Headteacher
Webheath Academy Primary School, Redditch, Worcestershire, B97 5RJ9 days remaining to apply
Job start date
28 April 2025
Closing date
24 January 2025 at 9am
Date listed
14 January 2025
Job details
Job role
- Headteacher
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Key stage
- Early years, Key stage 1, Key stage 2
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- L18-L24
What skills and experience we're looking for
Main purpose
The headteacher will:
- Ensure a culture of effective safeguarding within the school, providing a safe, secure environment where all pupils can thrive.
- Establish and sustain the school’s ethos and strategic direction together with the governing board and through consultation with the school community, supported by the CEO.
- Establish and oversee systems, processes and policies so the school can operate effectively.
- Identify problems and barriers to school effectiveness and develop strategies for school improvement that are realistic, timely and suited to the school’s context.
- Make sure these school improvement strategies are implemented effectively.
- Monitor progress towards achieving the school’s aims and objectives.
- Allocate financial resources appropriately, efficiently and effectively working within a dedicated school budget, supported by a dedicated finance manager and central Team.
- Ensure effective, collaborative relationships contribute to rapid progress within the school.
- Contribute as required, to wider Trust priorities in collaboration with other Trust senior leaders.
Qualities
The headteacher will:
- Uphold public trust in school leadership and maintain high standards of ethics, behaviour and professional conduct.
- Uphold and demonstrate the Seven principles of Public Life.
- Build positive and respectful relationships across the school community.
- Serve in the best interests of the school’s pupils and promote wellbeing across the workforce.
- Engage in positive and proactive relationships to ensure the success of the Shires MAT.
Duties and responsibilities
School culture and behaviour
The headteacher will:
- Create a culture where pupils experience a positive and enriching school life and make the most of opportunities presented.
- Uphold educational standards to prepare pupils from all backgrounds for their next phase of education and life.
- Ensure a culture of staff professionalism.
- Encourage high standards of behaviour from pupils, built on rules and routines that are understood by staff and pupils and clearly demonstrated by all adults in school.
- Use supportive, consistent and fair approaches to managing behaviour, in line with the school’s behaviour policy
- Ensure a culture of high staff professionalism.
- Ensure all safeguarding systems and processes are robust and underpin an excellent provision.
School Improvement
The headteacher will:
- Make use of effective and proportional processes of evaluation to identify and analyse complex or persistent problems and barriers that limit school effectiveness and identify priority areas for improvement.
- Develop appropriate evidence-informed strategies for improvement as part of well-targeted plans that are realistic, timely, appropriately sequenced and suited to the school’s context.
- Ensure careful and effective implementation of improvement strategies, which lead to sustained school improvement over time.
- Work effectively within the Trust school improvement team to ensure an evidence based, triangulated approach to school needs and strengths.
Teaching, curriculum and assessment
The headteacher will:
- Establish and sustain high-quality teaching across all subjects and phases, using evidence-based research and practice.
- Ensure teaching is underpinned by subject expertise.
- Effectively use formative assessment to inform strategy and decisions.
- Ensure the teaching of a broad, structured and coherent curriculum that is well sequenced and clearly communicated to all stakeholders.
- Establish curriculum leadership, including phase and subject leaders with relevant expertise and access to professional networks and communities, providing them with challenge and opportunities for professional development and growth.
- Use valid, reliable and proportionate approaches to assessing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the curriculum.
- Ensure the use of evidence-informed approaches to reading so that all pupils can develop their reading (Including phonics).
- Ensure pupils experience a wide range of opportunities within and beyond the school curriculum to develop and promote ambition, confidence, cultural capital and belonging.
- Support alignment of provision within the MAT where pupil experiences and progress will be enhanced.
Additional and special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities
The headteacher will:
- Promote a culture and practices that enables all pupils to access the curriculum and learn effectively.
- Have ambitious expectations for all pupils with SEN and disabilities.
- Make sure the school works effectively with parents, carers, professionals and Trust leads to identify additional needs and provide support and adaptation where appropriate.
- Make sure the school fulfils statutory duties regarding the SEND Code of Practice.
Managing the school
The headteacher will:
- Ensure staff and pupil safety and welfare through effective approaches to safeguarding, as part of duty of care.
- Manage staff well, with due attention to wellbeing and workload.
- Ensure rigorous approaches to identifying, managing and mitigating risk using Trust mechanisms to support compliance and the safety of all
- Work closely with the CEO, CFO and wider MAT team to ensure effective systems linked to site, catering, finance, risk management and contracts.
Professional development
The headteacher will:
- Ensure staff have access to appropriate, high standard professional development opportunities linked to whole school, MAT, and individual priorities.
- Keep up to date with developments in education and model continual development to staff.
- Seek training and continuing professional development to meet needs and support further leadership development.
- Ensure that professional development opportunities draw on expert provision from beyond the school, as well as within it, including nationally recognised career and professional frameworks and programmes to build capacity and support succession planning.
Governance, accountability and working in partnership
The headteacher will:
- Understand and welcome the role of effective governance, including accepting responsibility and working as part of a governance structure including Local Governing Committees and the wider Trust Board.
- Ensure that staff understand their professional responsibilities and are held to account.
- Ensure the school effectively and efficiently operates within the required regulatory frameworks and meets all statutory duties.
- Work successfully with other schools and organisations.
- Maintain working relationships with fellow professionals and colleagues to improve educational outcomes for all pupils.
- Promote collaborations within the Trust.
- Establish and maintain working relationships with fellow professionals and colleagues across other public services to improve educational outcomes for all pupils.
Other areas of responsibility
Please note that this is illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of the role. It is not a comprehensive list of all tasks that the headteacher will carry out. The post holder may be required to do other duties appropriate to the level of the role.
Headteachers are a fundamental part of the Shires MAT leadership structure and are expected to support and contribute to MAT developments and priorities as part of that team.
What the school offers its staff
Shires MAT is a small MAT with high ambition to grow and develop as a regional organisation where excellent practice and motivated staff support a caring and high performing environment for all within the Trust.
Our schools are performing well overall but there is more to be done to meet our ambitious 2030 goals linked to outcomes, finances, reputation and sustainability.
Our approach is based around core systems of alignment for aspects such as finance, Safeguarding, SEND, Compliance and IT, combined with autonomy for school leaders to develop in school systems and practices to promote an excellent education. This means we need to recruit headteachers with the ability to work collaboratively as part of a wider Shires leadership team but also the experience to guide, develop and deliver a school ethos and vision and promote excellent outcomes and experiences for pupils.
Opportunity is very important to the Shires MAT, not only does the MAT promote and encourage cross school interactions and opportunities for pupils but each school also has a diverse and impactful array of experiences available for all pupils. Each school within Shires is working towards ever closer relationships and interactions within the communities they serve, developing as ‘anchor’ institutions.
If you are someone who values community and understands the benefit of opportunity for all, regardless of background or starting points, and you have a passion for ensuring every pupil and every member of staff should be supported to learn and grow and develop as individuals, then Shires MAT is a place where you could thrive.
This versatility and understanding is important to us and we recognise that to employ and retain high calibre people who will support our Trust vision, always promote high quality provision and have the diligence to always develop and improve both self and others, we need to offer a fantastic place to work with the right culture and additional benefits.
The headteacher group across the trust is supportive and you will find a welcoming and inspirational environment in which to grow as a headteacher. Central staff often make visits to various schools and are also made to feel welcome and part of the wider trust team of over 400 staff. The central team has grown over the past three years to incorporate a chief finance officer, a finance team, a chief operations officer and chief executive officer.
The centralised offer for primary schools is also being expanded with Estates, HR and school relationship managers about to be recruited. This team works closely with staff in each school to help deliver great experiences and opportunities for both staff and pupils.
As we continue to expand our offer, we need to recruit dynamic, forward-thinking people with the skill set and ability to add value to our successful organisation.
We provide high quality CPD (through online platforms or separate courses/events) to enable staff to develop their practice, skills and expertise in their role.
All staff are enrolled into the generous LGPS or TPS schemes with employer contribution rates in excess of 20%. There really are excellent pension options within the Trust.
All staff benefit from;
• Salary sacrifice schemes electric vehicles (some restrictions on use)
• Bike to work scheme
• Free flu jabs
• Employee assistance programme
• Access to mental health first aiders
• Wider development programmes and CPD opportunities
We have an excellent track record of developing staff to take on greater responsibility and build their career.
In the past three years, ten new roles have been created within the trust, and with projected growth in 2025, further opportunities for school leaders will be available. In terms of opportunities for headteachers, it is highly likely we will be expanding to eight-ten primary schools within the next twelve months, so opportunities for wider leadership are on the horizon within Shires.
Whether you are an experienced deputy looking for your first headship or an experienced headteacher looking for further challenge and development we have an environment where you will be supported, mentored and coached to achieve your ambitions.
Commitment to safeguarding
Shires Multi Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. In accordance with our statutory obligations under KCSiE, Shires MAT is required to conduct an online search as part of our due diligence on appointed candidates. This may help identify any incidents or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online, which we might want to explore with you.
Applying for the job
Apply for the job by following the link below.
CVs are not accepted.
Upload additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About Webheath Academy Primary School
- School type
- Academy, ages 3 to 11
- Education phase
- Primary
- School size
- 433 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 3 to 11
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report (opens in new tab)
- Email address
- scookes@shiresmat.org.uk
- Phone number
- 01527544820
We are delighted that Ofsted judged us as a ‘Good School’ in February 2020
Webheath is a two-form entry primary school with nursery provision. We have extensive outside learning space, well-resourced classrooms and a strong staff team who all work together in partnership to ensure the best outcomes for children.
Webheath offers:
· very well behaved and motivated children who are willing to learn;
· the support of a positive, good and hard-working staff team;
· a well-resourced, vibrant school;
· a creative curriculum and
· a range of opportunities for professional development across our Trust of schools
Arranging a visit to Webheath Academy Primary School
To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email scookes@shiresmat.org.uk.
School location
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