Headteacher, West Lakes Academy
West Lakes Academy
Cumbria
- £87,253 - £96,239 per year
- New
- Salary:
- L26 £87,253 – L30 £96,239 (pay award pending)
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- January/ Easter 2025 or earlier
- Apply by:
- 30 September 2024
Job overview
Salary: L26 £87,253 – L30 £96,239 (pay award pending)
Start Date: January/ Easter 2025 or earlier
Location: Egremont, Cumbria
West Lakes Academy is a vibrant secondary school situated in the stunning Western Lake District in Cumbria, providing education for 1200 children aged between 11 and 18 years old. As well as outstanding facilities and the incredible natural environment surrounding the school, West Lakes Academy benefits greatly from being part of Changing Lives Learning Trust and from the support of the three sponsors who were involved in the setting up of the school in 2008 - Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd and University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN). The Trust is hugely ambitious - educating 2800 students across nine schools (three secondary, six primary) and providing the One Cumbria Teaching School Hub. Changing Lives Learning Trust is proud of its ability to bolster foundations, nurture emerging talent and drive sustainable improvement across the family of schools.
We are looking for an inspirational and tenacious Headteacher to lead West Lakes Academy on the next phase of its journey, to realise our vision to succeed in ‘Changing Lives through Learning’, and to provide the very best possible educational opportunities for young people in West Cumbria. We are incredibly proud of our school community - our loyal and enthusiastic members of staff encourage children to work hard to achieve their potential. West Lakes Academy was last inspected by Ofsted in March 2017 and was judged to be Outstanding in all areas of the inspection, when it was previously Good. However, there is much more that we need to do for our students, and this is where our new Headteacher comes in. A monitoring inspection in 2023 concluded that the Outstanding judgement was unlikely to be retained at its next graded inspection. Since returning post-pandemic, some students have struggled to return to the high standards of behaviour, culture and academic rigour that saw the school achieve its Outstanding judgement.
To be successful as the next Headteacher of West Lakes Academy, you’ll be a visible, courageous leader who leads with honesty and integrity. You will need to recognise the current challenges at the school and share our ambition to ensure that every child in the academy can access the highest quality education in a positive, caring environment where every child feels safe and cared for. You are likely to be an experienced, talented Deputy Headteacher looking for your first Headteacher post, but you could also be a serving Headteacher looking for a new challenge in a beautiful part of the UK. What is most important is that you are an exceptional and optimistic leader of staff and students, with a passion for our school community and a relentless drive to raise standards and achieve excellence for all. In return, you will have the autonomy to do the right things to rapidly move the school forward, with the support of strong and effective colleagues at all levels.
If this sounds like you, please get in touch to discuss this exciting role in more detail. More information can be found here: changinglives.our-careers.co.uk. To arrange a confidential conversation, please contact our recruitment partners at Propelo by emailing changinglives@propelo.co.uk or call 01273 222877.
Closing date for applications: Monday 30th September 2024, 9am
Interviews: Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th October 2024
Changing Lives Learning Trust values equality and diversity and is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. We may also conduct an online search about any shortlisted candidates as part of our due diligence to identify any matters that might relate directly to our legal duty to meet safeguarding duties, in accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)
About West Lakes Academy
West Lakes Academy in Egremont, Cumbria, provides education to children from 11 to 18 years old. We opened in September 2008 and moved into our brand new building in March 2012. As an academy, we are independently governed but state funded and free to all children. Like other schools, we are subject to normal OFSTED inspections and work with the Local Education Authority in relation to issues such as admissions.
Our vision is to succeed in ‘Changing Lives through Learning’ by providing the very best possible educational opportunities for young people in West Cumbria. We have extremely high hopes for all of our students and our highly skilled and enthusiastic members of staff encourage children to have high ambitions and to work hard to achieve these.
Students and staff benefit from fantastic facilities, outstanding IT resources, a £300k engineering facility, performing and expressive arts suite and a brand new eco science lab in our brilliant £26m building. All this makes West Lakes Academy one of the best possible places in which to study. Our excellent environment helps keep motivation and morale high and allows us to deliver modern approaches to learning using the latest technologies.
We are sponsored by two of the most important energy organisations in the UK and two of Cumbria’s largest employers; The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Sellafield Ltd. They provide invaluable resources and industry support to our specialism in Science. We also receive excellent higher education expertise from our education partner, the University of Central Lancashire.
The academy was last inspected by Ofsted in March 2017 and was judged ‘Outstanding’ in all areas of the inspection. We have a strong record of academic excellence and our standards are high; our GCSE results are in the top 20% nationally, whilst our A Levels are in the top 10%. We are never satisfied however and are always looking for improvements and evidence-based best practise to build on these outstanding results. We have an ambitious and inspiring curriculum, delivered by subject experts in the classroom and enhanced by a strong tradition of extra-curricular activities. We frequently achieve county and national success in many areas such as performing arts and a variety of sports. All students at West Lakes Academy access a broad and balanced curriculum, learning knowledge that empowers them to take their place in society once they leave us.
The hard work of our pupils and the dedication of our skilled members of staff enable us to provide students with the education they need for a successful and happy future.
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