Head of Science Department

Main Pay Range / Upper Pay Range + TLR 1b (£12,043)

Recruitment and retention payment up to £3000 negotiable for an exceptional candidate

From September 2025

Overview

We have an exciting opportunity for an ambitious individual to lead and develop our Science department as Head of Science. John Hanson Community School is a successful, over-subscribed 11-16 community school, rated Good by OFSTED.

Our vision is to inspire and empower our students, within a culture of care and belonging, to embrace opportunities to learn, succeed and become the best versions of themselves. This is underpinned by our strapline: Inspire. Care. Succeed.

“A very happy and inclusive school because staff have successfully created a caring and aspirational culture. They share a genuine belief that all pupils can fulfil their potential.” (Ofsted March 2024)

Personal attributes

The successful candidate will be an experienced and committed teacher who has a passion to promote curriculum, with the confidence to try new ideas, that will capture our students to have a love for learning. This is an opportunity for an enthusiastic, driven professional to join our team as a dynamic, forward-thinking head of department. In return, we offer a dynamic place in which to work, where the potential of all members of our school community is valued. You would join a committed team of specialists and highly skilled technicians who provide outstanding support to practical science teaching.

“The school is very mindful of staff workload and of creating a positive and supportive working environment which puts pupils first. Staff recognise this and are proud to work at the school” (Ofsted March 2024)

The successful candidate will:

Be passionate about teaching all three sciences at Key Stage 3 and 4
Have strong subject knowledge of the science curriculum (the school teach AQA Trilogy and Single sciences at GCSE)
Enjoy working as part of a vibrant team, have good leadership, organisation and communication skills
Embrace school life and nurture a sense of belonging to the school community

We offer

A highly supportive environment with opportunities to develop;
Professional development of the highest standard including a coaching system with the use of IRIS Connect rather than formal observations and the use of BlueSky for Performance Management;
A highly professional and collaborative working environment focused on developing a love of learning;
An enthusiastic and driven team of teachers, leaders and support staff;
Trained Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA), a Staff Well-Being Action Group (SWAGs) and Mental Health Leads; we are proud signatories of the DfE well-being Charter;
Confidential support through various stages of colleagues’ life, including with pregnancy and maternity, menopause and with Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI);

We welcome informal conversations with a member of our Senior Leadership Team, and encourage you to come and visit our school to meet our staff and students. If you wish to do so, please email recruit@jhanson.hants.sch.uk to arrange a date and time.

Salary and benefits

Main Pay Range / Upper Pay Range + TLR 1b (£12,043)

Location

John Hanson Community School
Floral Way
Andover
South East
SP10 3PB

Supporting documents

Deadline and start date

Closing date for applications: 0900am Monday 17th March 2025

Start Date: September 2025

We reserve the right to interview and appoint candidates before the closing date/scheduled interviews where applicable.

Equal opportunities

John Hanson Community School and Hampshire County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.

John Hanson Community School is an equal opportunities employer, and no candidate will be disadvantaged because of race, gender, sexuality, disability, or any other protected characteristic. All shortlisting exercises are completed by evaluating a candidate’s suitability in terms of the person specification and job description for the role in question.

Job reference: EPSEDJOBS/1582/3902