Vice Principal

St Aldhelm's Academy, Poole, Dorset, BH12 4HS

13 days remaining to apply

• Job start date

  1 September 2026

• Closing date

  11 May 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  23 April 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Deputy headteacher
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £75,049.00 - £82,653.00 Annually (Actual)

Vice Principal job summary

Vice Principal - Whole School Leadership

As Vice Principal, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of the school and securing consistently high standards across all areas of provision. You will work closely with the Principal to ensure that the school’s vision is realised through highly effective leadership, robust systems, and a relentless focus on impact. You will be instrumental in driving sustained improvement, ensuring that all pupils benefit from a high-quality experience and achieve strong outcomes.

Strategic Leadership & Whole-School Impact

• Provide strong, visible leadership that secures the school’s ambitious vision and priorities
• Lead on the design, implementation, and refinement of whole-school systems, ensuring they are embedded securely and applied consistently
• Establish a culture of high expectations, where staff are both supported and held rigorously to account
• Ensure that self-evaluation is accurate, sharply focused, and leads to clear, effective improvement strategies
• Drive sustained school improvement, demonstrating measurable impact on pupils’ experiences and outcomes over time

Quality & Consistency of Provision

• Ensure the delivery of a consistently high-quality and ambitious experience for all pupils
• Secure strong, consistent practice across the school so that pupils build knowledge and understanding effectively over time
• Monitor and evaluate provision through a range of first-hand evidence, ensuring that findings are used to inform strategic action
• Address variation decisively, working with leaders and staff to secure consistently effective practice

Pupil Experience & School Culture

• Ensure a calm, orderly, and purposeful environment is maintained across the school
• Promote consistently positive attitudes to learning, with pupils demonstrating engagement, respect, and pride in their work
• Secure a culture in which pupils feel safe, understand expectations, and contribute positively to the school community
• Oversee opportunities that support pupils’ wider development, preparing them well for their next stage
• Ensure that pupil voice is embedded and informs leadership decisions and school improvement

Systems, Evaluation & Accountability

• Ensure that whole-school systems and routines are clearly defined, consistently implemented, and regularly reviewed for impact
• Use data and a wide range of evidence to identify trends, inform strategic decisions, and evaluate effectiveness
• Hold leaders and staff to account for the quality of provision and outcomes, ensuring actions lead to sustained improvement
• Communicate with clarity and authority, providing both support and challenge to secure high standards
• Ensure the school is fully prepared for external review, with strong evidence of impact across all areas

Who We Are Looking For

You will be:

• An outstanding and experienced leader with a strong track record of securing whole-school improvement
• Able to demonstrate a deep understanding of effective leadership and high-quality provision
• Relentlessly committed to high standards and positive outcomes for all pupils
• A highly effective communicator who builds credibility, trust, and strong professional relationships
• Strategic, resilient, and driven to achieve sustained and meaningful impact

What We Offer

• A committed and ambitious senior leadership team
• A culture of high expectations, accountability, and professional trust
• Significant opportunities for leadership development and progression
• The opportunity to play a key role in shaping the future direction of the school and securing strong outcomes for all pupils

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 St Aldhelm's Academy

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 16
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 841 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 16
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: St Aldhelm's Academy website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/st-aldhelm-s-academy

A mixed comprehensive school with approximately 700 pupils on roll, in years 7 to 11.
Part of Ambitions Academies Trust and located in the beautiful county of Dorset.

School location

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