Academic Tutor: Literacy Specialism

Harris Academy Orpington opened in September 2016, joining the highly successful Federation of Harris academies in London and the senior leaders here are experienced in creating and running great schools and that is what we are doing in BR5. We are a community school that serves families in and around Orpington and we are well on our way towards providing an outstanding education for the students who come here. We want out students to succeed and have choices in their lives; to take control of their futures and achieve beyond their dreams. We are ambitious, tenacious and enterprising and committed to helping our students succeed. Our work as a Health Science Specialist school, with students being given access to recognised professional qualifications, work experience and careers is unique and is designed to help and support the whole community who are regularly invited into the Academy to hear from guest speakers.

We have the most incredible facilities; with brand new science labs, 3 Main Halls, Dance Studios, 3 Astro Turfs, Drama Studios, dedicated Art and DT blocks, we are incredibly proud of the work that our students do here. We have developed a curriculum that is ambitious and broad. We believe in the need to nurture an appreciation of human creativity and achievement and have designed a curriculum that does just that.

We aim to ensure that every student is inspired and supported to achieve his/her personal best and learning comes first. Our motto is “Together We Can” and if you are interested in joining us, we would be very keen to meet you.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Delivering programmes of study to small groups of students (usually between one and three)
• Ensuring all students identified for intervention are given every opportunity to meet their targets
• Liaising with parents regarding the attendance, progress and attitude of designated students
• Maintaining records of students’ progress
• Completing relevant marking and feedback
• Using behaviour management strategies to contribute to creating a purposeful learning environment
• Supporting identified students in tutor group time
• Highlighting individual students' learning needs to teachers and agreeing how they will be supported in each lesson
• Assisting in evaluating students’ progress
• Supporting identified students to engage with learning objectives in lessons

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• Relevant qualifications at A Level or undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in English, Maths or Science.
• Excellent numeracy/literacy skills.
• Some knowledge of strategies in working with young people with challenging behaviours
• Knowledge of some of the social issues facing students from disadvantaged backgrounds
• Understanding of principles of child development and learning processes and, in particular, barriers to learning
• Ability to plan effective actions for students at risk of underachieving
• Understanding of a range of support services/providers
• Experience of working directly with young people in an education or training environment, supporting the learning of students

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, electric car scheme, 26 days' annual leave (plus bank holidays) for staff who work across the full year, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.