Principal

We are seeking a Principal who has the passion, drive and enthusiasm to build and develop the school’s existing strengths and values. To lead, motivate, develop and inspire a school community that is committed to giving the children the best education and preparation to take their place in the world with confidence, purpose, enthusiasm and strength of character.  Recognising the critical nature of this position, we are eager to find a candidate who can infuse the role with not only stability, leadership, and commitment but also a vibrant energy that propels our college forward.

The college has been on a journey of improvement and the forward momentum of the college, and the positive, can-do attitude of staff, students, and local committee make this a very exciting challenge for a new Principal. We want someone who can lead us with care, compassion and conviction, and be integral to our community. As the leader of the school community, you will model and promote positive attitudes and relationships amongst staff, children, local committee members and parents in keeping with the trust’s vision and values. You will be an outstanding practitioner with strong leadership skills and a proven track record for raising progress and attainment. 

Strategic direction and development

Work with the local committee to review and develop the strategic vision for the school in its community, and analyse and plan for the future needs and further development of the school  

Provide vision and direction to secure effective teaching, successful learning and achievement by pupils and sustained improvement in their social, moral, cultural, spiritual, and physical development to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Ensure that a School Development Plan, based on robust self-evaluation, is in place and is delivered and impacts on school improvement  

Enable the local committee to challenge and support the school effectively to enable it to meet its responsibilities, by attending meetings and providing timely and relevant information on:  

• Progress against SDP
• Pupil attainment, progress and achievement and quality of teaching and learning  
• Action arising from any recent audits  
• Child safeguarding, bullying, exclusions, and attendance  
• Such other matters as the local committee needs to be informed about to be effective  
• Working with your SBM, propose to the trust a balanced budget that meets the needs and addresses the priorities within the School Development Plan across the planning period.  
• Ensure creativity, continuous improvement and the use of appropriate technologies to achieve excellence and a broad curriculum, equipping pupils well for their next stage of education  
• Promote the vision and values of the school and demonstrate them in everyday work and practice to allow both children and adults to flourish  
• Promote an inclusive environment and positive and respectful relationships across the school community 

 Leading teaching & learning  

Work with staff and the local committee to secure and sustain effective learning throughout the school  

Monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and standards of pupils’ achievement across the school, using benchmarks and rigorous analysis of data to identify priorities for school development and setting targets for improvement  

Establish creative, responsive and effective approaches to learning and teaching  

Demonstrate and articulate high expectations and set stretching targets for the whole school community  

Implement strategies which secure high standards of behaviour and attendance  

Ensure a diverse, creative, flexible curriculum  

Implement an effective assessment framework  

Embody excellent leadership together with confident, clear and sensitive oral and written communication skills  

Work in partnership with staff, the wider community and other service providers to maintain and extend the curriculum and sustain a variety of after school provision. 

Managing the college 

Ensure staff and pupils’ safety and welfare through effective approaches to safeguarding, as part of duty of care  

Create an organisational structure which reflects the school’s vision and values and enables the management systems, structures and processes to work effectively in line with legal requirements  

Recruit, retain, develop and deploy staff effectively in order to maintain the highest quality of education and to achieve the vision and goals of the school 

Ensure rigorous approaches to identifying, managing and mitigating risk  

Develop and present a coherent, understandable and accurate account of the school’s performance to a range of audiences including the Trust, parents and carers, to ensure that they are well informed about the curriculum, attainment and progress and about the contribution that they can make to achieving the college’s targets. 

Leading and Managing Staff  

Plan, allocate, support and evaluate the work undertaken by all staff, ensuring clear and appropriate delegation of tasks and devolution of responsibilities  

Work closely with the administrative staff to ensure the smooth running of the school  

Put in place effective means of communication with staff that provides them with support, and the information needed to help them in carrying out their duties effectively  

Implement and sustain effective strategies and processes for staff induction and the performance management of staff, including the appraisal process, ensuring it is balanced and robust  

Support subject leaders in the development of core and foundation subjects  

Ensure that staff have access to appropriate, high-standard professional development opportunities  

Ensure that trainees and early career teachers are appropriately trained, monitored, supported and assessed in relation to all relevant standards 

Manage staff with due attention to workload and broader wellbeing  

Maintain a culture of high staff professionalism, ensuring staff understand their professional responsibilities and are held to account  

Sustain a culture of trust and mutual support from the SLT through to all staff  

Demonstrate strong commitment to their own professional development.  

Safeguarding  

Promote and uphold a strong safeguarding culture across the school community, ensuring current good practice is sustained and continues to evolve to remain up to date  

Ensure the policies and procedures relating to safeguarding and safer recruitment are adopted by the local committee and are fully implemented and followed by all staff  

Ensure sufficient resources and time are allocated to enable the designated person and other staff to discharge their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding, including taking part in strategy discussions and other inter-agency meetings, and contributing to the assessment of children  

Ensure all staff and volunteers feel able to raise concerns about poor and unsafe practice in regard to children and that such concerns are addressed sensitively and effectively in a timely manner in accordance with agreed whistleblowing policies.