Headteacher

Role: Headteacher

Location: Wordsworth Primary School, Southampton

Start Date: January 2025

Salary Range: L20 - L26 (£79,474 - £92,052)

Advert Closing Date: Friday 1st November 2024, midday

Shortlisting: Friday 1st November 2024

Interviews: Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th November 2024

A unique opportunity to lead a dynamic Primary school forward on the next stage of its development.

JOB/PERSON SUMMARY:

The Governors of Wordsworth Primary are seeking to appoint a visionary, experienced and innovative leader to deliver excellence in all areas and lead our school on its journey to becoming an outstanding primary school in its broadest sense.

The successful candidate will have the experience and ability to inspire and bring out the best in everyone. They will understand and champion our school vision as reflected in our core values of Learning, Community, Nurture, Trust, and Empowerment.

Strategies will place the need of the most disadvantaged children and those with additional and complex needs firmly at the centre of developments.

Our new Headteacher will inspire and bring out the best in staff, have resilience and drive, and have a proven track-record of delivering strong educational outcomes.

The school has a committed staff - we are exceptionally proud of our children. Our inspection in 2023 found that:

‘Wordsworth pupils are happy at school. They enjoy their many opportunities to hold positions of responsibility. The Year 6 house captains are proud of having been elected through a democratic voting system. Members of the school council and Eco council know why their work is important. They take their responsibilities seriously when representing the views of their classmates.’

Inspectors recognised the hard work that had taken place to ensure Early Years, the curriculum and personal development are strong features of school provision. The school had begun to implement a new behaviour policy at the time of the inspection. Under the arrangements for inspection, the fact that this was not yet strongly embedded was a contributing factor for the school being judged as requires improvement. You can view the subsequent information for parents and Behaviour guidance on the school’s website.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A LEADER WHO:

• Is innovative, organised and passionate about improving educational standards
• Has the vision, enthusiasm and energy to continue to grow the school’s profile within the local community
• Is committed to every child achieving his or her evolving potential emotionally, academically and socially so they are well prepared for life beyond primary school
• Will use their innovative and enthusiastic leadership qualities to support the strong teamwork of the school and ensure our dedicated staff continue to thrive, grow and develop
• Is an outstanding educator, passionate about teaching and learning and able to instil and nurture this in all children and staff
• Is approachable with the ability to build strong working relationships at all levels through excellent communication skills
• Will be a champion of the highest standards of safeguarding and promoting the positive health, and wellbeing of pupils & staff
• Is excited by the proposition of leading our wonderful school

In return we are proud to offer:

• The opportunity to lead a school at the heart of its community.
• Delightful, enthusiastic children who love learning, strive to do their best and are proud of their school
• A dedicated, hard-working and enthusiastic staff, committed to raising standards
• An opportunity to be part of a nurturing and creative environment dedicated to keeping the children at the heart of everything
• A fantastic building and grounds with an enthusiastic parent body
• A dedicated and committed Governing Body and strong links with local Head-teachers and the community

ABOUT WORDSWORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL

We are a large school with a small school feel. The Wordsworth family ensures that all members of our diverse school community feel welcome, safe and valued.

Wordsworth is a large primary school with higher-than-average proportions of children that speak English as an additional language and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals. We work hard to ensure that all the children at our school develop a love of learning in a nurturing and inclusive environment. They experience a broad and meaningful learning journey which celebrates their individuality, whilst challenging and inspiring them to be the best that they can be. We place inclusivity at the heart of all we do fostering close relationships with the families of the children in the school.

Wordsworth is located in the Shirley area of Southampton and our commitment to be at the centre of the local learning community is demonstrated by our active role in both the Jeffery’s Education Partnership, the multi-academy partnership of Shirley schools and Hamwic Education Trust (www.hamwic.org), the multi-academy trust. Being a member of both organisations enables us to work closely with, and be supported by, other local schools. The Jefferys Education Partnership brings together our local secondary school with all its feeder schools in order to provide a cohesive approach to learning for children in the area, across all phases of their education.

The Hamwic Education Trust proactively supports the Partnership and individual schools in delivering their ambitions and goals. As a member of a large Multi-academy trust, all staff have access to training and opportunities to work on cross phase projects and to work in other schools within the Trust in order to gain invaluable experience and enhance their skills.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Should you wish to apply for this vacancy, please view the candidate recruitment pack and complete the application form which can be found at www.hamwic.org. Completed applications should be returned to recruitment@hamwic.org

Prospective candidates are strongly encouraged to find out more and visit the school by appointment. To arrange a visit, please contact the school Operations Manager, Nicky Fuller on 023 8077 6397 or email nicky.fuller@wordsworthprimary.co.uk.

If you would like to discuss the vacancy further, please email donna.fox@hamwic.org

SAFEGUARDING

All schools within the Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.