Vision and Ethos

‘Everything is possible for one who believes’ (Mark 9:23)

The vision for the Academy is to further raise the hopes, aspirations and ambition of our students, their families, and the local community, by generating self-belief, self-esteem, and confidence through:

• Focusing upon high quality teaching and learning, standards of attainment and achievement, the best student care and support to transform the education of the young people served by the Academy.
• Providing outstanding opportunities for young people to develop healthy and active lifestyles, enjoy their learning and achievement, act and behave safely and become well prepared for adult life in a rapidly changing society.
• Actively promoting self and mutual respect, good conduct, and behaviour.
• Developing an educational organisation of which the students, staff and local community are both proud and feel part of and of which they make extended use.
• Creating a culture which celebrates success within and beyond the Academy, for example in securing greater numbers of students progressing to higher education or employment with training.
• Providing opportunities for students to explore their own and other faiths.

We set high standards and have high expectations for both learning and personal development. We strive to set our children on the best path for their future, by instilling self-belief and self-confidence in what they can achieve.

Ethos and Culture

In creating a successful ethos, culture and climate in the Academy, the following are essential characteristics:

1. Student learning, attainment, achievement, and well-being are at the centre of strategic thinking, planning and actions.

2. A ‘can do’ attitude is actively promoted and prevalent throughout the Academy. Staff work collaboratively in the best interest of the students in our care.

3. Underpinned by high aspirations and ambition for both students and staff, there is an expectation for everyone to be determined and have a desire and commitment to continuously improve.

4. The Academy is an inclusive organisation with shared facilities e.g., dining room, social spaces for students and staff. In addition, there are dedicated staff work and professional development facilities.

The Academy is a faithful community, starting each day with two minutes of reflection time, where students can gather their thoughts before beginning their day. Whilst our student-centred learning is founded on a Christian ethos, Christian values and Christian principles underpin our work, our students are supported to explore their own spirituality and to recognise and understand the beliefs of others.

The Art and Photography Department

At Bradford Forster Academy we employ a wide range of teaching and learning strategies during lessons to engage our students and to secure the best possible outcomes for each individual. We ensure that prior attainment and assessment data inform curriculum planning and that teaching and learning are matched to pupil need. As a faculty we strive to create strong working relationships between staff and students; praise, encouragement and the promotion of a growth mindset are key strategies which we use to engage, motivate and develop learners. We strongly believe that every pupil at BFA has the potential to succeed, and often to excel, in at least one subject within the faculty. Our staff regularly collaborate, both at faculty and subject level, sharing ideas, best practice, experiences and resources. We consider Design and Technology to be an inspiring, rigorous, creative, intellectually stimulating and practical subject which prepares all young people to live and work in the designed and made world.

Facilities

Our Art and Photography department boasts specialized facilities designed to seamlessly blend traditional techniques with modern digital practice. At the heart of our hands-on creative spaces is a dedicated, fully equipped darkroom, allowing students to master the foundational chemistry of analog film processing. Complementing this traditional space is our computer suite. This digital hub serves as a second specialist environment, enabling students to transition effortlessly from film development to advanced digital editing, manipulation, and graphic design.

Application Process

The closing date for all applications is Friday 5^th June 2026 9.00am

Applications are to be made via MyNewTerm

All applications will be acknowledged within 48 hours. Should you fail to receive a confirmation, please call 01274 302400

An email will be sent to shortlisted candidates with details of the interview process. If you have not heard from us within two weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful.

References and Police Checks

All offers of appointment will be subject to receipt of satisfactory references. Specified post, which involves substantial one to one access to children, will be subject to a search of police criminal records and appointment to these posts will be conditional upon confirmation by the police of information provided to us by the applicant.

All appointments will be subject to an enhanced criminal records check.

Inclusion

As a Trust we are an inclusive employer. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, faith, ethnicities or with any protected characteristics. We are simply looking for the very best candidate for the job and will assess your application only on the information in your written application or your performance at the interview should you be successfully shortlisted.

We will ensure that the selection process is fair and without discrimination for or against any candidate based on age, ethnicity, gender, religious beliefs, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability. The person specification sets out the criteria used to assess candidates through the selection process.

About BDAT

Bradford Forster Academy is an academy within Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust. If you are successful in being appointed, the Trust will be your employer.

General Information and Background

Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust (BDAT) is a Multi- Academy Trust (MAT) supporting a number of primary and secondary academies in Bradford. BDAT is the only Church of England MAT operating in Bradford and is part of the Diocese of Leeds. BDAT is a charity, governed by a board of trustees who are responsible for, and oversee, the management of the company. The Memorandum and Articles are available on the Trust’s website at www.bdat-academies.org.

Our mission statement

“The Trust’s mission is to provide an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice.”  We believe every child only has one chance at a good education.

In practice, as a Trust, we seek to work with and alongside the academies in our Trust to provide a good quality of education to all children in our academies. The Trust does this through operating a light touch support role for academies at times of challenge and by establishing collaborative structures and processes to enable them to work together and share good practices. As our family of academies continues to grow, we are constantly looking at how we can continue to improve to establish effective and efficient ways of partnership working. We believe this means we are big enough to achieve business economies of scale whist being small enough to retain our family of schools approach where we are truly able to know, understand and support each other.

Our Christian ethos

BDAT is a proudly Christian organisation committed to providing high-quality education for all within an ethos which encourages academic, vocational, mental, physical, and spiritual opportunities and development for each member of its academies. Whilst robust Christian principles underpin the work of the academy, everyone is encouraged to explore their own spirituality and to recognise and understand that of others. It is for this reason that we choose to support and sponsor Non-Church of England academies, as well as those within the faith.

ICARE (Inclusion, Compassion, Aspiration, Resilience and Excellence)

At BDAT we have considered the importance, effectiveness, and sustainability of how we tackle issues like racism and other types of discrimination across all areas of our MAT and within each of our schools. We have led a Trust wide consultation to ensure we understand what we mean by inclusion and to look at what we can do differently centred around the Trust values: “ICARE.” To download our ICARE consultation documents please click here

BDAT People: Our Faculty of Professional and Career Development

The BDAT Faculty of Professional and Career Development brings together into a single entity all that we currently do to recruit, develop, and retain our staff.  The faculty provides the strategic direction to ensure that our professional and career development supports school improvement and drives our vision of BDAT as an employer of choice.

By bringing all our work in this area under ‘one umbrella’ it ensures our staff know about BDAT’s development offers and how they can be accessed. https://bdat-people.org/

In conjunction with successful applicant, this job description may be renegotiated after the first year.

Person Specification

Post Title: Teacher of Art & Photography

This Personnel Specification

This personnel specification describes the job requirements on which the short listing and selection decision will be based. To be selected for an interview you must be able to show that you meet all the ‘essential’ requirements for the post. The very best candidates are most likely to also meet the ‘desirable’ criteria. To ensure that the short-listing panel can make a proper assessment of your suitability for the post, please ensure that the application shows how you meet the requirements set out in the personnel specification.