Job Introduction

The Director of Teaching and Learning (DTL) is a full member of the School’s Senior Management Committee (SMC), working closely as part of the senior academic team with the Deputy Head Academic (DHA), and reporting directly to the Head Master. 

Strategically, the DTL will work with SMC on the planning for, and implementation of, the introduction of girls into the Fifth Form (Year 9) from 2028.

Day-to-day, the DTL principally supports the academic progress of all pupils, working with SMC, Housemasters, Heads of Department and the Learning Development Department. The DTL is also committed to the continued development of excellent teaching and the sharing of best practice, and so an additional key role is to support and manage teaching staff professional development.

In addition to the duties outlined in this job description, the DTL will have a teaching commitment of up to 40% (maximum 12 ppw).

Role Responsibility

Monitoring and management of Teaching and Learning Teaching 

• To encourage teachers’ active engagement with professional studies and oversee initiatives to enhance teaching and learning. 
• To arrange and co-ordinate academic INSET days and liaise with Harris Westminster Sixth Form on the possibility of shared INSET. 
• To create in-school CPD opportunities for staff. 
• To facilitate mutual observation amongst teaching staff. 
• To undertake regular learning walks, lesson observations and departmental work scrutiny and offer support and training where required. 
• To observe all new teaching staff in their first year of teaching. 
• To monitor classes where further support or intervention may be required. 
• To review annually the reporting schedule as well as teachers’ Report and Order Sheet writing. 
• To work with HR and the Director of People on the overview of the teaching staff appraisal schedule.  
• To keep up-to-date with the ISI framework and standards, with a particular focus on Section 2 quality of education. 

  Learning 

• To shadow pupils from different year groups throughout the year as well as individual pupils, where appropriate. 
• To meet with Housemasters termly to review the academic progress of pupils. 
• To engage with Housemasters/Heads of Year/Heads of Department where further intervention is required. 
• To collate and analyse MIDYIS/screening data and academic tracing with the Head of Pupil Tracking and Deputy Head (Academic). 
• To monitor the academic progress of pupils identified as likely not to meet the Sixth Form matriculation threshold and to update the Under Master and Deputy Head (Academic). 
• To oversee the Library to ensure that it is a place for effective learning, to encourage initiatives to promote academic and information literacy, and to support the Library staff team. 
• To manage Supervised Study programs.  

The Learning Development Department 

• To lead the department and line manage members of the department. 
• To advise on the performance of SEND candidates at all admissions meetings. 
• To communicate with and support new SEND pupils and their parents in the Welcome Pack and induction meetings. 
• To track and monitor impact of support for and performance of SEND pupils. 
• To liaise with parents on access arrangements, screening and assessment in partnership with the SENCO.  
• To arrange assemblies and resources for tutorials to develop strong skills of metacognition, executive function and effective study habits across the school.  
• To recruit staff/additional staff for the department as necessary. 
• To liaise with the Head of Examinations and the Deputy Head (Academic) regularly on SEND pupils and exam access arrangements. 
• To develop and keep refreshed an understanding of SEND issues and regulation.  
• To update policy documents with the assistance of the SENCO and the EAL Lead. 
• To report to the Governing Body and Education Committee termly. 

 Digital Support and Innovation 

• To work with the Head of Digital Strategy to continue to develop a digital strategy for learning. 
• To keep up to date with developments in EdTech and AI. 
• To keep up to date with developments in MS 365 and Firefly. 
• To support staff and pupils with digital literacy. 

Professional Development Courses 

• To keep up to date with courses on HMC, ISC, BSA, and ASL websites, researching pastoral and academic courses, and disseminating to staff, where appropriate. 
• To manage CPD requests and the CPD budget. 

Professional Development Initial Teacher Training 

• To liaise with teacher training providers such as the IOE, NML and Future Academies. 
• To manage the whole-school experience of all trainees, plan schedules with colleagues accordingly and complete all necessary paperwork. 
• To observe trainees termly and conduct regular meetings.  
• To keep up to date with courses on HMC, ISC, BSA, and ASL websites, researching pastoral and academic courses, and disseminating to staff, where appropriate. 

 Early Career Framework 

• To understand the regulation and liaise with IStip and other EDF providers. 
• To support subject mentors. 
• To observe ECTs half-termly and offer feedback.  
• To review assessment documentation.  
• To offer appropriate and regular ECT professional studies training. 

 
In addition, the Director of Teaching and Learning attends meetings of the following:

a)    SMC 
b)    Housemasters’ Committee 
c)    Heads of Departments’ Committee 
d)    Governing Body committees and working groups, as required 
e)    Welfare Committee  
 
Other duties as a member of the Senior Management Committee 

• To be involved with the appointment of staff, in particular with the process of interviewing candidates (having undergone Safer Recruitment training). 
• To contribute to the biennial academic department reviews by SMC. 
• To undertake sensitive investigations (complaints, disciplinaries) as requested by the Head Master and/or Under Master. 
• To be an authoritative presence around the School throughout the day. 
• To attend School functions whenever possible, to support pupils and staff in their endeavours. 
• To represent the School at external meetings as requested by the Head Master. 
• To liaise with the SMT of the Under School as appropriate. 

 Review and Tenure 

• The Director of Teaching and Learning is reviewed every year by the Head Master in keeping with the cycle of professional development. 
• The maximum tenure for the Director of Teaching and Learning responsibility is for 12 years, being initially for seven years with further extensions of three and then two years at the Head Master’s discretion. The member of staff will then revert to a normal teaching schedule in their chosen subject.

The Ideal Candidate

Please refer to the below person specification.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. We therefore encourage candidates to apply irrespective of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion and belief, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Package Description

Required for: September 2024 or January 2025.

Location: Dean's Yard, Westminster School

Contract: full-time, permanent

Salary: Westminster has its own salary scale, and new members of staff are placed at a point relevant to their qualifications and experience. Details of salary will be discussed at interview with those candidates who are short-listed.

The role also has an associated responsibility allowance.

Accommodation may be available for the successful candidate, which will be discussed with them on appointment.

The deadline for applications is midday, Wednesday 15th May. Interviews will take place w/c Monday 20th May 2024.

About the School

Working at Westminster

Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.

Our teaching staff — the Common Room — are friendly and welcoming and all new teachers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here, both inside and outside the classroom. Common Room social events are regular and varied, with plenty of opportunity to socialise outside working hours.

It also does not matter where you come to us from. Some teachers come to us straight from university or having just taken a PGCE. Some have taught in independent schools before while others come from the state sector, or another industry altogether. The common ground is that all our teachers have a great knowledge and love for their subject and are willing to be fully involved in the life of the School and the lives of the children who study here. The School has a vibrant co-curricular programme that offers a wide range of opportunities beyond the academic curriculum. We welcome candidates who can contribute their energy and expertise to the co-curricular life of the School as well as the academic.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. However, we know we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is a selective day and boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 and girls aged 16 to 18. There are approximately 360 boys in the Lower School (Years 9 to 11) and 400 boys and girls in the Upper School (Years 12 and 13). One quarter of the pupils board, and the School is structured and run as a boarding school, with an extended day and week and a strong House-based system of pastoral welfare, for boarding and day pupils alike.

Westminster is an ancient school, whose origins can be traced to a charity school established by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey. Its continuous existence is certain from the early 14th century. Henry VIII personally ensured the School’s survival by statute and Elizabeth I, who confirmed royal patronage in 1560, is celebrated as the School’s foundress. Westminster is rare amongst long-established schools in remaining on its original site in the centre of London. Its proximity to Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and the use of the Abbey for its chapel, together with the stimulating diversity of the South Bank and West End, account in part for its special atmosphere and outlook.

The School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence both in this country and internationally. Central to its academic ethos is the dialogue between teachers and their pupils, whether in the classroom or in tutorials, inspiring enjoyment of intellectual enquiry, debate and search for explanation and the development of skills of rational, independent thought well beyond any standard examination syllabus. The desired environment is happy, busy and purposeful; the pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged, with plenty of opportunities to develop initiatives and to articulate and defend their views, in line with the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the School’s Charter. That tradition is fully committed also to the nurture of each pupil’s spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing – with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies - and to the preparation of young people for fulfilled private and public lives beyond School.

Westminster School