The Sir Robert Woodard Academy, an Ofsted ‘good’ rated academy, one of the ‘happiest’ schools in the country (The Sunday Times, 2025) and part of the Woodard family of schools, is a dynamic and popular 11–18 academy located between Worthing and Brighton, serving the students of Lancing, Sompting and Shoreham.  

Our aim is that every student is known and nurtured and is provided with teaching and learning experiences enabling them to fulfil their potential. We believe that students succeed when the environment is caring and orderly, with teaching that fires the imagination and brings learning to life.

We have an exciting opportunity for a talented and enthusiastic Teacher of Religious Education, to join us on a full time and permanent basis from September 2026.  The successful candidate will have thorough subject knowledge and a passion for the subject, able to inspire students and be committed to raising attainment in RE.  We welcome applications from colleagues (with QTS) at all stages of their career, including ECTs.  This is a permanent and full time position.

The successful candidate will have thorough knowledge of religions, worldviews and philosophical approaches, and will ideally be able to teach both GCSE and A Level. They will play a key role in developing the RE curriculum and subject area, with an exciting and diverse world view of religion, philosophy and ethics, whilst also reflecting the Christian values of SRWA.  We have had a history of some solid exam results in this curriculum area, and are now looking to increase student uptake to this valuable subject by capitalising upon a change to our curriculum structure.

RE and the other Humanities subjects are housed in our modern buildings with state of the art technology in every classroom. With an ambitious and collegiate approach, the team is committed to collaborating on developing teaching and learning, and also on providing wider opportunities for our students outside of the classroom.

At SRWA, our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with wellbeing support, coaching, mentoring and a wide range of top-quality training and CPD programmes delivered at every level up to senior leadership. To see further information about our wellbeing and benefits offer for staff, please see attachment on this advert.

Highlights for teaching staff at SRWA include:

• a collaborative approach and strong collegial relationships;

• the opportunity to join and/or benefit from Action Research Groups;

• proven student progress and excellent student behaviour;
• an extensive CPD programme tailored to skills and experience;

• strong links with Brighton, Sussex and Chichester Universities;
• free employee assistance programme, dedicated staff wellbeing space and 1-1 mental health booster sessions available;

• free use of the Academy’s fitness suite;

• free on site car parking and easy access to local public transport;

• cycle to work scheme;

• free flu jabs.

Quotes from full Ofsted inspection report October 2021: Rating of “Good” in all areas:

“The culture at this school is summed up by its motto, ‘Aspire to Achieve’. From Year 7 through to the sixth form, pupils learn to think ambitiously about their futures.”

"The school is a calm and orderly place for pupils to learn….Pupils treat each other with respect … low-level disruption is rare." 

"Pupils, parents and carers feel proud of their school…one parent told us ‘we are really impressed with the school, the ethos and the staff’.”

A Staff Well-being survey in May 2025 revealed our staff consider these areas ‘outstanding’:

Staff morale and job satisfaction

Support from line managers and colleagues

Caring teachers

Appreciation of staff contribution and opportunities for staff to develop.

The successful candidate will:-
• demonstrate the skills of a good teacher
• be able to interest, encourage and engage students
• provide appropriate levels of challenge so that all students make good progress
• use methods and resources that enable all students to learn effectively
• use assessment information effectively to plan the next steps in students learning
• make effective use of their time
• secure consistently high standards of behaviour from students
• be able to demonstrate a proven track record of recent and successful class teaching in mixed ability classes of aged 11-18 students (or of successful completion of initial teacher training if applying as an ECT).

Our commitment to Safeguarding:

The Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share in this commitment. All posts will be subject to full safeguarding and vetting checks, including the receipt of two satisfactory references.  Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a criminal record self-declaration form and to give consent for an online search to be carried out against their name. 

The successful applicant for this post will be engaging in ‘regulated activity’, therefore they will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.  It is an offence to apply for this role if the applicant is barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children, so individuals on the children’s barred list (and adults barred list where relevant) should not apply. 

Please be aware that the Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check will reveal both spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings, and any other information held by local police that is considered relevant to the role, unless any such information is ‘protected’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended).  If you are unsure, please visit this URL: https://www.gov.uk/tell-employer-or-college-about-criminal-record

Our Commitment to Equal Opportunities:

The Academy is committed to equality of opportunity. We positively welcome applications from suitably qualified individuals from all sections of the community.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at our Academy is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.

Closing date: 11/1/26

*Please note we reserve the right to interview and appoint any strong candidates applying before the deadline has passed and to close the advert at any time before the deadline date, should a sufficient number of strong applications be received. If you are interested, then you are advised to apply early.