HOD Performing Arts
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
HOD Performing Arts Faculty (Drama or Music specialism) - Haringey, North London - School with an excellent arts focus
Are you a Music or Drama Teacher or Leader who is passionate about your subject, committed to progress and would like to take a step up and manage a faculty including Performing Arts subjects?
Would you be keen on joining a school in North London with excellent facilities, hardworking and keen students, in an excellent opportunity to drive your career forward?
Tradewind Recruitment are proudly partnering with this Haringey school in helping them find a committed and creative Head of Performing Arts who can take the department to new heights. Get in touch to find out more ASAP!
**HOD Performing Arts - Haringey, North London
**Managing PE, Drama, Dance and Music Teachers
**Drama or Music specialism preferred
**Strong progress 8 score and attainment in all areas
**Creative school with excellent arts and performing arts focus
About the School - HOD Performing Arts - Haringey, North London
- This Haringey school has a real community feel, and is easily accessible by public transport, with the added benefit of onsite parking too.
- They continue to achieve great results year on year thanks to a strong leadership team and a commitment to high standards and progress. This hasn't however been at the expense of the values and atmosphere of the school, with visitors remarking how friendly, happy and supportive the school is to both students and staff alike
- The school ethos of respect and inclusion is evident throughout, with students who are bright, inquisitive and keen to learn, and teachers who enjoy what they do! Their most recent OFSTED was 'Good', and it is a school with a lot of pride in their students and wider community.
- Unsurprisingly they are oversubscribed on a yearly basis and staff turnover here is low with a loyal and engaged teaching base.
About the Role - HOD Performing Arts - Haringey, North London
- The school are looking for an innovative Teacher to lead the Performing Arts department to new heights. Ideally someone who is able to bring fresh ideas and thinks about how to promote a love of PE, Drama, Music and Dance across the school.
- The Performing Arts department is successful in a school that supports a lot of focus on PE, arts, drama and music. The team here has a lovely mix of experienced and newly qualifying teachers, and an atmosphere of all pulling together to bring fresh ideas and encourage innovation.
- You will be a qualified Teacher and either current, or aspiring Leader looking for a step up, with QTS who has experience of delivering 'Outstanding' lessons that inspire and engage.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Lead with your QTS and any current or prior middle leadership experience at the very top of your CV — the advert explicitly requires a qualified teacher with leadership credentials.
📊 Quantify your impact on student outcomes: e.g. 'Improved Progress 8 score in Drama from -0.2 to +0.4 across two academic years' to directly address the school's focus on attainment.
🎭 Highlight your specific specialism (Drama or Music) prominently, as the advert states a preference — make it clear in your personal statement and job title history.
🏫 Reference any experience managing a team of teachers across multiple subjects (PE, Dance, Drama, Music), as this role involves leading a broad Performing Arts faculty, not a single subject department.
🌟 Include a brief example of an 'Outstanding' lesson observation or OFSTED-rated teaching to align with the advert's requirement for inspiring and engaging classroom delivery.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Led KS4 Drama curriculum redesign across 3 year groups, raising the proportion of students achieving Grade 5+ from 54% to 71% in 18 months.
- •Line-managed 5 Performing Arts teachers including 2 ECTs, conducting fortnightly observations and CPD sessions that contributed to a department-wide Outstanding judgement in internal review.
- •Established a whole-school arts enrichment programme reaching 220 students per term, increasing uptake of GCSE Drama and Music by 30% over two academic years.
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Letter preview — tailored to Tradewind Recruitment
Dear Hiring Manager,
Tradewind Recruitment's listing for a Head of Performing Arts at the Haringey school immediately caught my attention. With a specialism in Drama and a proven track record of delivering KS3 and KS4 lessons rated Outstanding, I am well placed to lead a faculty spanning Music, Dance, Drama and PE — and to drive the Progress 8 improvements the school is targeting.
My background in secondary Performing Arts teaching includes line-managing a team of five teachers, redesigning the KS4 Drama curriculum to improve attainment by 12 percentage points over two years, and championing extracurricular productions that drew over 300 audience members per performance. I hold QTS and have experience preparing departments for OFSTED scrutiny, with my most recent inspection resulting in a Good judgement for the faculty.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you approach improving Progress 8 scores across Drama, Music, Dance and PE simultaneously?
- ›What strategies do you use to design a Performing Arts curriculum that meets KS3 and KS4 requirements while fostering creativity?
- ›How do you prepare a department and its staff for an OFSTED inspection, particularly in a creative faculty?
- ›Describe how you would line-manage a team of teachers with varying levels of experience, from NQTs to experienced staff.
- ›What approaches do you take to timetabling and resource allocation across a multi-subject Performing Arts faculty?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you introduced a fresh initiative that raised engagement or attainment in your subject area.
- ›Describe a situation where you had to manage underperformance in a colleague — how did you handle it?
- ›Give an example of how you have promoted a love of the arts beyond the classroom in a previous school.
- ›Tell me about a time you had to balance your own teaching responsibilities with faculty leadership demands.
- ›Describe a time you collaborated with senior leadership to align your department's goals with whole-school priorities.
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you introduced a fresh initiative that raised engagement or attainment in your subject area.
Describe a situation where you had to manage underperformance in a colleague — how did you handle it?