Head of Jewish Informal Education Programme (Maternity Cover)

JiEP (Jewish Informal Education Programme) aspires to bring Judaism ‘to life’ through giving JFS the opportunity to actively experience a diverse range of Jewish moments and values. The Programme is based on a curriculum of Jewish teachings, culture, Torah-values, love of Israel, primacy of charity/social action and which sets out to evoke feelings and memories that realise the School’s motto of Orah Viykar (Light and Honour).

We are seeking an experienced, motivated, organised, effective ‘Head of Informal Jewish Education’ to strategically lead on the vision and to plan, manage, implement and oversee the activities for Informal Jewish Education at JFS. In addition, the Head of Informal Jewish Education will be responsible for managing and developing the JiEP team and will work closely with the Head of Faculty for Jewish Education and the Deputy Headteacher (Jewish Life and Learning) to ensure that the approach to Jewish Education at JFS is coordinated and united.

JFS is an incredible school. It is in the Top-5 non-selective schools for attainment in the country and serves a community that is incredibly invested in the outcomes of its children. With nearly 2,000 pupils, JFS is not a small school but with 62% of all grades were a 7 or above at GCSE and 64% of all grades an A*-A or above at A-level, it is a school thriving with students who are eager to learn and eager to do their very best. It has achieved this despite being a school that was in ‘Special Measures’ in September 2021 but was rated ‘Good’ by OfSTED in April 2022 . The rapid turnaround is a testament to the brilliant staff that we have, and amongst whom, is a deep-seated desire to always seek improvement. We work hard every day to build a truly exceptional school that delivers a superb educational experience. OfSTED is simply a point of assessment; it is the day-to-day journey that we are interested in at JFS.

At JFS, we want to do everything that we possibly can to support teachers in their daily job of planning and teaching. We work to remove any distractions and to that end, teachers are never expected to run a detention, they are never expected to call home to a parent unless they want to, and they are never expected to do a duty. Teachers are not expected to indulge children who wish to disrupt the learning of others. Our approach is one of zero tolerance, tempered by humanity and care, and in which we champion the voices of our quiet children who wish to build a brilliant future for themselves. Our aim is for teachers to be as free as possible to passionately debate the delivery of their subject and explore best practice to ensure that this is school not just filled with outstanding teachers but elite teachers; teachers who represent the very best to be found in our profession.  

As a teacher in JFS, you will be supported by exceptional colleagues whilst given the space to develop your own practice. Whilst we centralise many functions of the school to make them more efficient, we are not a school that dictates a one size fits all approach to teaching. We want teachers to strive to improve their own practice and we have a team of Lead Practitioners to support in this, however we believe that classrooms should be unique to the teachers who lead them.

We want this to be a school that offers superb pastoral careful. We have a huge mental health and safeguarding team with five full-time Pastoral Safeguarding Officers, a team of eight counsellors and two full-time behaviour specialists. Moreover, our Sixth Form of over 500 students support across the school in peer-mentoring, paired reading and academic support in lessons. We are proud of what we do to make sure our children are both heard and loved.

We are looking for people who care deeply about the rigour of their subject and who care deeply about the individuals to whom they are teaching it. We are looking for people who enjoy children and who enjoy a classroom that is warm and interactive and one in which students are known as individual within a strong community.

Additionally, if you think your experience would qualify you to work as Lead Practitioner, please get in touch. We have a team of 12 Lead Practitioners, and we would love to see that number grow. As a Lead Practitioner, you would be responsible for leading on aspects of teaching and learning across the school in a role that should be seen as a stepping-stone to Senior Leadership.

We believe that JFS is an excellent place to work and develop but you should not just take us at our word. If you have any questions at all then please do contact me directly using david.moody@Jfs.brent.sch.uk and I will be happy to organise a visit for you or answer any questions that you may have. Nothing is more important to us than finding like-minded people and no query is too small.

JFS shall reserve the right to shortlist candidates and interview prior to the closing date.

Any unsolicited CVs sent by any agency to us, in any situation where we have not directly engaged the agency in writing to supply candidates for a specific vacancy will be considered to be a “free gift”, leaving us liable for no fees whatsoever should we choose to contact the candidate directly and engage the candidate’s services. Unsolicited CV’s will in no way establish any claim by the agency to representation of that candidate.

Please note, it is not part of JFS' recruitment process to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants at the application stage.