Head of Department for MFL

Don Valley Academy; Doncaster; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Join Don Valley Academy as the Head of Department for Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), where you will lead a passionate team and foster a love for languages among students. This position offers a unique opportunity to impact student outcomes in a high-performing department, teaching both French and Spanish to dedicated learners. As part of the Delta Academies Trust, you will be supported in your professional growth within an engaging and vibrant educational environment.

Benefits

Professional development opportunities

Supportive and collaborative teaching environment

Qualifications

• Experience in teaching French and Spanish at secondary level.
• Strong leadership skills to manage a team of MFL teachers.
• Knowledge of curriculum development and assessment.

Responsibilities

• Lead a department of 3 MFL teachers.
• Teach French and Spanish to KS3 and KS4 students.
• Develop and implement MFL curriculum.

Skills

Teaching

Leadership

Curriculum Development

Education

Qualified Teacher Status

Degree in French/Spanish or related field

Job description

Don Valley Academy are looking to appoint a Head of Department for MFL to join our academy in January 2026 or sooner if possible, on a full time, permanent basis.

As our new Head of MFL at Don Valley Academy, you’ll teach French & Spanish to KS3, and either French or Spanish to KS4, and you’ll lead a department of 3 other MFL teachers. At present, the department currently teaches 4 GCSE MFL classes (2 in French, 2 in Spanish) in both Year 10 and Year 11.

We are a high performing department, achieving results that are significantly higher than the national average. In 2024, both French and Spanish achieved more than 90% of students achieving a grade of 4 or higher. Our department has also successfully applied to the British Council’s MFL scheme, so we will be hosting another languages assistant in the coming academic year.

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.

Your new Academy

Don Valley Academy is a vibrant, oversubscribed, secondary Academy with over 1100 students on roll from Year 7 to 11.We serve a mixed community however, despite these challenges, you will find Don Valley students to be polite and engaged with their learning.

Collaboration is at the heart of the Academy for both students and staff and you will find Don Valley Academy to be positive and reflective towards their own professionalism, with wellbeing as a pivotal aspect of our Academy ethos.

Our most recent Ofsted inspection was in July 2024.There has been no change to the Academy’s overall judgement of ‘Good’ as a result of this ungraded (Section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might be ‘Outstanding’ if a graded (Section 5) inspection were carried out.

Don Valley Academy is proud to be an EEF Research School. One of only 33 Research Schools across England, we work to exemplify our evidence informed teaching and learning strategies, share what we know about putting research into practice, and support schools in the region to make better use of evidence to inform and improve their teaching and learning.

We are very proud of our Academy and the opportunities available for staff and students alike. We would love to show you around so you can find out more for yourself about what your career could look like with us. Please contact us directly at [e-mail] you would like to arrange a visit.

For more information and to apply for this position please visit our website at https://www.deltatrust.org.uk/careers-with-delta/

Visits to the academy would be warmly welcomed by appointment. Please contact the academy on 01302 651035 if you would like to arrange a visit.

In accordance with DfE Keeping Children Safe in Education, an online search will be completed on all shortlisted applicants prior to interview. Any relevant information will be discussed further with the applicant during the recruitment process.

The Trust is committed to safeguarding the welfare of its students and the successful applicant will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service certificate and checks of the relevant barred list / prohibition lists.

Delta Academies Trust undertake to treat all applicants for posts fairly and not to discriminate unfairly against volunteers or paid staff who voluntarily reveal that they have a criminal conviction. Equally, we will not discriminate unfairly against volunteers or paid staff where a Disclosure and Barring Service check reveals a criminal conviction or other information about offences.

Therefore, we will consider job applicants who have a criminal record based on their skills, abilities, experience, knowledge and, where needed, qualifications and training. However, our approach depends on the job, and whether it is covered by, or exempt from, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post. However, it is important to note that if we receive a high volume of applications, we may limit the numbers of interviews offered to people with and without a disability.

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