Start date: September 2026
Closing date: Wednesday 24th June, 9.00am
Shortlisting date: Wednesday 24th June
Interview date: Friday 10th July
Contract: Fixed term
Working hours: Full time, 32.5 hours per week
Salary Range: Main scale/UP scale (pending pay award)
You will guide students through the exploration of text, language, and performance, providing stability and high-quality instruction during a key period of maternity leave. At Kingsdown School, English and Drama are not standalone subjects; they are core avenues for student voice and community connection. Your presence in the classroom will directly sustain our momentum in developing articulate, confident young people who see their potential reflected in both analytical and creative fields.
What You’ll Bring
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) with a specialism or strong capability in teaching both English and Drama across key stages.
A commitment to collaborative planning, working efficiently with colleagues to use and adapt existing resources rather than recreating them from scratch.
Evidence-informed classroom practice, maintaining an environment rooted in respectful relationships, clear routines, and high expectations.
An inclusive approach to learning, ensuring all students—regardless of their starting points—can engage meaningfully with demanding texts and performance tasks.
An interest in community-focused arts, supporting our established departmental traditions of celebrating student performance and creative expression.
The "Why Us" Difference
Centrally Planned Curriculum: We provide high-quality, centrally planned curricula and shared resources baseline banks, removing the burden of individual lesson preparation and allowing you to focus on classroom delivery
Performing Arts Community: Our team actively celebrates student achievement, most recently demonstrated by our multi-musical Performing Arts Showcase, which brought together students from across the school.
Integrated CPD: Professional development is built directly into the school day rather than tacked on as an afterthought.
For more details, please see the Job Description in the pack attached. If you would like to know more about this opportunity, or to arrange visit or a call please contact [email protected]
This role includes regulated activity relevant to children.
Kingsdown School and the River Learning Trust
By joining our Kingsdown family you will join a team who genuinely cares and champions each and every student and each and every member of the Kingsdown team.
At Kingsdown, we know that staff and students thrive in a ‘healthy work culture’ and the wellbeing of staff and student outcomes is inextricably linked. We are committed to providing the best working and learning environment for all. The RLT has a staff charter and strong values, we uphold these values and commitments, and further build on these with our Wellbeing Strategy.
One of the core values of the RLT is that ‘everyone is learning’ and at Kingsdown we ensure each person has the personalised CPLD that they deserve. We do this through a variety of programmes that allows all staff to take a lead on their own professional development, with the support of colleagues within the school. We are also very excited to be launching our coaching model this year, to allow staff the opportunity to be coached and develop their teaching practice further, whatever stage of their career they are in. High quality CPLD and training are an integral part of our meeting schedule and time is given to curriculum teams to collaborate and learn from each other. Alongside this we have a personalised induction programme that allows for new staff members to join us feeling supported and welcomed from day one.
Education has the power to change lives, communities and society for the better. At RLT we believe that we can achieve more for our pupils, trainees, staff and communities by working together rather than alone. Schools in RLT are united by a common belief in the benefits of working together, and by our commitment to shared principles.
OUR VISION is for our schools and SCITT to improve rapidly, continuously and sustainably: to be better faster together.
OUR ‘WHY?’ is that children and young people ‘only get one go’ in school and therefore as part of RLT we aim to ensure the best possible ‘go’ for our pupils.
OUR ‘HOW?’ is through the highest support and challenge for our schools and each other, underpinned by our principles.
Our employees benefit from a wide variety of support including extensive continuing professional learning and development opportunities, wellbeing and staff networks and access to Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (TPS and LGPS) for all staff. For more information on what it is like to work for the Trust, and the benefits you could access, please see our “Working in RLT” guide.
The River Learning Trust and Kingsdown School are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and preventing extremism. The Trust is required to conduct a variety of checks and online searches about you as part of their recruitment process in accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. It is an offence to apply for certain roles within schools if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.
For all RLT Safer Recruitment Documentation candidates should click on the following link RLT Safer Recruitment Documents for Candidates Please see our website for up to date policies including our Child Protection and Behaviour Policies.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. For further guidance for applicants click on this link List of offences that are not filtered.
