Head of Music

About the role

Core Purpose of Head of Music

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an excellent secondary music teacher to lead the music department at Townsend Church of England School in St Albans and to be part of an innovative school / Hertfordshire Music Service partnership.

We are looking for someone to lead music education at Townsend, delivering high-quality and engaging lessons and offering a comprehensive range of co-curricular activities. The successful candidate will also need to liaise effectively and creatively with the St Albans Music School (part of Hertfordshire Music Service), where a thriving mutual partnership will benefit the school community and the Music Service.

As a Church school, Townsend holds four Cathedral services a year and, as Head of Music, the candidate would be expected to play a lead role in these, by sharing the planning with the Head of Religious Education and Worship and by organising and preparing the musical content. Leading, developing and monitoring the work of the peripatetic music teachers in the school would also be an expectation of the role.

Currently, music is taught at Key Stage 3 to all students and is a GCSE optional subject. The school is committed to protecting the arts subjects at GCSE and is very keen for the development and growth of music at GCSE level and the possible future introduction of A Level music as numbers build.

The successful candidate will be committed to high academic standards, and have a full appreciation of the importance of Music at Townsend. To succeed in this role, you must be an exceptional classroom practitioner, with the ability to lead, motivate and inspire students. We offer an excellent Continuing Professional Development programme for all staff. We are committed to developing high-quality and effective teachers. Continuous training and professional development are embedded within our school culture and ethos.

About the Role:

1. To ensure the school’s Music curriculum enables all our students to achieve to the very best of their ability.
2. To secure and sustain high-quality teaching, learning and assessment in Music. Leading moderation and standardisation of work across the range of qualifications offered by the department.
3. To organise the effective grouping of students and allocation of classes to teachers.
4. To plan co-curriculum opportunities to make the best use of facilities available within the constraints of the school calendar. The school has termly shows, some of which are arranged in conjunction with the drama department.
5. To routinely undertake self-evaluation of the department's performance and use this to inform improvement planning and guide short, medium and long-term decisions.
6. To ensure that the schemes of work and resources used for the teaching of Music are high quality, appropriate, accessible and secure good progress for students of all abilities and backgrounds.
7. To ensure consistent record keeping and data analysis across the department in order to identify and intervene to address the underachievement of individuals or identified groups.
8. To use department meetings effectively.
9. To support the professional development needs of members of the department and support the development of new and student teachers where relevant.
10. To work with staff, students and parents and use the school’s systems to manage student behaviour and to reward effort and achievement in the department.
11. To promote Music and to maintain a high profile for the subject and the department in the school and local community.
12. To line manage members of the department.
13. To represent the Music Department at meetings inside and outside the school.
14. To liaise with key staff such as the SENCO, Exams Officer, the Pastoral Team and SLT to ensure that the needs of students are best met, and the department contributes towards the smooth running of the school.
15. To plan effective use of the department resources ensuring that they provide value for money and manage the department budget.
16. To oversee the day-to-day work of the Music Department including ensuring cover work is set if required.

About the School  

Townsend is a relatively small and very friendly school with a great atmosphere, circa 800 on roll, including a Sixth Form. Townsend is rated Good by Ofsted (January 2024) in all areas and outstanding in our SIAMS inspection report. 

Townsend Church of England School is situated on a large, green site between St Albans and Harpenden, and welcomes applicants from families of all faiths and of no faith. Children who attend Townsend live in St Albans and Harpenden, as well as other towns in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, including Welwyn Garden City, Hemel Hempstead and Luton. 

Townsend believes that educating the whole child is key to a successful education. The Bible-based vision of Love Your Neighbour underpins all we do. Students are taught to respect and care for themselves and each other, and Townsend’s supportive environment encourages them to make the most out of their journey through secondary school.  

Although this is a Church School you do not have to adhere to the Christian faith to work here, but you must be in sympathy with our work and be able to support the aspects that give us our distinctive character as a Church of England School.  

Newly appointed Headteacher, Mr Anthony Flack is excited by the opportunity to make Townsend, ‘The first choice secondary school for all’. 

Friendly and welcoming, Townsend impresses with its calm learning environment and caring staff.  Our new School Prospectus is linked here:  https://townsendschoolprospectus.co.uk/ 

We reserve the right to move to shortlisting and interviews when we have viable applications. 

If you would like additional information or to discuss this vacancy - please email the school (recruitment@townsend.herts.sch.uk) for the attention of Mr Flack (Headteacher), or Mrs Llewellyn (Senior Deputy Headteacher), and we can either email a reply or telephone you if you leave a contact number.

To apply for this vacancy, please send a cover letter and an application form to Mr Flack, Headteacher, Townsend CofE School, High Oaks, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 6DR or email to recruitment@townsend.herts.sch.uk  

Townsend CofE School is committed to the safeguarding of all students and all staff appointed are subject to the usual teaching vetting and compliance checks that include DBS checks, two satisfactory references, confirmation of identity, qualifications, and barred list checks. 

Following the shortlisting stage, and before making a final decision, the School will collect and process information publicly available about you by conducting a brief online search using an internet search engine. We do this to ensure that the school acts in accordance with its obligations set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education.