Head of English and Languages - Education Gazette
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May 2021
Head of English and Languages
Kia ora! Many thanks for your interest in our school, and your interest in the position of
Head of English and Languages. You will find, within the application pack, a full Position
Description, as well as a booklet outlining our Staff Wellbeing package. You will also find
that our website is full of useful information about our school. But I also wanted to give
you a fuller picture of the role, and to invite you to come to visit us to find out more.
The school
Pinehurst School is 30 years old now. When the founders established the school, we were
surrounded by orchards and open fields. Now, three decades on, we are nestled within
one of Auckland’s busiest and most prosperous neighbourhoods, Albany. We are close to
the motorway, so access is easy, but our surroundings are green and peaceful. Around half
of the school, the eyeline is defined by bush; and the school is unusually green and
speckled with trees. Our lovely environment helps, we think, our students to be so calm
and focused.
Another factor is our size. We have around 1050 students in the school, and of those, close
to 600 are in College (Years 7 to 13). We are still growing, but by 2023 we will have
reached maximum capacity of about 1100 students, and there will be about 95 students in
each year group in College. This is our perfect size, we think: big enough to offer a very
wide range of curriculum and co-curricular opportunities; and small enough to know every
single student, and provide a guided, informed pathway to them.
In other words, every student feels known and supported in our school. We are fortunate in
that we have exceptionally engaged parents, and very well-motivated young people in our
school, but our students have the same challenges as all young people from time-to-time.
We are able to offer them, and their parents, exceptional support, and this ensures that we
have a real sense of community. We talk about our Pinehurst Triangle quite a lot (Students,
Staff and Parents), and it’s a real, living thing to us. By working closely together in a school
that is the right size to support each other, we ensure that our young people achieve more
than they would have thought possible.
Our students are wonderful. They are a pleasure to be with, behaviour is excellent, and
they are generally determined to learn. They form strong relationships with their teachers,
and their teachers build strong relationships with them and with their whanau.
They also achieve exceptional results. In 2020, 95% of our school leavers achieved
University Entrance, for example. And the profile of our students, moving forwards,
suggests that we should be maintaining this kind of level. We are not, though, selective.
The academic profile of our young people certainly skews towards the top, but we have
students of all abilities, and this will continue. Around 8% of our students have IEPs, and we
have an active and supportive Learner Support department to ensure that they can flourish.
75 Bush Road, Albany | PO Box 302-308, North Harbour, Auckland 0751
Phone (09) 414 0960 | www.pinehurst.school.nz
1The curriculum
As you may know, Pinehurst is a “Cambridge” school. What this means is that we teach
IGCSEs in Years 10 and 11, AS Levels in Years 12 and 13, and A Levels in Year 13. In Years 7-
9, we teach “pre-IGCSE” courses alongside subjects that follow a programme that includes
strong New Zealand elements. In English, the Year 7-9 curriculum prepares students for
IGCSEs in Years 10 and 11, but it’s a wide-ranging course, and NZ literature is very much a
part of it.
We teach Spanish and Mandarin Chinese as our foreign languages. Students follow
programmes in these languages from Year 1, but the Head of English and Languages
oversees the courses from Year 7 upwards. In practice, the Spanish and Chinese teachers
manage their own courses – we don’t ask you to be a Languages teacher – but you are
their line manager and will offering them both support and challenge as part of your role.
A word on Cambridge. It’s really just the British curriculum, tweaked for an international
environment. We are a New Zealand school, and our core ethos reflects that, but we teach
a British international curriculum. We do this because it is consistent, rigorous and clear. It
has less flexibility in the construction of courses, but its standards don’t change, and it has
both the trust and the support of our community. It isn’t an extension curriculum by itself –
although it is true that AS and A Levels are more consistently rigorous and have a higher
content-level than some equivalent Year 12 and 13 courses – and it is suitable for nearly all
students.
In English, the curriculum is comparable to the New Zealand curriculum in Years 7 to 9,
though with a little more emphasis on literature. That emphasis continues into Years 10 to
13, and the approach to essay writing is a little different too. But the fundamentals remain
the same.
We teach IGCSE English Language and IGCSE English Literature in Years 10 and 11; and we
teach both English Language AS and A Level, and English Literature AS and A Level in Years
12 and 13.
The Position and the Department
There are 8 English teachers, 3 Spanish teachers and 2 Chinese teachers in the
department. We also have Chinese and ESOL teaching assistants associated with the
department. The English teachers teach from Years 7 to 13; one of the Spanish teachers is
our senior teacher, and two teach Primary and Years 7-9. Our Chinese teachers cover
Years 1-11. The department is a hardworking, high quality team who are very committed to
their students, and whose results are strong. They are also committed to continuing to
develop their skills. They are part of a team of around 60 College teachers. The Library
Manager and her team are also connected with the department.
The position has arisen because of the retirement of our long-serving Head of Languages,
and is currently vacant. The Position Description covers the nature of the role, and the
specific responsibilities associated with it, but we are fundamentally looking for an
excellent teacher who has had some leadership responsibilities and who is interested in the
challenge of leading and supporting a good department who are keen to develop further.
The position involves curriculum leadership as well as staff leadership, so we would expect
the successful candidate to be able to teach to Year 13. You will need to be interested in
75 Bush Road, Albany | PO Box 302-308, North Harbour, Auckland 0751
Phone (09) 414 0960 | www.pinehurst.school.nz
2teaching and learning approaches, in supporting all students to access the curriculum, and
in extending students beyond the curriculum. You will also, of course, need to love
literature and language, and to want to inspire the same love in our students.
Experience with Cambridge is not required, although we will of course be interested in
teachers who are familiar with the curriculum. We are more interested in teachers who
want to work in a kind, friendly environment, where we build relationships with each other,
with students and with their whanau, and who want to make a difference to students’ lives
by opening up the rich worlds of literature and language to them.
I hope that you will be interested in this position. It’s an important leadership one for us,
and we will support your development as a leader as you develop those around you. We
would encourage you to visit us before applying, and I hope very much that I will meet you
soon.
Alex Reed
Executive Principal
75 Bush Road, Albany | PO Box 302-308, North Harbour, Auckland 0751
Phone (09) 414 0960 | www.pinehurst.school.nz
3HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
College Head of English and Languages
Position Description
Responsible to: Principal of College & Executive Principal
Allocation: Permanent, 4 Management Units
The Head of Department is responsible for the teaching and learning of one of the College Departments. He or
she leads staff, develops the experiences of teaching and learning in the department, and has overall responsibility
and accountability for standards attained by students. There is an expectation of exemplary management,
sometimes delegated, but the role is primarily conceived as a leadership one: the Head of Department ensures
that all students exceed their own expectations.
Core Outcomes
1. Students enjoy their learning in all classes, developing outstanding relationships with teachers, other adults
and other children in the class
2. Students make outstanding progress in all courses, exceeding their expectations, and achieving at
exceptional levels
3. Students experience a cohesive learning experience from Years 7 to 13 and within every year group
4. Parents and students are fully engaged in the process of learning, feeling fully informed at every stage
5. Teachers are developing, inquiring professionals committed to responding to the needs of all students
6. Teaching and learning is rigorous, structured, founded on sound principles and research, and innovative
and imaginative where appropriate and possible
7. The department is an active, engaged and cooperative unit within College, responding efficiently to
organizational needs and adopting a strong pastoral presence as part of the College team.
In order to realise the Core Outcomes, there are a number of tasks that are central to the role, though the
exact nature of these will develop over time. Some of these tasks will be distributed to other teachers and
leaders within the department.
Key Tasks – Curriculum
• Ensure outstanding teaching and learning through robust monitoring and support procedures.
• Oversee the procedures necessary to ensure the department is working towards successful implementation
of school wide goals and to ensure the department’s own goals are aligned to school wide goals.
• Manage the operations of the department, including ensuring leadership roles within the Department are
effectively realized.
• Co-ordinate and monitor the internal assessment programmes within the department and ensure subject
teachers in Years 7-13 have a full understanding of expectations.
• Be a member of and actively participate in the College Leadership Team.
• Liaise with the Principal of College regarding the courses offered in each curriculum area.
• Be actively involved in recruitment of new staff and the development of existing staff.
• Liaise with the Principal of College regarding the allocation of subject classes to teachers.
• Liaise with external advisors for subject areas within department.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of courses and programmes as required.
• Liaise with Primary subject leaders to ensure a cohesive transition from Year 6 to Year 7.
• Review internal and external exams and assessments, monitoring and analysing their results for the College
Principal and Executive Principal.
• Hold regular Department meetings for professional development and administration purposes.
• Assist with the management of the Pinehurst reporting process. This includes student reporting and reports
to the Board of Governors as required, including involvement in the reporting of external exam results.
• Oversee departmental tasks related to external assessment coursework, moderation and grade predictions.
75 Bush Road, Albany | PO Box 302-308, North Harbour, Auckland 0751
Phone (09) 414 0960 | www.pinehurst.school.nz
4Key Tasks – Students
• Ensure that within each subject area, differentiated programs are implemented. When necessary liaise with
the College SENCO in order to fully support students.
• Ensure that students experience a responsive curriculum appropriate to each student’s specific needs. This
will involve ensuring that teachers are differentiating in response to individual students, and that assessment
for learning strategies are fully implemented throughout the curriculum.
• Ensure Course Outlines are distributed to students and parents on Schoolbox at the commencement of
each year, including the assessment schedule that includes expected achievement levels and coursework
requirements where appropriate.
• Develop and sustain an effective process of academic mentoring for each student in the subject area. When
necessary liaise with College SENCO in order to fully support students.
Key Tasks – Staff
• Lead, support and inspire departmental staff, developing a sense of professionalism and accountability in all
teachers.
• Support the departmental teaching staff with regular classroom visits and feedback as part of monitoring of
content and assessment.
• Support the departmental teaching staff with effective communication to ensure positive team morale
• Monitor staff, through class visits and the collation of documentation, ensuring schemes are followed and
that student guides and assessment guides are both relevant and implemented.
• Create and monitor systems for benchmarking to CIE standards.
• Ensure that in cases of staff absence that classes have appropriate work.
• Complete appraisal of College staff as directed by the College Leadership Team.
• Represent Pinehurst in subject specific professional organisations.
• Arrange departmental specific professional development.
• Assist the College Leadership Team with disciplinary procedures as required.
• Ensure Schoolbox is operating throughout the department in a consistent way, responding to the
requirements of the school.
Key Task – Parents
• Ensure that communication with parents on behalf of the department is open and clear.
• Ensure that teachers understand their core purpose includes engaging parents positively in all aspects of
their children’s education, and that responding positively and promptly is an essential part of supporting their
students.
• Manage Information sessions related to departmental areas.
• Assist with the IGCSE and A Level options evening and the selection of options.
Key Task – Financial
• Prepare, develop and manage the budget for the department in liaison with the Principal of College
• Ensure teaching spaces are appropriately maintained.
• Manage the departmental resources and textbooks.
• Oversee excursions relevant to the department.
• Develop and maintain the required stationery list for the departmental subjects.
Key Task – General
• Promote subjects in the department in the form of school activities, provide regular contributions to the
fortnightly school newsletter, annual report for School Yearbook, website, Panorama etc.
• Undertake classroom teaching and pastoral activities as required.
• Be seen as a leader and role model for other staff
• Adhere to, and support, all policies and procedures of Pinehurst School
• Undertake other duties normally part of the Head of Department’s role as required.
75 Bush Road, Albany | PO Box 302-308, North Harbour, Auckland 0751
Phone (09) 414 0960 | www.pinehurst.school.nz
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