Personal Assistant to the Headteacher

Old Buckenham High School, Attleborough, Norfolk, NR17 1RL

26 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  January 2027

• Closing date

  9 November 2026 at 12am (midnight)

• Date listed

  14 October 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Administration, HR, data and finance
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full time equivalent salary: £28,028 - £30,470 actual pa

Personal Assistant to the Headteacher job summary

Part of the Sapientia Education Trust

• Salary - Support Staff SCP18-22, £28,028 - £30,470 actual pa (£32,578 – £34,811 FTE)
• Permanent
• Full Time
• 37 hours per week
• Term Time plus 1 week
• Required January 2027

Old Buckenham High School is a small yet vibrant school situated in the heart of the beautiful Norfolk countryside. With an idyllic rural location, we are less than 30 minutes’ drive from Norwich, offering the perfect balance of peaceful surroundings and easy access to the city.

Currently, we have around 500 students aged between 11 and 16 years. Our vision is to provide an inspiring, challenging, and inclusive learning environment, driven by high-quality, evidence-based teaching. We hold traditional values and are incredibly proud of our excellent pastoral care, guidance, and support, ensuring all students feel valued and nurtured.

At Old Buckenham High School, we are passionate about creating a strong, positive community ethos, where mutual respect and high standards are at the core of everything we do. We aim to develop brilliant young people who are hardworking, respectful, and committed to contributing to the community around them. As a school on an exciting journey of improvement, we are building on our previous successes. Our most recent inspection praised us with a ‘Good’ rating across all aspects, and we are determined to continue building on this strong foundation.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a highly organised, proactive and professional individual to join our school as Personal Assistant to the Headteacher. This is a varied and influential role that combines high-level administrative and secretarial support.

The successful candidate will provide exceptional support to the Headteacher, helping to ensure the smooth and efficient running of the school. They will coordinate daily staff cover arrangements, oversee key administrative processes, and act as a key point of contact for staff, parents/carers, the Trust and external agencies.

The role requires outstanding organisational and communication skills, absolute discretion, strong attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced school environment. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated individual who enjoys taking ownership, working collaboratively and making a significant contribution to the life of a successful and supportive school community.

How to apply

A job description is available from ‘Attachments’.

For this vacancy, if you click on the ‘Apply for Job’ button, you will be redirected to our Trust’s website to apply via our online application form together with a supporting letter of no more than 800 words, detailing how your experience equips you for the role. 

CVs will not be accepted.

Closing date:  9 November 2026

Interview date: w/c  16 November 2026

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, therefore all applicants must be prepared to undergo a number of checks to confirm their suitability to work with children and young people. The Trust welcomes applications from all sectors of the community. In accordance with the Department of Education’s “Keeping Children Safe in Education”, references will be sought on all short-listed candidates before interview.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and you will be required to undergo an Enhanced DBS check or Enhanced DBS check with barred list. If you have information to declare it may be protected under the Exceptions Orders and you may not be required to declare it. You will be asked to make a criminal conviction declaration if you are shortlisted for the post. Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice website.

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 Old Buckenham High School

• Organisation type: Academy, ages 11 to 16
• Education phase: Secondary school
• Size: 501 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 16
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• Website: Old Buckenham High School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/old-buckenham-high-school

Old Buckenham High School is a small/medium-sized high school set in the heart of the beautiful Norfolk countryside. We currently have around 495 students aged between 11 and 16 years, boys and girls. In each of our years we have either three or four tutor groups with an average of 24 students in each.

Students are assigned a ‘house’ when they start; Turing, Rashford, Malala, Attenborough. Students in each house compete in various interhouse competitions, including music and sports, and students are mentored by older students in their own house or paired with a literacy assistant to support their reading or a numeracy assistant for maths.

Our leadership group consists of a headteacher, a deputy headteacher and two assistant headteachers. We also have key stage leaders for the two key stages who oversee all students, from years 7 to 11.

We have curriculum leaders and subject teachers in the following subject areas; English, Maths, Science, Design & Technology, Expressive Arts, Geography, History, Modern Foreign Languages, Physical Education and Personal Development.

School location

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