9 days remaining to apply

  • Job start date

    1 September 2025

  • Closing date

    18 March 2025 at 11:59pm

  • Date listed

    6 March 2025

Job details

Job role

  • Deputy headteacher

Visa sponsorship

Visas cannot be sponsored

Key stage

Key stage 3, Key stage 4

Working pattern

Full time: Full time

Contract type

Permanent

Full-time equivalent salary

£79,475 to £87,651 per annum

What skills and experience we're looking for

Star Aspiring Principals Programme

The Aspiring Principals Programme forms part of Star Academies’ new Talent Strategy which focuses on harnessing and nurturing talent and accelerating professional growth, through a range of mechanisms.

We are currently recruiting to the programme and are seeking to employ a Vice Principal at Tong Leadership Academy with a view to fast tracking them into the role of Principal, in a Star school, within three years.

Our programme responds to research into what effective headteachers, who took a fast-track route, found most useful and contributed to their success.

Evidence indicates that high quality support for leadership development, combining experiential, collaborative and formal learning, is an imperative. Most importantly:

  • having in-school opportunities to take on a breadth of leadership roles and specific whole school responsibilities, including high stakes accountability
  • leadership coaching provided highly effective school principal
  • opportunities to discuss the impact their leadership actions on pupil outcomes and to problem solve with peers
  • engagement in formal learning
  • activities to build a professional identity and credibility as a leader
  • securing expertise in leading the improvement teaching and learning, at scale

What you will get:

Across the three years, working as a Vice Principal in a Star school, you’ll receive:

  • a programme of leadership responsibilities, matched to your talents and identified gaps, to enable both professional growth and opportunities to demonstrate your impact on pupil outcomes
  • regular leadership coaching from the principal of an outstanding Star school
  • the opportunity to complete any National Institute of Teaching National Professional Qualification that matches your aspirations and development needs
  • an annual bursary to spend on professional development or qualifications of your own choosing
  • access to mentors in other Star schools according to need
  • the opportunity to act as a Star Leadership Excellence Fellow, providing support for other schools
  • visits to exemplary schools across England

On demonstrating your impact as a Vice Principal you will be appointed, as Principal, to a Star school.

Who we’re looking for

We are seeking experienced senior leaders in secondary schools, who have the capability to become a principal within 3 years.

You will have:

  • have the potential, commitment and track record to become a school principal
  • have qualified teaching status or qualified teacher learning and skills status
  • have senior leadership experience in the last 4 years such as deputy or assistant head/principal in a secondary school
  • be able to demonstrate the impact you’ve had across a school
  • be open to working in a school in a challenging context

What the school offers its staff

About Tong Leadership Academy

Tong Leadership Academy is a state-of-the-art secondary school for 11 to 18 year olds in Bradford. We joined Star Academies in 2016 and, like all Star schools, we have a leadership specialism.

We are a rapidly improving school with high ambitions and expectations for all of our pupils. We provide a knowledge-based academic curriculum alongside a rich and diverse leadership programme that grows character and inspires charitable and social action. Our pursuit of educational excellence is based upon our fundamental belief that every pupil has the capacity to become a successful and inspirational leader. We were graded as ‘Good’ in all areas by Ofsted during our most recent inspection in October 2023.

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Applying for the job

Apply for the job by following the link below.

CVs are not accepted.

Visas cannot be sponsored.
How to apply
If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Additional documents

If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.

About Tong Leadership Academy

School type
Academy, ages 11 to 19
Education phase
Secondary
School size
788 pupils enrolled
Age range
11 to 19
Ofsted report
View Ofsted report
Phone number
0330 313 9150

Tong Leadership Academy in Bradford, West Yorkshire is a 1600 place, 11-18 secondary school, which includes a 250 place sixth form. Tong joined the Trust on 1 December 2016. Like all Star schools, it has “Leadership” as a specialism.

School location

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