Assistant Headteacher – Behaviour and Rewards

Thomas Gainsborough School, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 0NH

8 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  01 January 2027

• Closing date

  15 October 2026 at 9am

• Date listed

  7 October 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Assistant headteacher
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Key stage: Key stage 3, Key stage 4, Key stage 5
• Working pattern: Full time (Can be done as a job share)
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full time equivalent salary: Leadership 12-16 (fte £70,274 - £77,676 per annum

Assistant Headteacher – Behaviour and Rewards job summary

Thomas Gainsborough School

Assistant Headteacher – Behaviour and Rewards

Salary: Leadership Scale L12-L16  (fte £70,274 - £77,676 per annum)
Contract : Full Time Permanent
Start Date: January 2027

Thomas Gainsborough School is seeking an exceptional leader to join our Senior Leadership Team as Assistant Headteacher – Behaviour and Rewards.

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and values-driven leader to play a pivotal role in shaping the culture of our school. Working closely with the Deputy Headteacher – Personal Development, you will provide strategic leadership for behaviour, attitudes, rewards and recognition, ensuring every student can learn and thrive within a calm, respectful and ambitious environment.

We are looking for a leader who believes that high expectations, positive relationships and consistent systems create the conditions for all students to succeed. You will lead the continued development of our behaviour culture, ensuring expectations are clear, routines are embedded and students are supported to make positive choices.

A key aspect of the role will be developing and championing a culture where achievement, effort, character and contribution are recognised and celebrated. You will lead our whole-school rewards strategy, ensuring students feel valued, motivated and connected to school life.

The successful candidate will:

• Be an outstanding classroom practitioner with Qualified Teacher Status.
• Have successful leadership experience within a secondary school setting.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of effective behaviour culture and whole-school behaviour systems.
• Have experience of leading behaviour, pastoral provision or significant whole-school improvement initiatives.
• Be skilled in using data, student voice and first-hand evidence to drive improvement.
• Be committed to inclusion while maintaining consistently high expectations for all students.
• Possess excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to inspire, support and challenge colleagues.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, you will work collaboratively with pastoral, safeguarding, inclusion and curriculum leaders to ensure our behaviour systems support high-quality teaching and learning, promote positive relationships and enable every student to achieve their potential.

In return, we offer:

• The opportunity to make a significant impact on the life chances of young people.
• A supportive and ambitious leadership team.
• High-quality professional development and leadership training.
• A welcoming and inclusive school community.
• Access to the benefits of working within Unity Schools Partnership.

At Thomas Gainsborough School, our mission is "Excellence: for each, for all." If you share our commitment to creating a culture where every student feels safe, respected and able to flourish, we would love to hear from you.

To contact the school please contact Mel Griss on 01787 375232 email mgriss@tgschool.net 

Closing Date: Thursday 15 October 2026
Interview Date: Thursday 22 October 2026

Please note: We may interview as applications are received and may appoint before the closing date. Applications must be submitted online via our careers website before the deadline, so we encourage early applications and advise checking the job details on our site.

In line with safer recruitment, we cannot accept CVs. Incomplete application forms may result in candidates not being shortlisted.

Unity Schools Partnership is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils. All successful candidates will be subject to rigorous pre‑employment checks, including an enhanced DBS. We are also committed to equality, diversity and fair recruitment practices, and we oppose all forms of unlawful discrimination.

We value inclusive working practices and diverse teams. If you wish to work part‑time or as a job‑share, we will accommodate this wherever possible. We particularly welcome applications from under‑represented groups.

 

 

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Unity Schools Partnership is committed to safer recruitment, equal opportunities, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check will be required.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About Thomas Gainsborough School

• Organisation type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• Size: 1603 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• Website: Thomas Gainsborough School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/thomas-gainsborough-school

Thomas Gainsborough School invests in high quality professional development and provides a range of employee benefits. We are closely linked to the Unity Research School and lead the way in many local and national initiatives including being an EdTech Demonstrator School and being an ArtsMark platinum school. We provide excellent support care and support for our staff and students. There are Lead Practitioners to support colleagues in continually improving their practice. As a large, successful and popular school their are opportunites for colleagues to develop at every stage of their career.

In September 2015 the school moved into an award-winning new building, where subjects are taught in specialist rooms either in our Sixth Form block or alongside other History classrooms. The team is very supportive and expectations for students are high.

Thomas Gainsborough School is a consistently high performing, well resourced, and truly comprehensive school, with a firm belief in excellence for each and every student, placing students at the heart of their curriculum. You can find out more about the school at www.tgschool.net

The school continues to invest in high quality professional development and provides a range of employee benefits. This is an excellent opportunity for any teacher to develop their practice and continue their career progression.

The school is located just south of Sudbury in Suffolk and is within easy reach of Colchester, Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds. There are also many delightful and affordable villages in the surrounding area, which also make travelling to London, Cambridge and Norwich a possibility.

Many of our staff work flexibly in different ways including part-time working. For this role we are open to discussing the possibility of reduced hours of flexible start and end times. Please talk to us at the interview stage about the flexibility you would like and we will explore what’s possible for specific roles.

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