Leading Practitioner
Ridgeway Primary School, South Croydon, Surrey, CR2 0EQ10 days remaining to apply
Earliest start date
1 September 2025
Latest start date
1 January 2026
Closing date
16 June 2025 at 9am
Date listed
3 June 2025
Job details
Job role
- Teacher
- Head of year or phase
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Key stage
- Key stage 1, Key stage 2
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- Leadership 2-6
What skills and experience we're looking for
Role of the Leading Practitioner:
To be an outstanding teacher and to model and lead improvement of teaching skills across the school.
To lead, develop and support effective teaching and learning to ensure all children maximise their potential and achieve the highest possible outcomes, in line with the school’s expectations.
To improve the standards of pupil progress and attainment and ensure that improvements are maintained.
This is a class-based role with a regular leadership commitment.
This role will begin as the Leading Practitioner in either KS1 or Lower KS2, but has the flexibility to move to lead in other phases within the school.
Responsible to: Headteachers
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership:
The Leading Practitioner will be expected to:
3. Work effectively with colleagues at all levels, acting as a key link in supporting the HST (Headship Team) and SLT, to help develop and implement new policies and practice across the school that will underpin and drive school improvement.
4. Work with the HST, SENCO, other Leading Practitioner colleagues and teachers to identify and address areas requiring improvement, using the outcomes of formative and summative assessment, including data analysis, as appropriate.
5. Promote collective responsibility for the development and implementation of policies and practice.
6. Introduce and deliver new initiatives and support others to integrate recent developments.
9. Support the development of high achieving learning environments which support and foster the achievement of all pupils.
10. Play a leading role in promoting the school’s culture and ethos and be a positive role model.
Delivering Teaching and Learning
The Leading Practitioner will be expected to:
12. Be responsible for the teaching and learning of pupils in an allocated class, and to teach other classes as appropriate.
13. Keep up to date with subject knowledge, research and outstanding pedagogic practice.
14. Exceed the Teachers’ Standards as set out by the DfE.
15. Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils, providing pupils with detailed guidance on how they can improve their learning, particularly through assessment for learning.
16. Promote excellent outcomes by pupils, monitoring data closely and targeting children with individualised support, to ensure that the majority make very good progress.
17. Demonstrate excellent subject and curriculum knowledge, using subject-specific language accurately and consistently to help pupils develop knowledge and skills in the subject.
18. Plan and teach well-structured, imaginative, purposeful lessons, reflecting on the impact and creatively adapting future learning to fully meet the needs of individual children.
19. Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils, making use of in-depth, challenging questioning to enhance pupils’ progress.
20. Make accurate and productive use of assessment, including: assessment for learning; a secure understanding of statutory assessment requirements and age related expectations; use of data analysis; moderating judgements with professional colleagues from Ridgeway and other schools.
21. Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a positive, high-achieving and safe learning environment.
22. Fulfil wider professional responsibilities, including: taking responsibility for their professional development and that of others; working collaboratively with colleagues on a daily basis; ensuring effective, timely communication with parents; seeking opportunities to contribute to the wider life and ethos of the school.
Improving Teaching and Learning:
The Leading Practitioner will be expected to:
23. Oversee standards in a phase group, monitoring and supporting colleagues.
24. Be able to make sound judgements of standards of teaching and give constructive feedback and advice to colleagues.
25. Provide practical support for teachers that enables them to improve their teaching skills, resulting in positive impact on pupil progress and attainment (e.g. by modelling aspirational teaching, team teaching, observing lessons and advising teachers how to improve the quality of their teaching, including resourcing).
26. Contribute to the professional development of colleagues using a broad range of techniques and skills (e.g. leading training sessions, coaching and mentoring, demonstrating enhanced and effective practice, and effectively providing advice and feedback).
27. Observe teaching and learning in practice and analyse children’s outcomes, highlighting strengths and giving suggestions for improvement.
28. Take a lead in planning with colleagues in order to promote effective practice.
29. Evaluate the learning environment and support colleagues in developing an engaging and interactive environment that promotes learning for all.
30. Advise teachers on the effective deployment of additional adults in the classroom for the best impact on pupil outcomes.
31. Support colleagues in providing pupils, parents and carers with timely, accurate and constructive feedback on attainment, progress and areas for development.
32. Advise colleagues on the use of assessment for learning and its impact on pupil progress.
33. Provide advice to colleagues on the development and wellbeing of pupils.
34. Inform and extend own practice, and that of colleagues, through action research, drawing on research outcomes and other sources of external evidence.
35. Support colleagues to understand school, local and national statistical data as a basis for improving teaching and learning.
36. Support the induction of teachers, ECTs and trainees.
37. Provide support to teachers who are experiencing difficulties in performance, including those being supported through a support programme or going through a capability process.
38. Take an active role in driving school improvement, including taking responsibility for an area of the School Development Plan.
Other responsibilities:
The Leading Practitioner will be expected to:
39. Carry out such other duties as may reasonably be required from time to time to meet the evolving needs of the school.
40. To undertake outreach work in other settings and locations as required.
What the school offers its staff
We offer:
- High morale and an atmosphere of trust and respect where quality relationships are at the heart of what we do, to enable everyone to feel safe, valued and happy here.
- Motivated, independent learners who are full of ideas and questions and enjoy being challenged so that they can achieve well across our creative curriculum and in life.
- We aim for our children to become the innovators who will go on to shape our world positively in the future, and with this in mind, we equip them with the necessary life skills and develop their social responsibility.
- A well-planned, broad, balanced, and inspiring curriculum which develops the whole child.
- All practitioners are encouraged to be creative, collaborative, responsible, resilient and reflective in everything they do.
- Ridgeway is a stimulating and supportive environment for all staff, where diversity is valued and celebrated and where everyone is a learner.
- A supportive community where close home-school partnership is a key feature.
- A stimulating school environment where everyone: is a learner; talks about pedagogy and research; and regularly reflects on their own practice and that of others.
- Excellent CPD and distributed leadership opportunities with a clear focus on pedagogy, research, training and development.
- Quality teaching assistant support which positively impacts on our learners.
- Excellent systems to manage teachers’ workload and well-being including: planning, preparation and assessment alongside year group partners; verbal feedback policy; minimal paperwork; and a focus on working hard on the things that make a real difference to children.
Further details about the role
We are seeking a highly motivated, enthusiastic, outstanding teacher, with expert knowledge and understanding of KS1 and/or lower KS2, to take on the role of Leading Practitioner at Ridgeway.
This is a demanding and exciting leadership role, requiring excellent collaborative and organisational skills. The successful candidate will be innovative and flexible in their approach, able to think creatively, problem solve, use initiative and take responsibility. They will be able to demonstrate an infectious enthusiasm for working with children.
Candidates should be able to demonstrate excellence in primary age teaching, including in KS1 and/or lower KS2 and will have a sustained history of improving teaching and learning beyond their own classroom. They will possess an excellent understanding of the components that comprise outstanding teaching and learning and be able to apply and promote our teaching and learning policy and approach to all stakeholders.
As part of the Senior Leadership Team, the Leading Practitioner will act as a role model, promoting our ethos, values and approach and holding high expectations of themselves and others. They will promote diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of the role. Initially, they will have the strategic overview of their phase and its development at Ridgeway and will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of KS1 or lower KS2 (with the scope to lead other phases in the future). They will lead, develop and support the improvement of teaching skills in the phase and across the school, and work as a team to ensure all children maximise their potential, make excellent progress and achieve the highest possible outcomes. They will be committed to safeguarding children and have a good understanding of safeguarding policy and procedures and be able to put this into practice.
This is a class-based role with a regular in-school leadership time.
Commitment to safeguarding
Ridgeway Primary School and Nursery is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children. This post is subject to a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check and references. Promoting equality and diversity.
Applying for the job
Please download the application form using the link below, and once completed send to office@ridgeway.croydon.sch.uk
CVs are not accepted.
Upload additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About Ridgeway Primary School
- School type
- Local authority maintained school, ages 3 to 11
- Education phase
- Primary
- School size
- 649 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 3 to 11
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- Ridgeway Primary School website
- Email address
- office@ridgeway.croydon.sch.uk
- Phone number
- 02086578063
We are delighted to welcome you to our nurturing school where children are at the heart of everything we do. From our strategic decision-making through to teaching and learning, we strive to fulfil our ethos of nurturing every child for lifelong success.
At Ridgeway, staff prioritise getting to know each individual child and building strong relationships with every family, so that children are fully included and well-supported both academically and pastorally. We offer a rich and deep curriculum, which develops a wide range of skills, knowledge and interests in our children and gives them the tools needed to be happy and successful in life.
Arranging a visit to Ridgeway Primary School
To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email office@ridgeway.croydon.sch.uk.
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