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Principal
Lift Charles Warren, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK6 3AZ27 days remaining to apply
Start date details
September 2026 (or earlier)
Closing date
8 April 2026 at 1:22pm
Date listed
11 March 2026
Job details
Job role
- Headteacher
Visa sponsorship
- Skilled Worker visas can be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £73105 - £83960 per annum
Principal job summary
Salary: L15-L21, £73,105-£83,960 + Wellbeing Cash Plan + Car Scheme + Pension Scheme (TPS) + Additional Benefits
Start date: September 2026 (or earlier if available)
We are seeking an exceptional Principal to lead Lift Charles Warren into its next phase of development, a school with strong foundations, a committed community, and exciting potential to go further.
This is a rare opportunity to lead a one-form entry primary school with a clear identity, impressive provision, and the capacity to make a profound difference for children and families. The role would suit either a first-time Principal ready for their next step or an experienced Principal looking to lead a school with ambition, space to innovate, and strong trust support.
About Lift Charles Warren
Lift Charles Warren serves a richly diverse community with a high level of disadvantage and inclusion needs. The school has a specialist autism resource base, a highly skilled SEND team, and strong partnerships with the local authority to ensure early and effective intervention.
A unique learning environment
Lift Charles Warren benefits from exceptional facilities and outdoor space, including:
* Extensive grounds with Forest School provision
* A community allotment and wellbeing garden
* Well-equipped libraries and an ambitious art curriculum
* A kitchen area supporting life skills learning
* A podcast studio
* Strong links with Milton Keynes Dons
The school is well resourced, outward-facing, and deeply connected to its community. Parent engagement is strong, with coffee mornings and expert-led sessions supporting families, and a shared commitment to working together for children.
As Principal, you will:
* Lead with clarity, warmth and moral purpose
* Drive precision and targeted teaching and learning, particularly at KS2
* Coach and develop staff to secure consistently strong classroom practice
* Close attainment gaps while maintaining high expectations for all pupils
* Build on excellent personal development and early years provision
* Champion inclusion, wellbeing and mental health through a graduated SEN approach
* Work collaboratively across Lift Schools, never in isolation
You will be supported by a strong central and regional team and benefit from being part of a trust that believes deeply in developing leaders and improving schools together.
We are looking for a leader who:
* Is ready to lead from the front and inspire others
* Has a strong understanding of high-quality teaching and learning
* Is committed to equity and inclusion
* Values coaching, collaboration and continuous improvement
* Sees the potential in every child and every colleague
Who we are
Lift Schools is a network of 58 schools across the country. We are diverse, inclusive and united by a single mission: to deliver an excellent education to every child, in every classroom, every day.
What we offer you
As a Lift Principal, you'll receive sector-leading professional development and wellbeing support, including:
* An individual development account of up to £100,000 over five years
* Unlimited one-to-one executive coaching
* Evidence-informed professional learning opportunities
* A year-long induction programme
* Study tours and immersive CPD experiences
* Professional sabbatical eligibility after five years
* Relocation package available
Who we're looking for
We want leaders who are:
* Self-aware - thriving in high challenge, high support environments.
* Network-minded - committed to improving outcomes across all schools.
* Intellectually curious - eager to use evidence-informed approaches to drive success.
Lift Charles Warren is a school with heart, ambition and opportunity. If you are excited by the chance to lead a community-focused school with space to innovate and the backing of a strong trust, we would love to hear from you.
For an informal, confidential conversation, please contact us.
Closing date: Wednesday 15 April 2026
Interview date: Tuesday 21 April 2026 (Lift Charles Warren) and Wednesday 22 April 2026 (Ed City, London)
Lift Schools are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our people and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair and consistent recruitment process which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.
Lift Schools embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. Job share, part-time and flexible working opportunities will be considered.
We are a Disability Confident Employer and there is a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Lift Schools are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our people and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair and consistent recruitment process which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.
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.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About Lift Charles Warren
- School type
- Academy, ages 4 to 11
- Education phase
- Primary school
- School size
- 191 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 4 to 11
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- Lift Charles Warren website
Thank you for your interest in joining the team here at Lift Charles Warren.
We are very proud and privileged to serve the young people in and around the Milton Keynes area.
In recent years enormous strides have been made to improve progress and attainment and we are very proud that Lift Charles Warren is in the top 1% of all schools for progress and attainment at KS1. Our dedicated teachers and leaders continue to develop a curriculum that inspires and prepares our pupils for their future.
Lift Charles Warren has an exciting future and it is absolutely vital that we attract the right calibre of professional to lead us on our journey to excellence. You will be a colleague who is relentless in their desire to raise standards and improve outcomes; a colleague who is able to enjoy positive, professional relationships with young people, staff and the wider community; and, perhaps most importantly, a colleague who can demonstrate high levels of resilience and emotional intelligence when dealing with complex and sensitive situations.
The Aims of Lift Charles Warren
At Lift Charles Warren we expect the best of everyone. We recognise the transformative power of self-belief, and our children are happy, confident, resilient and self- critical. There are no short cuts and no excuses. We value hard work, determination and ambition, acknowledging and celebrating the variety of ways in which learners can be excellent. We undertake all our work with professionalism, honesty and integrity. A strong moral compass underpins all our work.
We have an inherent belief in the following:
- Everyone is a leader.
- Creating a can-do, solution focused culture.
- Doing it and having impact - make a difference.
- Attention to detail - follow up and follow through.
- Understanding that making mistakes is okay - what’s important is how we learn from them.
- Being outward thinking - adopt a mind-set of restless excellence.
Our Specialism and Awards
We are delighted to have won two National awards from SSAT for progress and Closing the Gap 2015.
We have also been successful in gaining the EYFS Quality Mark and the Quality Mark for the whole school (March 2021)
School location
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