Head of Primary
King’s College Panama
Panama
- New
- Salary:
- Generous package and international benefits
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- August 2025
- Apply by:
- 14 December 2024
Job overview
Established in 2012, King's College School, Panama, was the first British curriculum school in the country. We are proud that our students are pioneers of British education in the region, and even prouder of the exemplary education we continue to offer our growing learning community. As a diverse and inclusive international school, we educate 460 students from 37 nationalities, aged 2 to 18, who attend the Pre-Nursery division to Sixth Form.
A world-class premium international school, bordered by the Panamanian rainforest and situated on a brand-new, state-of-the-art campus, conveniently located within easy access to the vibrant city centre
We're now seeking to appoint an outstanding Head of Primary to support the Head of School and serve as a member of the Senior Leadership Team. This role will be responsible for the management, operation and leadership of the Primary School and EYFS Section (that has its own lead). This position includes the academic and pastoral leadership and management of Key Stages 1 and 2 in a brand-new state-of-art building. This is a full-time senior leadership opportunity for an outstanding candidate to be part of a premium world-class school.
This role will commence in August 2025.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Developing a strategic view for the Primary School which supports the vision, ethos and policies of the school.
- Monitoring, evaluating and developing curriculum and staffing across the Primary School.
- Monitoring and evaluating the performance of staff within the Primary School, and overall school performance and ensuring those are reported to the Executive Head and the Human Resources Department as required.
- Developing opportunities for cross-department career progression for staff within the Primary School.
- Ensuring cover within the Primary School is scheduled for staff as and when required.
- Ensuring that management, finances, organisation and administration of the Primary School supports its vision and aims.
- Monitoring, evaluating and reviewing the impact of policies, priorities and targets of the Primary School in practice, and take action if necessary.
- Ensure that all staff within the Primary School are committed to its aims, motivated to achieve them, and involved in meeting long, medium and short term objectives and targets which secure the educational success of the school.
- Using and maintaining confidentiality of school management data effectively, to monitor standards across the Primary School.
- Monitoring and reporting the progress made towards achieving Primary School targets and objectives and use the information to plan future developments.
- Ensuring that curriculum, targets, school’s progress and attainment are efficiently communicated to the Executive Head.
- Ensuring all Primary School events are scheduled in the annual school calendar.
- Evaluating, planning and implementing strategies identified through the annual school improvement plan and delegated by the Executive Head.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL HAVE:
- A minimum of 5 years’ demonstrable experience in the UK Key Stage 1 and 2 curriculum.
- Experience of EYFS departmental leadership – minimum 2 years.
- Fluency in English at an academic standard. Ideally Spanish as a second language.
- Experience working with pupils across both Key Stage 1 and 2
- Experience working with ESL learners.
- Management experience with ESL staff
- Previous role in a Founding Team.
- Higher level qualification (post-graduate) in specialist subject area and/or education
- An unwavering commitment to the development of students
- A demonstrable passion for the profession
- Excellent organizational and time management skills
- A positive attitude to change
In addition to your interest in this role, you might also be interested in our annual in-person global career event, taking place in London on Saturday 18th January 2025. This school and up to 35 other schools from across the UK and international Inspired Education network will be attending and looking to speak to people seeking a new teaching role from August 2025. For more information and to register your interest in the event, please click here: https://jobs.inspirededu.com/job-invite/3761/
SAFEGUARDING:
Inspired Education Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, volunteers and other third parties to share this commitment. Safer recruitment practices and pre-employment background checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed.
Attached documents
About King’s College Panama
Our School is part of the Inspired Education Group
Inspired Education is the leading global group of premium schools, with over 80 premium private schools spanning six continents providing premium education to over 70,000 students ensuring they all receive a first-class learning experience from Kindergarten to Year 13.
We offer you the chance to work/live in an exciting new location, collaborate with passionate educators, develop your skills, and grow in a role that inspires you.
Please visit our careers site for further information and to see our latest opportunities - https://careers.inspirededu.com/
“Inspiring Academic Excellence Across 5 Continents”
A definitive statement of excellence in private education, Inspired is a co-educational, non- denominational, independent school group designed to inspire students to achieve their maximum potential in a nurturing, progressive academic environment from ages 3 months to 18 yrs.
Inspired offers a fresh and contemporary approach to education by re-evaluating traditional teaching methods and curriculums, and creating a more dynamic, relevant and powerful model reflecting current attitudes. We nurture the unique individuality, talent and self-assurance of each student, equipping them to take on the world with the skills and confidence to ensure success.
Our current portfolio of schools currently operates across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, with quick ongoing expansion foreseen. The group has grown exponentially since its founding 7 years ago and offers a unique opportunity to join a connected global community obsessed with a dedication to excellence.
We take great care when selecting new colleagues to join Inspired Education and handpick every single role. We believe true excellence in education is only achieved through an inspiring and passionate team that are dedicated to supporting our schools to recruit and retain students by sustaining engaging and inspiring learning environments through our 3 pillars: Performing and Creative Arts; Academics and Sport.
Professionalism, responsive teaching, specialist knowledge, strong planning, excellent qualifications and an outstanding personal reputation, are just few of the core requirements we look for when recruiting Inspired teaching staff.
King's College Panama
Our school in Panama opened in September 2012. We are proud that King’s College was the first British curriculum school in the country and that our students are the pioneers of British education and values in the region. Since first opening our doors the school has grown substantially and we now have a student community of more than 400 from Pre-Nursery to Year 13. In order to ensure we can continue to cater for the demand in the local market and maintain our Vision to be at the forefront of British education internationally, we recognise the need to continue to improve our facilities and learning spaces. For this reason in 2021 King’s College Panama will be moving to a new location, still in Clayton and very close to the current school location, but into a brand new a custom-built campus, offering all the facilities to optimise both in and outdoor learning for our students.
For more information about us, please visit King's College Panama (https://www.panama.kingscollegeschools.org/)
Curriculum
King’s College offers a British curriculum taught by a full British trained teaching team. As well as a full range of National Curriculum subjects, pupils from Year 1 also study Spanish Language, with the addition of Panamanian studies from Year 7 until Year 11.
In Primary, the school follows a creative curriculum and students are individually tracked and targets set to enhance learning. Classroom assistants are in all EYFS classes and shared throughout the Primary department. The Primary school is working on life without levels and being a relatively new school, the curriculum is evolving and developing. The school uses Abacus Maths, Read Write Inc, ORT, Big Cat Collins and Oxford Owl.
In Seniors, the school is accredited by both Cambridge International Examinations and Edexcel; students work towards IGCSE programmes. The Senior School has specialist teachers and holds specific areas for Art, ICT and Science.
At the end of their studies, children will also be entitled to their Panamanian leaver certificate. It is hoped that King’s College Panama will follow the other King’s Group schools and have many children attend top universities around the world. Links with COBIS allows teachers to develop and keep abreast of UK policy. Internal promotion is encouraged and there are opportunities to become Coordinators and develop through Middle Management programmes.
The school had an agreement with the Panamanian Ministry and all teachers play a role in training and mentoring Panamanian teachers annually.
Ethos
The school is based on the principles of a UK independent school. Pupils are expected to work hard, take academia seriously, and strive for their best results. We aim for confident and independent learners. They are also expected to play a full role in the life of the school, taking advantage of the wider activities, particularly in the fields of arts and sports, available to them. In King’s College Panama we strive for well-rounded individuals with both high academic and social standards.
The school has a House system, and pupils are encouraged to get involved in the many house competitions during the year, which includes academic and sports activities, as well as a public performance. Student leadership plays a big part in school life, with students taking roles such as Prefects, House Captains, Form Captains, Subject Ambassadors, Playground Pals and Members of the Student Council. The students take social responsibility seriously and through fun days and fundraisers, help local projects in the community.
Many pupils travel to school on the school buses, some have long journeys. Around 50% of the children live locally. Traffic in Panama does mean that journey times are long for all our students. This makes it all the more important that we work hard to provide a warm and welcoming environment for our pupils and their families.
Living and working in Panama
Panama has amazing diversity. It has the Caribbean on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. The country is rich in culture, rainforests, and wildlife. Panama City is a developing city and aims to be the “new” Singapore of Latin America in the next few years. It has a mixture of Spanish, American, Caribbean and European influences. It is the airport hub for many companies allowing direct access to both South and North America destinations.
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