Head of Foundation Pathways

Tameside College; Ashton-under-Lyne; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Teacher Pensions

Costa Coffee on site

Free on-site Gym

Onsite bakery

Restaurant and salon discounts

Retail discounts

Cycle to work

Great holiday allowances

Employee saving club

Job summary

Tameside College in Ashton-Under-Lyne is seeking a Head of Department to lead Foundation Pathways and related provisions, driving quality improvement and sustainable growth across Springboard, NEET, subcontracting and 14-16 provision.

You will shape curricula, policies and delivery to meet learner needs and local priorities, inspire a diverse team, and foster progression toward Entry Level to higher levels, with a focus on English, maths and employability.

Qualifications

• You will lead a very strong team of professional teachers across Springboard, NEET, subcontracting and 14-16 provision.
• You will develop and implement policies and procedures that support quality improvement in the area and lead sharing of good practice.
• You will bring enthusiasm, resilience and motivation to leading Foundation Pathways with diverse learner starting points.
• You will understand FE curriculum design including Foundation Learning, 14-16 provision, re-engagement, NEET and progression pathways.

Responsibilities

• Lead a strong team of teachers across multiple provisions.
• Develop policies and procedures to support quality improvement.
• Deliver engaging curricula and share good practice.
• Drive learner engagement, attendance, achievement and progression.

Skills

Leadership

Curriculum design

Quality improvement

Team leadership

Policy development

Stakeholder engagement

Foundation Pathways

NEET

14-16 provision

Job description

We are looking for a Head of Department (HOD) for our Foundation Pathways to support the development, quality improvement and sustainable growth of Springboard, NEET, Subcontracting and 14-16 provision across the College, ensuring curriculum delivery is responsive to learner needs, local priorities, progression pathways and College strategic objectives.

Do you have an innovative approach to leading a team? Is the learner journey a key priority in your role? Are you an inspirational leader who is looking for your next challenge and an opportunity to improve the lives and futures of the young people of Tameside? If the answer is yes, this may be the post for you.

As a HOD, you have access to the Teacher Pensions scheme and enjoy some fantastic benefits whilst working for the college, i.e., Costa Coffee on site, free on-site Gym at Beaufort Road with PT sessions, onsite bakery products at Tameside One, The Restaurant and salon at Tameside One (with fantastic discounts) to name but a few. Of course, we offer retail discounts, cycle to work, great holiday allowances and an employee saving club via Manchester Credit Union.

• access to the Teacher Pensions scheme
• Costa Coffee on site
• free on-site Gym at Beaufort Road with PT sessions
• onsite bakery products at Tameside One
• The Restaurant and salon at Tameside One (with fantastic discounts)
• retail discounts
• cycle to work
• great holiday allowances
• employee saving club via Manchester Credit Union

Here’s the standard bit: You will lead a very strong team of professional teachers across a variety of provisions across the Springboard, NEET, subcontracting and 14-16 provision.

You will develop and implement policies and procedures that support the quality improvement of the area, you will inspirationally lead members of a team to deliver appropriate and engaging curricula ensuring the sharing of good practice wherever possible.

What you’ll need: You will bring enthusiasm, resilience and a highly motivated approach to leading Foundation Pathways, with recent experience of teaching and leading provision for learners with a diverse range of starting points, needs and aspirations. You will have a strong track record of improving learner engagement, attendance, achievement and progression, particularly for young people who may require a more personalised pathway into further education, training or employment.

You will have a detailed understanding of curriculum design and development within Further Education, including Foundation Learning, 14-16 provision, re-engagement and NEET programmes, and progression pathways towards Entry Level, Level 1 and beyond. You will understand the importance of designing ambitious, flexible and inclusive programmes that develop English and maths, employability, personal development and the behaviours learners need to progress successfully.

About us: Tameside College has an excellent reputation and this is a real opportunity for you to make a difference in people’s lives. We’re based in Ashton-Under-Lyne Greater Manchester in a diverse and vibrant further education college, with a sixth form centre, that offers a wide range of course including A level and advanced level vocational study programmes, Apprenticeships and adult courses up to degree Level. We aim to give all our students an exceptional learning experience.

We believe in excellence and this is underpinned throughout the college with high expectations, a professional and inspirational working environment (as part of the Vision Tameside £100 million+ accommodation strategy) and outstanding teaching and learning. We also believe that attending college is about more than achieving a qualification, we aim to give learners every opportunity to develop their full potential in a motivated, inspirational, supportive and friendly environment.

Tameside College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all learners and expects all staff to share this commitment. Employment at Tameside College is subject to an Enhanced DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) Check via the Disclosure and Barring Service and any post in regulated activity will also be subject to an additional barred list check. Tameside College will meet the costs associated with this.

Please note Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 guidance requires us to carry out an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted candidates. This is to enables us to identify any incidents or issues which we might want to explore at interview with you. Once shortlisting has taken place, this search will be carried out for all candidates who are invited to attend an interview.

Please note that due to the volume of applications we receive we are unfortunately not able to respond to each applicant. If you have not been called for interview within 3 weeks of the closing date, you should assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

You will be experienced at inspirationally leading curriculum, be a strong team player and possess excellent communication skills.

Come join us on our journey to outstanding!

Subject to the volume of applications we may decide to close this vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date.

Recruitment Agencies: We are not utilising the service of recruitment agencies for this vacancy and will accept direct applications only. Unsolicited CV’s will be treated as a gift. We will not be subject to or liable under your terms and conditions for agency fees.