Head of Department for Art

Darton Academy is seeking to appoint an ambitious and inspiring Head of Department for Art to join our thriving academy from September 2026 on a full-time, permanent basis. Salary: MPR / UPR, (£32,916 to £51,048) with an additional TLR2B payment of £5,866. This role presents a fantastic opportunity for any candidate who wishes to take their career to the next level. You will join a talented team and benefit from all the advantages of working for a multi academy trust. Students at Darton Academy achieve consistent outcomes well above national and regional averages –in 2025 64% of students achieved a grade 5 or higher in both English and maths. Students have attained well above the national and regional averages in both maths and English, with 33 students achieving a grade 9 in English and 16 students achieving the top grade in maths! 28% of all students’ results are a grade 7 or above. Darton students have continued to achieve above average attainment, building significantly on last year’s outcomes. We are proud that 81% of the cohort achieve a grade 4+ and 71% achieved a grade 5+ in maths. We could not be prouder of our students and teaching staff. This post is an exciting opportunity for an exceptional practitioner and leader who is ready to take the next step in their career. You will lead a highly successful and well-resourced art department, working within a supportive and ambitious multi-academy trust. Art is a highly valued and popular subject within the academy, with students achieving exceptional outcomes at Key Stage 4. The department demonstrates strong progress measures, with recent Progress 8 scores of 1.29 in Art and 0.93 in Photography. The department benefits from excellent facilities, including: A dedicated, bespoke art building, a computer suite for Photography lessons, specialist photography equipment and access to a wide range of artistic media and techniques. We are committed to providing a rich creative curriculum, including exhibitions, enrichment opportunities, and educational visits that inspire students and celebrate their work. As Head of Art, you will be expected to provide strategic leadership and direction for the department, drive excellence in teaching, learning and outcomes. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing an engaging and inclusive creative learning environment. You will play a key role in shaping the future of the subject and creating an inspiring space where students can thrive and develop their creative skills. If you are passionate about your subject and driven to develop pedagogy and practice at the highest level, we would love to hear from you. Your new school Darton Academy is an exciting place to learn and as soon as you enter the building you can feel a buzz of enthusiasm. There is a sense of purpose, the Academy is calm and orderly, with state-of-the-art facilities. We are a close-knit community, and we pride ourselves on knowing our pupils well and doing our utmost to ensure everyone fulfils their true potential.We aim to ensure that our pupils can learn in