Assistant Principal

Monkton Wood Academy, Taunton, Somerset, TA2 8PD

18 days remaining to apply

• Job start date

  1 January 2027

• Closing date

  13 October 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  25 September 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
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full time equivalent salary: £67,898 - £76,772

Assistant Principal job summary

Job Title: Assistant Principal 

Contract: Permanent

Actual Salary: L12 – L17 (£67,898 - £76,772)

Start Date: January 2027

Are you seeking an assistant leadership role that inspires, transforms, and makes a real difference in education?

Monkton Wood Academy is seeking an individual who will complement and strengthen the existing Senior Leadership Team, while bringing fresh ideas, constructive challenge and a commitment to continuous improvement. The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting colleagues to develop as learners and leaders, enabling them to realise their full potential.

Each academy within the Cabot Learning Federation has its own unique identity, while being part of a wider family of schools. Every academy is a rewarding place to work and learn, with an important role to play within its local educational landscape, its cluster and the wider Federation.

The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong drive and passion for leadership, with the ambition and determination to accelerate improvement across the academy. You will have a proven track record of success and bring a high level of focus, precision and professional rigour to the role, making a significant and sustained contribution to the academy's future development.

At the heart of this improvement will be an unwavering focus on high quality teaching and learning, alongside a strong commitment to collaboration both within Monkton Wood Academy and across the Cabot Learning Federation.

The Cabot Learning Federation has an established track record of delivering strong performance across its academies. As Assistant Principal, you will have the opportunity to make a genuine and lasting difference to the lives of students, helping to raise their aspirations, improve their educational experiences and enhance their future life chances.

Working within the Federation, you will benefit from excellent peer support from colleagues undertaking similar leadership roles, as well as extensive opportunities for continued professional development. You can expect to work within a supportive and ambitious environment that combines encouragement with positive challenge, enabling you to succeed in your role and develop your leadership further.

In the longer term, the Federation also provides opportunities for continued career progression and leadership development across its academies.

About Monkton Wood Academy:

Monkton Wood Academy is an 11-18 school located in Monkton Heathfield, near Taunton. We are currently going through a period of change and rapid improvement as we seek to make Monkton Wood a place of academic excellence, where children can progress and thrive. We are developing a culture of high expectations and mutual respect, where students and staff can be successful in our roles and become the best possible version of ourselves. 

Monkton Wood has long been proud of its strong connections with the local community; our parents and our partners at the Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre are highly engaged in school life. It is incredibly important to us that our students develop a strong sense of belonging and confidence in their own ability to achieve well and to go on to serve their community.

Why CLF?

We are a diverse and inclusive community of 37 academies across five cluster regions in the South West that is committed to excellence and making a positive impact. Our people bring unique perspectives, but we’re all driven by a shared moral purpose and a passion for making a positive impact, whether in a teaching, leadership or support role. We’re proud to foster a culture where everyone can thrive, feel valued, and make a meaningful difference to the lives of others.

We are an equal opportunity employer and proud to serve a diverse student population and our communities. We strongly believe that representation matters. We particularly encourage applicants from those groups in order to represent the students we serve, as well as wider underrepresented groups including gender, transgender, age disability, sexual orientation or religion.

What we can offer you: 

• Access to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. 

• Comprehensive induction and ongoing support for career development and wellbeing.  

• Sector-leading professional development entitlement and opportunities. 

• Collaboration with colleagues across the trust through subject communities and specialist networks. 

• Shared CLF curriculum, written and curated by trust experts, reducing individual teacher workload.   

• Career enhancing and progression opportunities within the trust and through the CLF Institute. 

• A collaborative culture which supports workload. 

• Well-being support through an Employee Assistance Programme. 

• Health benefits, including wellness sessions, gym discounts, and flu jabs. 

• A range of generous family leave options, including above industry average occupational maternity pay. 

• Additional benefits like cycle to work scheme, on-site parking and many more! 

Recruitment timeline:

Academy Tours*: w/c 28 September 2026

Closing date: 13 October 2026 @ 11.59pm

Shortlisting date: 14 October 2026 

Interviews**: 20 & 21 October 2026

*We welcome visits from potential candidates. If you would like to arrange a school visit prior to the closing date, please contact our Senior Operations Manager, Clare Ousley at Monkton Wood Academy – clare.ousley@ clf.uk 

**This is a two-day process (a first full assessment day, with the final interview on day two).

How to apply:

Please complete a full application form via the Eteach website. As part of our commitment to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), we do not accept CVs – a full education and employment history must be provided through the application form.  

Please note: there is a requirement on page 24 of the Candidate Information Pack for you to include requested information within the Supporting Statement section of the application form. This information will be reviewed during short-listing, as part of your application for this role. The Supporting Statement section does not allow anything over an 8,000-character limit - this is equivalent to 2/3 pages of text in Word, depending on spacing/formatting used. The application form will highlight how many characters you have used/if you reach the limit.

Please also note that updates regarding an application, which could include an invite to interview, will be sent to the email address used when registering an account. 

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer, we are dedicated to equity and inclusion and commit to interviewing applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria. We aim to provide an inclusive and accessible recruitment process, and support employees throughout their employment. If you have a disability, are neurodivergent, or require any adjustments to support you through the application or interview process please let us know how we can assist.

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

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 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 Monkton Wood Academy

• Organisation type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• Size: 1267 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• Website: Monkton Wood Academy website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/heathfield-community-school-taunton

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