Teacher of Art & Design MPS/UPS
| Posting date: | 14 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 26 March 2026 |
| Location: | Durham, County Durham, DH1 4SU |
| Company: | Teaching Vacancies |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 8c3db9a3-30d4-422b-b790-5c1a5156d12d |
Summary
What skills and experience we're looking for
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School is a happy, high performing, oversubscribed 11-18 school in Durham city. We have a national reputation for academic excellence and are well respected in our local community both for our excellent outcomes and our strong pastoral care. The success of our school is built on positive relationships at all levels, and our dedicated staff work together to prioritise the wellbeing and best possible outcomes for all our students. As a Local Authority school, we care for our own community; our focus is always on, 'how will this benefit our students?' and ‘what impact will this have on our staff?’. Teachers often stay at Durham Johnston for a significant period of time as wellbeing, professional autonomy and subject specialism are respected and protected.
At Durham Johnston all staff, including leaders, are first and foremost teachers. Our intake is fully comprehensive and we highly value expert practitioners with both a deep interest in their subject and a genuine commitment to social justice. We have many students joining us in Year 7 with the potential to achieve outstanding success academically alongside students who can find accessing education challenging for a variety of reasons. It is important to us that all these students benefit from their time here and they have access to strong subject specialists.
As a truly comprehensive school with a diverse range of students with diverse talents and interests and this is reflected in the breadth and free choice of our curriculum offer. As such, we have large numbers of students who choose to study Art at GCSE and A-Level who relish the opportunity to follow their passion and develop their talents.
We are seeking a highly motivated and passionate teacher of Art & Design to join our high-achieving, multi-disciplinary department. Our Art& Design department consistently delivers results well above national averages, offering a rich, integrated curriculum across Key Stages 3, 4, and 5, covering disciplines including painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics and digital media. Ideally any candidate should be an active practitioner who can model high-level techniques to students. Candidate’s knowledge of art history and contemporary practice are as important as making skills.
We encourage colleagues at any stage in their career to apply to work in our school. We will always appoint the best person for our school community regardless of age or experience. We have a large Sixth Form and there are opportunities to teach extremely passionate and talented students at A-Level and GCSE.
What the school offers its staff
Free on-site parking
Employee benefits
Wellbeing support
Professional development
Further details about the role
Informal visits to the school are very welcome. If you would like meet with us, please contact Jane Bewley (j.bewley@durhamjohnston.org.uk) to book a time.
We believe that great art teachers are great artists. In addition to completing the application form we would like you to provide 5 annotated images or slides of your own recent artwork. These should demonstrate your technical proficiency in drawing and making.
The closing date is 9.00am on Thursday 26th March 2026. If you are returning your application by email please use the following address: recruitment@durhamjohnston.org.uk
Commitment to safeguarding
“Durham Johnston Comprehensive School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all its staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All post holders are subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check As a disability confident employer, we are committed to employing disabled people and people with health conditions making reasonable adjustments to support disabled applicants when required.”
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School is a happy, high performing, oversubscribed 11-18 school in Durham city. We have a national reputation for academic excellence and are well respected in our local community both for our excellent outcomes and our strong pastoral care. The success of our school is built on positive relationships at all levels, and our dedicated staff work together to prioritise the wellbeing and best possible outcomes for all our students. As a Local Authority school, we care for our own community; our focus is always on, 'how will this benefit our students?' and ‘what impact will this have on our staff?’. Teachers often stay at Durham Johnston for a significant period of time as wellbeing, professional autonomy and subject specialism are respected and protected.
At Durham Johnston all staff, including leaders, are first and foremost teachers. Our intake is fully comprehensive and we highly value expert practitioners with both a deep interest in their subject and a genuine commitment to social justice. We have many students joining us in Year 7 with the potential to achieve outstanding success academically alongside students who can find accessing education challenging for a variety of reasons. It is important to us that all these students benefit from their time here and they have access to strong subject specialists.
As a truly comprehensive school with a diverse range of students with diverse talents and interests and this is reflected in the breadth and free choice of our curriculum offer. As such, we have large numbers of students who choose to study Art at GCSE and A-Level who relish the opportunity to follow their passion and develop their talents.
We are seeking a highly motivated and passionate teacher of Art & Design to join our high-achieving, multi-disciplinary department. Our Art& Design department consistently delivers results well above national averages, offering a rich, integrated curriculum across Key Stages 3, 4, and 5, covering disciplines including painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics and digital media. Ideally any candidate should be an active practitioner who can model high-level techniques to students. Candidate’s knowledge of art history and contemporary practice are as important as making skills.
We encourage colleagues at any stage in their career to apply to work in our school. We will always appoint the best person for our school community regardless of age or experience. We have a large Sixth Form and there are opportunities to teach extremely passionate and talented students at A-Level and GCSE.
What the school offers its staff
Free on-site parking
Employee benefits
Wellbeing support
Professional development
Further details about the role
Informal visits to the school are very welcome. If you would like meet with us, please contact Jane Bewley (j.bewley@durhamjohnston.org.uk) to book a time.
We believe that great art teachers are great artists. In addition to completing the application form we would like you to provide 5 annotated images or slides of your own recent artwork. These should demonstrate your technical proficiency in drawing and making.
The closing date is 9.00am on Thursday 26th March 2026. If you are returning your application by email please use the following address: recruitment@durhamjohnston.org.uk
Commitment to safeguarding
“Durham Johnston Comprehensive School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all its staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All post holders are subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check As a disability confident employer, we are committed to employing disabled people and people with health conditions making reasonable adjustments to support disabled applicants when required.”