Headteacher
Abbotsholme School
Derbyshire
- £72,500 per year
- New
- Salary:
- Attractive salary, bonus and benefits package
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- September 2025
- Apply by:
- 3 January 2025
Job overview
Appointment of Headteacher for September 2025
The Proprietor of Abbotsholme School invites applications for the post of Headteacher, effective 1st September 2025. Abbotsholme https://www.abbotsholme.co.uk/ is a non-selective independent, co-educational, day and international boarding school, situated close to Uttoxeter, with buildings and grounds regarded as some of the most attractive of any school in England.
Abbotsholme was established in 1889 by the visionary Dr. Cecil Reddie, a leading educationalist in the progressive schools movement and the main building is a beautiful red-brick Arts & Crafts edifice, with many original features throughout. The Chapel, with its original jewel-like stained glass, is a significant historic asset, featuring many motifs and fascinating imagery which have become intrinsic to the Abbotsholme story. Currently educating 230 children (45 boarders) aged 2-20, the school received an excellent report from the Independent Schools Inspectorate in April 2024: https://www.isi.net/reports.
The school benefits from ambitious and supportive ownership through the Achieve Group, which also operates Chase Grammar school in Cannock. Abbotsholme prides itself on a caring, family atmosphere, where staff know each pupil and academic excellence is supported through outstanding, individualised pastoral care. Academic results are exceptional and pupils go on to enjoy great success at university and beyond.
The Headteacher we seek
The children and staff at Abbotsholme are looking for an ambitious, personable and experienced school leader who will lead Abbotsholme in its next stage of successful development. You may be seeking a second headship and able to evidence your key achievements in the development of your present school, or be seeking a first headship having been integral to the academic and pastoral success of your current institution. You will have the highest levels of integrity, possess a working understanding of the Nolan Principles and be comfortable at representing the school, its children and staff as the public face of Abbotsholme.
Taking a servant-leader approach, you will have the energy, skills, resilience and resourcefulness to work through others in the best interests of the children at the school. You will exercise a good understanding of budgeting and school finance, and demonstrate the importance of working with all stakeholders in an effective strategic development process. Your vision for the school will enthuse all staff and you will have a first-rate understanding of the important metrics that demonstrate both academic progress and pastoral excellence in an environment of continuous improvement.
Your grasp of marketing through strong relationships and dynamic pupil recruitment will be integral to the success of your tenure. While being both self-directed and reflective, you will recognise that headship is rarely a nine-to-five proposition and will embrace all opportunities to further develop your school, including overseas recruitment and working closely and timely with the families of children at Abbotsholme.
Prospective candidates should also refer to the 2020 Headteachers’ Standards and in particular those regarding ethics and professional conduct. The successful candidate is most likely to be educated to degree level and hold a relevant professional leadership qualification such as NPQH, or qualify for Headship through extensive and relevant experience. Abbotsholme welcomes applications from all backgrounds and will make all reasonable adjustments to allow for the equal treatment of all candidates at interview and when taking up the post. Candidates requiring any assistance at interview should request this after an offer for interview is confirmed by the school.
Application Process
- If you wish, you may contact the school to arrange an initial telephone or Zoom/Teams conversation with a member of Abbotsholme’s Advisory Board. You may also arrange for an informal visit to the school. Neither are integral to the interview process but are offered to help you decide on making a formal application.
- Contact the school on 01889 590217 or email Susan Riley s.riley@abbotsholme.co.uk and ask for a copy of the staff application form.
- Complete the application form and return it to Susan Riley by email, marking it confidential and additionally:
- A copy of your CV.
- A covering letter addressed to the Chair of the Advisory Board (Mr Neil Roskilly) supporting the application and highlighting how your experience and skills meets the requirements of the role at Abbotsholme. This should be no more that two sides of A4 (it may be less) and should directly address the specific responsibilities and person specification. Please do not describe past achievements and competencies without making them directly relevant to the Headship at Abbotsholme.
- Include in your application form the names, addresses, phone numbers and email contacts for two professional referees. Indicate if you do not wish referees to be contacted at this stage. Also provide details of your current contracted notice period.
- The deadline for applications is the 3rd January 2025.
- Your application will be acknowledged. If the school wishes to explore your application further, we may wish to set up a Zoom or Teams call to discuss your application before formal shortlisting.
- Shortlisted candidates will be informed no later than 12th January 2025. You will be sent details of the interview process shortly afterwards, with activities based on the job description and person specification for the role.
- Interviews take place at Abbotsholme on the 23rd and 24th January 2025. Overnight accommodation will be arranged for the night of the 23rd January. Candidates will need to attend the school from 11.00 AM on the 23rd and should expect to depart by 3PM on the 24th. The school pays reasonable expenses for shortlisted candidates, including second-class rail (from the port of entry if travelling from overseas) or HMRC mileage rates.
- The successful candidate should expect to be informed of their offer by 30th January 2025. Unsuccessful candidates will be informed shortly thereafter.
Abbotsholme School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Attached documents
About Abbotsholme School
Abbotsholme School Vision
It is our firm belief that a good education is an essential preparation for the whole of life. An education at Abbotsholme provides not only the starting blocks but also the first few metres of life’s track.
Abbotsholme seeks to identify and develop the diversity of talent in each child. Our holistic approach to education ensures that we know the children well, enabling us to set individual targets to help them to achieve higher standards than they might have thought possible. We want all of our children not only to succeed – whatever their individual talents or abilities may be – but also to feel successful. We offer them challenges which will build strength and test courage, we provide them with a programme of cultural enrichment to widen their perspectives, we show them how to nurture and care for the environment and we teach them the importance of taking responsibility both for themselves and for others.
Although we are committed to helping all Abbotsholmians fulfil their academic potential, the measure of our success cannot be judged by scholarly achievements alone. Indeed, it is their development as people that must be seen as the ultimate test. In years to come, we would wish to know that they were happy with themselves and with their lives; we also would want them to be successful in their personal and professional endeavours whilst remaining sensitive to the needs of others.
All Abbotsholmians benefit from our ethos which teaches them to value honesty and integrity highly; it encourages, too, a sense of self-worth and of pride in their own achievements, whilst, in equal measure, celebrating the success of others.
Furthermore, it is our belief that whilst learning should be challenging, it should also be both stimulating and enjoyable. Abbotsholme provides a rich and rounded experience through its strong academic curriculum, its beautiful surroundings, its happy and supportive boarding environment, its working farm, its extensive range of sporting, artistic and outdoor activities, and through the wealth of opportunities provided by the Round Square organisation both at home and abroad.
Balance is the essence of our educational philosophy, where academic, personal and social development are given equal standing. Equipped with their Abbotsholme experiences, we believe that our young people will flourish, and we are proud that Abbotsholmians leave us as responsible and socially aware young men and women who are able to face an increasingly demanding world with confidence and with a zest for life.
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