a full-time, long-term cover opportunity as the Interim Head of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) for the upcoming Autumn term (September to December 2026).
The successful candidate will take strategic and operational charge of a dynamic MFL department, ensuring high standards of teaching, learning, and academic achievement are maintained. You will be an experienced middle leader capable of hitting the ground running, leading a team of language specialists, and driving high-structure instructional routines.
Linguistically, you will specialize in Spanish as your major language, possess the expertise to deliver French across Key Stages 3, 4, and 5 (up to A-Level), and maintain a broad curriculum overview of the German language provision within the department.
Key Responsibilities
Departmental Leadership & Operations
- Provide stable, high-impact leadership for the MFL department during the critical Autumn term, maintaining momentum, consistency, and a culture of high expectations.
- Line manage and support the MFL teaching team, ensuring cohesive delivery of the curriculum and efficient day-to-day operations.
- Maintain strategic oversight of all language pathways, explicitly supervising the quality of the Spanish and French provisions, alongside an operational overview of the German curriculum.
- Lead departmental meetings, collaborative planning sessions, and standardization exercises to ensure consistent assessment across all key stages.
Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
- Model exemplary classroom practice, delivering sharp, highly structured, and engaging lessons that minimize downtime and maximize student linguistic output.
- Teach Spanish as the primary subject specialization, ensuring rigorous exam preparation for GCSE cohorts.
- Deliver French instruction across KS3, KS4, and KS5, confidently stretching A-Level students to achieve top-tier academic outcomes.
- Foster an environment of high-ratio engagement, utilizing clear, evidence-informed pedagogical techniques to build student confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Student Progress and Examination Readiness
- Monitor and track student progress metrics meticulously across the department during the term, implementing swift, targeted interventions for borderline or underachieving students.
- Ensure mock exam preparations and autumn assessments are rigorously designed, standardized, and executed in line with exam board specifications.
- Maintain exceptional learning environments and high standards of student conduct across all MFL classrooms.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Experience
- Essential: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a degree in Spanish, French, or a highly related linguistic discipline.
- Essential: Proven, successful middle leadership experience (e.g., Head of Department, Second in Department, or Key Stage Coordinator) within a secondary school setting.
- Essential: Exceptional track record of teaching Spanish, alongside verified experience teaching French up to Key Stage 5 (A-Level).
- Essential: Ability to oversee and strategically manage a multi-language curriculum, including a departmental overview of German.
Skills & Personal Qualities
- Strong leadership presence: An inspiring professional who can seamlessly step into a middle leadership role, earn the respect of a team, and maintain department continuity.
- Excellent organization: Capable of balancing a full-time teaching timetable with the operational demands of running a core department.
- Uncompromising standards: A commitment to strict behavioral routines, explicit instruction, and academic excellence for every student.
- Superb communication: The ability to collaborate productively with senior leaders, technical staff, parents, and external stakeholders.
Application Process
Application Deadline: Friday 19th June 2026 by 3:00pm
Safeguarding Statement
The organisation is strictly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, expecting all staff and volunteers to share this unwavering commitment. The successful candidate will be required to undergo an Enhanced DBS check, secure satisfactory professional references, and clear all statutory pre-employment screenings.…Job Title: Interim Head of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)
Responsible To: Assistant Principal (Curriculum & Outcomes)
Contract Type: Full-time, Temporary (Autumn Term: September 2026 – December 2026)
Working Hours: 8:00am – 4:00pm (Term time only)
Salary: Competitive, commensurate with Middle Leadership experience
Job Purpose
The academy is seeking a proven, highly skilled middle leader for a full-time, long-term cover opportunity as the Interim Head of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) for the upcoming Autumn term (September to December 2026).
The successful candidate will take strategic and operational charge of a dynamic MFL department, ensuring high standards of teaching, learning, and academic achievement are maintained. You will be an experienced middle leader capable of hitting the ground running, leading a team of language specialists, and driving high-structure instructional routines.
Linguistically, you will specialize in Spanish as your major language, possess the expertise to deliver French across Key Stages 3, 4, and 5 (up to A-Level), and maintain a broad curriculum overview of the German language provision within the department.
Key Responsibilities
Departmental Leadership & Operations
- Provide stable, high-impact leadership for the MFL department during the critical Autumn term, maintaining momentum, consistency, and a culture of high expectations.
- Line manage and support the MFL teaching team, ensuring cohesive delivery of the curriculum and efficient day-to-day operations.
- Maintain strategic oversight of all language pathways, explicitly supervising the quality of the Spanish and French provisions, alongside an operational overview of the German curriculum.
- Lead departmental meetings, collaborative planning sessions, and standardization exercises to ensure consistent assessment across all key stages.
Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
- Model exemplary classroom practice, delivering sharp, highly structured, and engaging lessons that minimize downtime and maximize student linguistic output.
- Teach Spanish as the primary subject specialization, ensuring rigorous exam preparation for GCSE cohorts.
- Deliver French instruction across KS3, KS4, and KS5, confidently stretching A-Level students to achieve top-tier academic outcomes.
- Foster an environment of high-ratio engagement, utilizing clear, evidence-informed pedagogical techniques to build student confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Student Progress and Examination Readiness
- Monitor and track student progress metrics meticulously across the department during the term, implementing swift, targeted interventions for borderline or underachieving students.
- Ensure mock exam preparations and autumn assessments are rigorously designed, standardized, and executed in line with exam board specifications.
- Maintain exceptional learning environments and high standards of student conduct across all MFL classrooms.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Experience
- Essential: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a degree in Spanish, French, or a highly related linguistic discipline.
- Essential: Proven, successful middle leadership experience (e.g., Head of Department, Second in Department, or Key Stage Coordinator) within a secondary school setting.
- Essential: Exceptional track record of teaching Spanish, alongside verified experience teaching French up to Key Stage 5 (A-Level).
- Essential: Ability to oversee and strategically manage a multi-language curriculum, including a departmental overview of German.
Skills & Personal Qualities
- Strong leadership presence: An inspiring professional who can seamlessly step into a middle leadership role, earn the respect of a team, and maintain department continuity.
- Excellent organization: Capable of balancing a full-time teaching timetable with the operational demands of running a core department.
- Uncompromising standards: A commitment to strict behavioral routines, explicit instruction, and academic excellence for every student.
- Superb communication: The ability to collaborate productively with senior leaders, technical staff, parents, and external stakeholders.
Application Process
Application Deadline: Friday 19th June 2026 by 3:00pm
Safeguarding Statement
The organisation is strictly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, expecting all staff and volunteers to share this unwavering commitment. The successful candidate will be required to undergo an Enhanced DBS check, secure satisfactory professional references, and clear all statutory pre-employment screenings.WWWWW…