Assistant Headteacher English
The Westleigh School, Leigh, Lancashire, WN7 5NL4 days remaining to apply
Start date details
September 2025
Closing date
21 May 2025 at 9am
Date listed
14 May 2025
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: 37 hours per week - full time - all year
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £65,286 - £72,162 FTE (Pay Award Pending)
Pay scale
- L12 - L16
What skills and experience we're looking for
We are seeking to appoint an ambitious and experienced English practitioner ready to take the next step into senior leadership, or an existing leader looking for a new challenge. This Assistant Headteacher role will play a key part in driving whole-school priorities and improving student outcomes across the school. We are looking for someone with the subject expertise, credibility, and passion to support and influence excellent practice in English, while taking on broader leadership responsibilities.
Key whole-school responsibilities will be agreed at interview, based on the strengths and interests of the successful candidate, but the role will contribute significantly to the strategic direction of the school.
Key Responsibilities:
- Support the development and consistency of high-quality English teaching, working with curriculum leaders to raise standards and outcomes.
- Monitor and evaluate student progress, using data to identify priorities and inform intervention and improvement strategies.
- Collaborate with senior leaders on whole-school improvement initiatives.
- Promote literacy, reading, and a love of English throughout the school community.
- Contribute to the professional development of staff, modelling excellent practice and supporting colleagues across subjects.
The Ideal Candidate:
- An experienced and skilled English teacher with a strong track record of impact at Key Stages 3 and 4.
- Previous leadership experience (e.g. as a middle leader), with the drive and potential to succeed in a senior leadership role.
- A deep understanding of curriculum, pedagogy, and the strategies that improve student outcomes.
- Strong interpersonal, organisational, and communication skills.
- A collaborative and aspirational approach, with the ability to inspire and influence others.
- A clear commitment to inclusive, high-quality education and continuous school improvement.
What the school offers its staff
Shaw Education Trust offer the following employee benefits with your Teaching or Support Staff employment:
- An excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (Support Staff) / Teachers Pension (Teaching Staff)
- Support Staff only based on working full time, all year - Generous holiday entitlement from your first day of employment (37 days holiday rising to 39 days after 5 years’ service including Bank Holidays)
- Electric Car Scheme: Environmentally friendly vehicles with our electric car scheme.
- Access to Medicash Health & Wellbeing Plan: Enjoy health services designed to support your well-being.
- Free DiscountForTeachers Scheme for all staff (Support and Teaching), Exclusive discounts to save money with a wide selection of discounts and exclusive offers from hundreds of the biggest brands.
- Free Eye Tests
- Cycle to work scheme
- Access to our Institute of Education and fantastic opportunities to help you grow, contribute and flourish in your role and in the Trust.
We know our people are the key to our success and so we’re committed to ensuring the employment experience at Shaw Education Trust is a rewarding one.
Colleagues within the Trust benefit from: Access to a full range of courses both in-house and professionally accredited. These courses include all of the National Professional Qualifications – NPQH, NPQSL, NPQEYL, NPQLL, NPQLT, NPQLTD, NPQLBC are all delivered by the Shaw Education Trust as a delivery partner for Ambition Institute. In addition, we provide access to the NPQEL for Executive Leaders.
- Experienced leadership and subject-specific support.
- Guidance from former HMIs and serving Ofsted Inspectors within the Trust.
- Access to the Trust’s Institute of Education and SCITT.
- Opportunities to work with different schools within the Trust as a Professional Advocate.
- Participating in peer reviews.
- Access to a suite of online courses.
Placement projects within our family of schools
Further details about the role
Shaw Education Trust offer the following employee benefits with your Teaching or Support Staff employment:
- An excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (Support Staff) / Teachers Pension (Teaching Staff)
- Support Staff only based on working full time, all year - Generous holiday entitlement from your first day of employment (37 days holiday rising to 39 days after 5 years’ service including Bank Holidays)
- Electric Car Scheme: Environmentally friendly vehicles with our electric car scheme.
- Access to Medicash Health & Wellbeing Plan: Enjoy health services designed to support your well-being.
- Free DiscountForTeachers Scheme for all staff (Support and Teaching), Exclusive discounts to save money with a wide selection of discounts and exclusive offers from hundreds of the biggest brands.
- Free Eye Tests
- Cycle to work scheme
- Access to our Institute of Education and fantastic opportunities to help you grow, contribute and flourish in your role and in the Trust.
We know our people are the key to our success and so we’re committed to ensuring the employment experience at Shaw Education Trust is a rewarding one.
Colleagues within the Trust benefit from: Access to a full range of courses both in-house and professionally accredited. These courses include all of the National Professional Qualifications – NPQH, NPQSL, NPQEYL, NPQLL, NPQLT, NPQLTD, NPQLBC are all delivered by the Shaw Education Trust as a delivery partner for Ambition Institute. In addition, we provide access to the NPQEL for Executive Leaders.
- Experienced leadership and subject-specific support.
- Guidance from former HMIs and serving Ofsted Inspectors within the Trust.
- Access to the Trust’s Institute of Education and SCITT.
- Opportunities to work with different schools within the Trust as a Professional Advocate.
- Participating in peer reviews.
- Access to a suite of online courses.
- Placement projects within our family of schools.
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.
Additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About The Westleigh School
- School type
- Academy, ages 11 to 16
- Education phase
- Secondary
- School size
- 970 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 16
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- The Westleigh School website
- Email address
- jayne.clarence@shaw-education.org.uk
The Westleigh School is a secondary school providing education to pupils aged 11 to 16, as well as providing an adult education centre to members of the local community.
The school motto of “Aspiring and Achieving Together” accurately captures the shared vision which ensures that leaders at all levels are developing their ability to communicate high expectations.
At The Westleigh School, an unrelenting focus is placed on the quality of teaching above all else so that the pupils are able to grow in a continuously developing learning environment.
School location
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