Working with WMAT trust subject leads

WMAT Trust Subject Leads play a pivotal role in shaping the educational landscape within WMAT academies and schools, ensuring that subject areas thrive and evolve to meet the highest standards of excellence. This guide aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the responsibilities and expectations of a Trust Subject Lead, highlighting the impact they have on both teaching, learning, curriculum, and staff development. 

The role of a Trust Subject Lead involves a range of responsibilities and accountabilities, mostly across the Trust's secondary schools.  

In this guide: 

1. Who we are 

2. Key responsibilities  

3. Key accountability 

4. Team development and professional learning 

5. What we need for us to support you effectively 

Who we are   

Key Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with subject leaders to drive continuous improvement in standards of attainment and achievement. 

• Ensure ambitious achievement expectations for students across the Trust. 

• Articulate and implement a coherent curriculum with clear intent, implementation, and impact. 

• Lead the development of assessment strategies. 

• Monitor and evaluate departments, providing feedback to school leadership teams, providing coaching, mentoring, and professional learning. 

• Deliver masterclasses and support examination groups as needed. 

Key Accountabilities: 

• Support the development of a shared FLOW curriculum and schemes of learning. 

• Identify and share best teaching practices, ensuring continuous improvement. 

• Conduct robust evaluations of curriculum and teaching (see FLOW 360s) 

• Establish a robust assessment strategy for accurate data generation. 

• Analyze key assessment data and support improvement plans. 

• Enhance online materials for staff and students to support blended learning. 

• Deliver lessons to key exam classes and determine intervention strategies for underachieving students. 

Team Development and Professional Learning: 

• Foster a Trust subject team ethos and a culture of dialogue for sharing pedagogy and practice e.g., Architect Forums 

• Lead a network and deliver curriculum events for Trust teachers. 

• Coach and mentor staff to support improved performance. 

• Provide bespoke support to improve teaching and learning standards. 

• Contribute to professional learning for secondary SCITT, PGCE, and NQT teachers. 

• Maintain external contacts to stay updated with key developments. 

• Benchmark the Trust’s practice against best practices locally, nationally, and internationally. 

What we need for us to support you effectively  

1. Each school sets up a meeting Autumn 1 between HT, LM, SL, HOD to clarify vision and plan for the year ahead, plus how we will work together when things are going well but also when things go wrong or are challenging  

2. All subject leads are invited to Year 11 performance meetings 

3. Dedicated period per week available on subject leads days in school for meeting with HODS and line managers  

4. Whole school changes are automatically communicated to subject leads so that they can support the change process 

5. Support curriculum alignment by providing dedicated time for collaborative convergence 

6. Each subject lead is invited to school LT to share vision and retain dialogue 

7. Be involved in interviews during recruitment of staff 

8. Subject leads will facilitate progression or movement within the trust in collaboration with home schools via heads PA.

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