Assistant Head Of Lower School - Year 8
Hastings High School, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 2QE24 days remaining to apply
Job start date
20 August 2026
Closing date
20 April 2026 at 9am
Date listed
27 March 2026
Job details
Job role
- Head of year or phase
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Key stage
- Key stage 3
Working pattern
- Full time: 40 weeks per year, 37 hours per week
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- Grade 8 - Actual salary £25115 - £27234
What skills and experience we're looking for
- Ability to engage constructively with, and relate to, a wide range of young people, parents/carers, from different backgrounds
- Ability to work effectively and network, with a wide range of support services, from both the public and private sectors, and an ability to draw upon a wide range of support, information, opportunities and guidance
- Ability to work well in a team with resilience, a sense of humour, positive attitude, energy and enthusiasm.
- Experience of working with young people and families Ability to relate to young people, within different age groups about attendance and behaviour issues
- Ability to assess and review young people and family circumstances and plan appropriate responses,
- drawing on in-school and external advice and expertise where necessary
- Ability to identify potential barriers to learning and jointly engage in strategies to overcome these barriers
- Lead on the monitoring of, and intervention in, cases of unauthorised absence and poor punctuality
- Able to quickly establish positive working relationships with students, staff parents and a wide range of people from within and outside the school
- Ability to maintain a non-confrontational approach especially when confronted with challenging behaviour
- Good oral and written communication
- Ability to engage in joint goal setting with an individual student as part of the learning action planning process
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to handle difficult situations with sensitivity, confidentiality and discretion at all times, combined with a calm personality, a practical approach and sound judgement
- Ability to be a good role model to young people – demonstrate and promote positive values, attitudes and behaviour
- Excellent record of attendance
- Ability to show kindness and empathy to all
- Commitment to raising achievement and improving the educational experiences of all students
- Competent in the use of IT and ability to train others how to use it.
- Planning and prioritising own workload and managing conflicting demands
- A commitment to Equal Opportunities
- Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding
- Ability to demonstrate using own initiative
What the school offers its staff
Why join the Hastings Family?
At Hastings, we live by our motto: Care and Excellence for All.
We are a thriving, oversubscribed community school with a strong academic record and a reputation for
nurturing ambition, responsibility, and self-development in every pupil.
• Ofsted: Judged “Good” with outstanding pupil behaviour and relationships.
• Academic success: Progress 8 consistently above average (+0.40 last year).
• Facilities: Multi-million investment in 2025, including 8 new classrooms, a sports hall, and
redeveloped pastoral and dining areas.
• Community: A supportive, ambitious, and enriching environment for staff and pupils alike.
What We Offer You
• Comprehensive induction programme – tailored support for ECTs and new staff.
• Professional development – ongoing training, appraisal, and opportunities to grow.
• Wellbeing focus – a culture of care and respect for staff.
• Collaborative team spirit – work alongside talented, reflective practitioners.
• Enriching curriculum
Further information about the job
Hastings High school has a dedicated, experienced and passionate pastoral team that strives to
bring the best out of our pupils on their journey here at Hastings. The are housed in a newly
refurbished area of the school, consists of
- Assistant Headteacher
- Head of Lower School
- Head of Upper School
- Assistant Head of Lower School – Year 7
- Assistant Head of Lower School – Year 8
- Head of Year 9
- Head of Year 10
- Head of Year 11
- Pastoral Support Worker
- 2x LCITC Mentors
We believe that building positive relationships with our pupils and their parents/carers is essential.
Being part of our Hasting Family, fostering a strong sense of belonging, is vitally important for helping
all our pupils to reach their true potential.
We are a school that offers high levels of support, care and dedication, whilst also having high
standards and expectations of our Hastings Family. The Pastoral teams work together to uphold the
school’s values, they support pupils with their behaviour and needs, using a relational and restorative
approach. We also work closely with parents, career and outside agencies to help our pupils achieve,
and access, the very best opportunities.
Lower School Philosophy
The Lower School will set the tone and expectations for being part of the Hastings Family. This includes
pupils, their families and Hastings staff.
There is an emphasis on allowing children to be children and not growing up too quickly; we will teach
pupils how to be emotionally literate and provide opportunities to learn life skills, supporting them as
they grow into young adults.
Above all, we will build relationships and support pupils to be independent, resilient and active up
standers, by being clear, consistent and kind; preparing them for life in the Upper School and beyond.
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
This job requires you to download an application form, you will be able to upload the application once complete.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
Additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About Hastings High School
- School type
- Academy, ages 11 to 16
- Education phase
- Secondary school
- School size
- 859 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 16
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- Hastings High School website
- Email address
- Sarah.Brown@Hastings.School
The school was judged ‘Good’ at our last Ofsted inspection. We are committed to further improvement to ensure that we provide “Care and Excellence for All”.
The school has had significant investment in the last 12 months to build 8 new classrooms, a sports hall alongside redevelopment of the canteen and main pastoral areas. This will enable us to take extra pupils starting with a cohort of 200 in Year 7 in Autumn 2025.
We have a strong academic record with each of the previous 4 years having achieved a Progress 8 score “above average”, achieving a score of +0.40 last year. Our predictions for the future year groups are that they will exceed this. These continuing improvements are down to our focus on the basics; an orderly climate for learning, engaging teaching and building positive relationships with all stakeholders.
We have a comprehensive induction programme for new staff to help you settle in and provide very high levels of support. We are a school which strives to bring out the best in our staff by investing heavily in staff development and wellbeing.
Arranging a visit to Hastings High School
To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email Sarah.Brown@Hastings.School.
School location
Similar jobs nearby
Get a job alert when similar jobs are listed
Find more school jobs in Leicestershire and Rutland