Deputy Headteacher

Sandhills Community Primary School, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX3 8FN

19 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  1 September 2026

• Closing date

  13 April 2026 at 6pm

• Date listed

  6 March 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Deputy headteacher
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £54,394.00 - £61,534.00 Annually (FTE) Leadership Scale L3-L8

Deputy Headteacher job summary

Sandhills Primary School is seeking a skilled, knowledgeable and passionate educator to be our new Deputy Headteacher. Leading on curriculum, assessment and personal development, the successful candidate will be a highly motivated professional with a proven track record of implementing change and an unwavering commitment to securing the best possible outcomes for every child.

Working in close partnership with the Headteacher, you will be a driving force in our journey toward excellence, providing the energetic leadership our staff and pupils deserve. If you bring infectious enthusiasm and the resilience to lead through the complexities of school improvement, we want to hear from you.

We are seeking an enthusiastic leader who:

• Is an excellent classroom practitioner

• Is a dedicated professional with a track record of driving change

• Will promote and develop high-quality teaching and learning across the school

• Has a vision and passion for ensuring the best outcomes for all pupils through excellent primary education

• Has the proven ability to provide strategic leadership to drive school improvement

• Can develop positive working relationships so that they can lead and support all staff in achieving the priorities and targets set

• Can develop and maintain strategic oversight of curriculum, assessment and personal development

• Possesses the skills to thrive and evolve in a senior leadership position

• Is ready for a new and exciting progression in their career

What Sandhills Offers You:

• Autonomy to create a role that really makes a difference

• A good school that is continuing its journey of improvement

• Pupils who are happy, confident and love to learn

• Colleagues who really believe in the direction of the school and maximising the chances of everyone in it

• A sharp focus on colleague wellbeing, with workload considerations at the heart of all decision making

• An excellent programme of leadership CPLD

• The opportunity to be part of a supportive Trust with network links and colleagues across a variety of school contexts

About Our School

Sandhills Community Primary School is a friendly and welcoming school, serving a diverse and vibrant community on the outskirts of Oxford city centre. Through a focus on our values of Respect, Relationships, Responsibility and Resilience, we encourage everyone in our school community to work hard and care for each other. By creating a positive learning environment and delivering an engaging curriculum, we aim to provide the conditions in which all our pupils can succeed, both academically and as citizens of the future.

Sandhills has a hard-working, supportive and friendly team of staff. Our pupils are curious and enthusiastic to learn. They are proud of their school and enjoy being part of this welcoming community. Sandhills offers a fantastic working environment with great indoor and outdoor facilities including a large sports field, an amphitheatre and extensive wild area. Our school community extends to highly supportive families, Governing Body and PTA.

Sandhills is also part of an extensive professional network across the River Learning Trust, which encourages collaboration, research and learning for all pupils, teachers and parents in the school community.

The River Learning Trust (RLT) — Why work with us?

You will benefit from being part of the River Learning Trust and a wider support and learning network across the county of Oxfordshire. Our vision is for our schools to improve rapidly, continuously, and sustainably: to be better faster together.

River Learning Trust's commitment is underpinned by three core principles:

• Commitment to Excellence: Striving for the best educational experience through continuous improvement.

• Everyone Learning: Creating and taking opportunities that enhance lives through evidence-based practice supporting adult and pupil learning.

• Respectful Relationships: Acting with care, integrity, and fairness in all we do.

Education has the power to change lives, communities and society for the better. At RLT we believe that we can achieve more for our pupils, trainees, staff and communities by working together rather than alone. Schools in RLT are united by a common belief in the benefits of working together, and by our commitment to shared principles.

OUR VISION is for our schools and SCITT to improve rapidly, continuously and sustainably: to be better faster together.

OUR ‘WHY?’ is that children and young people ‘only get one go’ in school and therefore as part of RLT we aim to ensure the best possible ‘go’ for our pupils.

OUR ‘HOW?’ is through the highest support and challenge for our schools and each other, underpinned by our principles.

Our employees benefit from a wide variety of support including extensive continuing professional learning and development opportunities, wellbeing and staff networks and access to Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (TPS and LGPS) for all staff. For more information on what it is like to work for the Trust, and the benefits you could access, please see our “Working in RLT” guide.

This role includes regulated activity relevant to children.

We strongly encourage potential candidates to visit our school. To arrange a visit or to request a confidential conversation about the role with our Headteacher, please contact our School Business Manager, Karen Crouch at kcrouch@sandhillsprimary.org or telephone 01865 648690.

The River Learning Trust and Sandhills Community Primary School are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and preventing extremism. The Trust is required to conduct a variety of checks and online searches about you as part of their recruitment process in accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. It is an offence to apply for certain roles within schools if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children. Please see our website for up to date policies including our Child Protection and Behaviour Policies.

The school reserves the right to consider and interview candidates ahead of the closing date if appropriate. An offer may be made to an exceptional candidate in this instance.

For all RLT Safer Recruitment Documentation candidates should click on the following link RLT Safer Recruitment Documents for Candidates

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. For further guidance for applicants click on the this link List of offences that are not filtered

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 Sandhills Community Primary School

• School type: Academy, ages 3 to 11
• Education phase: Primary school
• School size: 217 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 3 to 11
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Sandhills Community Primary School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/sandhills-community-primary-school-oxford

Sandhills Community Primary School is an inclusive school serving several vibrant and diverse communities on the outskirts of Oxford. There are currently 228 students at the school. We offer our children an ambitious curriculum, based around our core values of Respect, Relationships, Responsibility and Resilience, to ensure that all children have the opportunity to achieve their potential both academically and as citizens of the future. The school has recently been rated “Good” by Ofstead in October 2022.
Sandhills Community Primary School is part of the River Learning Trust, which presents opportunities for leaders and staff to work collaboratively and efficiently together between schools in the community. There is an extensive professional network across the Trust which supports and enhances collaboration, research and learning opportunities for pupils, staff and parents.

School location

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