Head of Music

Head of Music

Closing date: Sunday 28 September 2025 Midnight

Interview: Week Beginning 29 September 2025

Start Date: January 2026

Salary: Main Pay Scale or Upper Pay Scale plus TLR2

About United Learning

United Learning is a unique group of independent and state schools working together to achieve the best in everyone. Our vision is to provide excellent education so that all young people are able to make a success of their lives and, if we are to realise this vision, we need to make sure we attract, develop and reward the key ingredient – you.

Job Introduction

We seek an outstanding and innovative Head of Music with the ability to be a role model, identify and develop talent, and inspire others. We are looking for someone who is committed to securing high standards of learning and teaching in order to raise academic achievement. You will have the opportunity to lead part of our large enrichment programme and share expertise across a growing group of Academies and independent schools within United Learning.

As Head of Music, you will be an outstanding practitioner and leader. We know that outstanding leaders have transferable skills and are confident and effective in all aspects of their leadership but we also recognise that as a Head of Music, you will need support and challenge yourself so that you can grow to be the best you can be – we will make this happen.

Our purpose built music facilities and new equipment make teaching and learning music at Walthamstow Academy a joy. We have five practice rooms, an ensemble rehearsal room and a studio control room capable of multi-track recording from multiple rooms. The spacious main music classroom has a live performance area which includes a Yamaha C1 upright piano. In addition to this, we have new computers, enough for one per student. The main classroom has 30x M1 Macs running Logic Pro X, Garageband and Ableton Live 11. Each computer has a 49 key MIDI keyboard.

The department has recently benefited from significant investment through a ‘Restore the Music’ grant which was spent on brand new instruments, including new digital pianos, keyboards, guitars, amplifiers, PA systems, a Roland electronic drum kit, a class set of djembe drums, a large samba band kit, a class set of Novation Launchpads and enough ukuleles for an entire year group.

In summary, we need someone who is passionate about making a difference. Our students are amazing, so are our staff. If you have the qualities to be part of the team to take outcomes for the Academy to the next level, please get in touch.

Main Responsibilities

1. to set high expectations for standards of teaching and learning and to model good practice in Music

2. to promote the building and sharing of good practice and successful innovation

3. to ensure the consistent application of teaching and learning strategies that meet the needs of all learners

4. to ensure the ongoing development and evaluation of appropriate specifications and schemes of work and that these are followed by all teachers

5. to monitor and evaluate standards of teaching and learning of Music through classroom observation, sampling pupils’ work and student feedback

6. to oversee effective assessment, recording and reporting of pupil progress in Music

Working for us

Walthamstow Academy opened its impressive new building in 2006 and since then we have achieved excellent results both at GCSE and at A Level. In 2024, Walthamstow Academy students achieved a Progress 8 score of 0.49. At A-Level, our students achieve excellently with many of them progressing to Russell Group institutions. Because we are so successful, the school is now full and oversubscribed on first choices alone.

We do not achieve these results by accident. At Walthamstow Academy, we believe in the best in everyone. We have a relentless focus on high expectations and aim to identify barriers to success and provide necessary support as quickly as possible to ensure our students achieve. We do not accept excuses and always strive for the best.

The Academy is proud of its multi-cultural character, and we celebrate the diversity of heritage in our community. 90% of our students are from minority ethnic groups, many coming from African, Caribbean, Eastern European, Turkish and Pakistani communities. Within the community served by the Academy there is social and economic disadvantage with 35% of students being eligible for Pupil Premium. Almost 60% have a first language other than English and a significant number have low levels of literacy on entry. Many students enter the Academy with low levels of attainment and the staff work hard to add value to their performance. Standards across the Academy are above national averages in most subjects.

The Academy is located close to the North Circular Road, M11 and both Blackhorse Road and Walthamstow Central underground stations from where it takes about half an hour to get into central London. The Academy is situated in a part of London where property prices are still relatively inexpensive and within easy access of Epping Forest, the Lee Valley and rural Hertfordshire and Essex.

Walthamstow Academy has achieved the CPLD Gold Award in recognition of our investment in professional development, because we know that without our wonderful staff, what we have achieved would not be possible, so thank you for your interest in coming to work with us. It starts with someone like you believing you can contribute further to our community.

What we Offer

Here at Walthamstow Academy, we are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued and appreciated and this includes your employee benefits.

Westfield Health Cash Plan, available to all staff after 6 months service, providing you with access to 24/7 virtual GP consultations, quick access to specialist health services and the facility to claim back some of the cost of services and treatments you may currently be paying for yourself. Dependent children (up to the age of 22) are also covered as standard with an option to upgrade the level of cover or add other adult family members for an additional cost.

We recognise that flexible working has a key role to play in attracting, retaining, developing and rewarding outstanding members of staff. We are committed to encouraging and enabling flexible working opportunities at Walthamstow Academy.

We work with Westfield Health Rewards to offer you over 250 exclusive benefits, all through their easy-to-access platform and app. Featuring a huge range of perks, from discounted cinema tickets and holidays, to money off meals out at restaurants nationwide, and savings on food, technology and clothes shopping.

Discounted Gym Memberships through Westfield Health Rewards, you can access a range of gym membership discounts at over 3000 sites across the country. We also provide free use of our school gym 24/7 with weekly participation of sporting tournaments on offer. We also have our own gym in the academy!

Cycle2Work Scheme provides you with a bicycle and equipment such as lights, locks and panniers so that you can cycle to work and in your spare time! As this is a salary sacrifice scheme, you can save money through income tax and NI deductions.

Car Lease Scheme, as a Group, we have partnered with SG Fleet to launch the Novalease scheme for all staff, providing you with access to great discounts on car leasing through a direct debit scheme. You can also exchange a portion of your gross salary in return for any lower CO2 emission car of your choice.

We want to ensure staff wellbeing is at the forefront of the Academy and all members of staff feel valued and appreciated therefore in addition to other benefits we offer 1 Paid Personal Day to all members of staff per year.

More pay, more time, and more support. Teach with United Learning for a more rewarding career.