Chris Pownall

A highly dedicated teacher of French, Russian and ELL, and Director of Pastoral Care with recent responsibility for the academic achievement, care, happiness, health and wellbeing of 1,400 secondary students and oversight of the work of Heads of Year, Heads of House, School Counsellors and the pastoral programme for over fifty tutors. I have also been responsible for staff and student induction, including the mentoring of trainee teachers and NQTs. With twenty years’ experience working in independent, boarding and day, single-sex and co-educational schools in the UK, East Africa and the Middle East, I have a deep conviction that academic progress relies on highly effective pastoral care, ‘the ‘oil in the engine of learning.’ While my work as a Child Protection Officer and Deputy Safeguarding Lead has taught me to be prepared for the unexpected, pastoral care at its best is pre-emptive, planned and personalised to enable students to become compassionate, kind and resilient leaders of others.

A teacher of Modern Foreign Languages (Russian and French) with significant leadership experience in multicultural settings and a proven track-record for producing high-achieving, enthusiastic and motivated learners, I have returned to the UK having worked in one of the UAE’s largest combined GCSE to A-Level, BTEC, IB Diploma and IB Career-related pathways in an Academy that has been recently rated ‘Outstanding’ by the British Schools Overseas inspectorate. A strong team-builder, innovative, good-humoured, organised, emotionally resilient and with a deep conviction that all learners deserve an outstanding all-round, personalised education. Not only a creative teacher, but also a direct, compassionate leader, I gain the respect and trust of colleagues, students and their parents, always seeking the best outcomes for all and raising standards of teaching and learning.

September 2023 - Supply Desk: Cover and Supply Teacher (West Sussex)

September 2015-August 2023 GEMS Wellington Academy, Dubai Silicon Oasis

2019 Director of Pastoral Care & Child Protection Officer, Deputy DSL

2016 Director of Post-16 Studies, IBCP Coordinator 

2015 Vice Principal (Academic)

• Assistant Principal, Director of Pastoral Care: Senior Leadership role, line-managing the Heads of Year, Heads of House, School Counsellors and overseeing the Academy’s pastoral and wellbeing programmes. Child Protection Officer and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead. Member of SLT with responsibility for compliance, whole-school development plan and student wellbeing.
• Assistant Principal, Director of Post-16 Studies: took charge of the Academy’s sixth form provision, with direct line management of IBDP, IBCP and BTEC programmes.
• Vice Principal (Academic) in one of Dubai’s largest and most digitally innovative academies (4,200 students) with responsibility for Teaching and Learning, Assessment and Reporting, Staff Development and Review, inspection preparation, educational trips and visits, staff cover and leading the school’s Post-16 IB programmes.

• Deputy Head (Academic) of a prestigious East African international boarding school; Chair of Academic Management Team; Chair of Independent Schools Inspection Committee; Senior Pastoral Team; Responsibility for curriculum development and analysis of student academic performance; Chair of ICT and Teaching Working Party; Management of Assistant Head (Director of Studies), Staff Development Coordinator and Head of Inclusion and SEND 
• Head of Modern Foreign Languages, Teacher of French, History, Critical Thinking and Games

• Took responsibility for the school becoming a lead provider of training in the North West of England and an accredited regional training centre for NQTs. Mentored PGCE students across a range of subjects. Organiser of regional and national training seminars and INSET.

• Appointed to the inaugural post of Head of MFL to oversee the introduction of Spanish to the curriculum, coordinate the work and timetables of the Departments of French, German, and Russian, including co-ordination and induction of Language Assistants, trips and exchanges, organised joint language events, national language INSET programmes, primary school language festivals and project managed the extensive refurbishment of the MFL Faculty, including the installation of a digital language laboratory. 

• Responsibilities included staff recruitment, induction, training and development, appraisal and review, and working with universities on ITT. A member of the Headmaster’s Committee, my roles included steering HoDs meetings, sitting on the Inspection Steering Committee, the Pastoral Leadership Team and the Learning Development Group. 

September 1992 Teacher of Russian, French, Sport and PHSE 

September 1991- July 1992 (JET) English Language Teacher Ikeda High School, Osaka, Japan

• 2012 Bolton College CELTA (Pass Grade A) 
• July 2002 Leeds Metropolitan University BA with Distinction in Language Studies (Russian)
• July 1996 Open University PGCE (Secondary French)
• July 1991 The University of Nottingham BA (Joint Hons) French and Russian, II(i)
• August 1987 Bolton School 4 'A 'Levels (Russian (B), French (B), Music (D), General Studies (C))
• August 1985 Bolton School 10 ‘O’ Levels (Maths (B) and English Language (B), Russian (A), French (A), Music (A), Chemistry (A), History (B), Physics (B), English Literature (B), Biology (C))