Headteacher Application Pack

Fen Drayton Primary SchoolCootes LaneFen DraytonCambridge CB24 4SL

www.fendraytonprimary.co.ukfacebook.com/fendraytonprimaryschool

356667789

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Contents

A Letter from the Headteacher......................................................................................A Letter from the Chair of Governors............................................................................Our School.................................................................................................................... Overview............................................................................................................ Staff Team.......................................................................................................... Curriculum.......................................................................................................... Inclusive Environment........................................................................................ Further Information............................................................................................Vision and Values.........................................................................................................Achievement and Progress......................................................................................... Key Stage Two: at expected levels or above standard.................................... Key Stage Two: greater depth.......................................................................... Key Stage One: at expected levels or above standard.................................... Key Stage One: greater depth......................................................................... EYFS: good level of development.................................................................... Year One: phonics screening test....................................................................School Development Priorities...................................................................................Extra-Curricular Activities...........................................................................................School Statistics......................................................................................................... Overview........................................................................................................... Staffing Structure.............................................................................................. Class Structure................................................................................................. Local Networks................................................................................................. Financial Position............................................................................................. Parents and Teachers Association and Fen Drayton 10k Race.......................Pupil Voice..................................................................................................................Views from Our Staff...................................................................................................Views from Ofsted.......................................................................................................Looking Ahead............................................................................................................School Premises.........................................................................................................Local Context..............................................................................................................The Appointment Process.......................................................................................... Timeline........................................................................................................... Applications..................................................................................................... Interview Process............................................................................................Headteacher Job Description.....................................................................................Person Specification...................................................................................................Support For Newly Appointed Primary School Headteachers....................................

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A Letter from the Headteacher

Dear Applicant,

Welcome to Fen Drayton Primary School. This is a small and very welcoming school with an experienced group of staff, friendly children, and supportive parents and governors. I hope you will decide to make an application as there is no better place to start or develop your career as a headteacher.

I have been head of this wonderful little school for six years and will be sorry to move on. There are challenges ahead, as there are for all small schools, but the whole community is dedicated and determined and wholly behind the leadership and staff.

The staff are a great team and very experienced. We have expertise in almost every area of the curriculum, despite being few in number. They are creative and hardworking and enjoy getting together as a whole school to share special days, trips out and working on cross-age group projects. The headteacher is very much one among equals as we work together to make decisions about the future of the school and share out the tasks which need to be done.

The children are enthusiastic, polite and ready to learn. We have 5 Rs in our school: responsibility, resilience, resourcefulness, readiness and reflectiveness. The children use these to help them become better learners. As they arrive in school in a small group, they settle in very quickly with the help of their Year 6 and Year 1 buddies. Each child grows in confidence and capability as they progress through the four classes. By the time they reach Year 6, they are a tight-knit team who are eager to take on the responsibilities of being at the top of the school, working with their class teacher to prepare for the transition to secondary school. There are various ‘rites of passage’ which the children look forward to as they move into each new class, but are open to new ideas and changes.

Our Governing Body is strong and active. It consists of a mixture of experienced and new members, parents and community members and has robust, effective processes and structures. Our current chair, Philippa, is highly supportive and keen to ensure strong succession so that the Governing Body goes from strength to strength into the future. I have always found the governors to be empathetic but challenging and a very dedicated group of people.

We have a committed and supportive parent body. Most of our families live in Fen Drayton, but there are a few who come in from nearby villages. They have chosen the school because they value its family feel and friendly ethos and are committed to supporting it. Slow to grumble and quick to praise, they always come along to events and support the school’s efforts. We have an active PTA which raises around £4000 per year and provides social events for the children as well as fundraising events for the school.

We are committed to an integrated curriculum. We believe that learning needs to make sense to children, so our termly plans are built around topics which are either history or geography-based. Our literacy and arts lessons use the topic as context as we develop the

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A Letter from the Headteacher

subject-specific skills for each year group. Maths, science and other subjects are taught separately where they do not link naturally to the topic, but we are conscious that we need to build sequentially on the children’s learning. We have always been committed to providing the full range of curriculum subjects from Year 1 to Year 6, so have not needed to make significant changes in the light of the new Ofsted framework. Each of our teachers and level 4 TAs has responsibility for at least one curriculum subject, and we are developing assessments and monitoring structures for them.

Special days are a highly-prized feature of our curriculum offer. Once or twice a half term, a member of staff takes responsibility for organising a subject-based day of learning for the whole school, such as science day or creative day. Some coincide with national days, such as World Book Day, while others are spread over a longer period, such as computing week or personal safety week. The children love these changes to our usual routine and look forward to each one eagerly.

One of our best features is that the size of our school means that each of the staff gets to know all of the children very well. This creates a family-style atmosphere which ensures that children feel safe and happy, and staff feel engaged and included. I have really enjoyed being part of it and am sure you will too.

Regards,

Claire TurnerHeadteacher

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A Letter from the Chair of Governors

Dear Candidate,

Thank you for expressing an interest in the role of headteacher. Fen Drayton Primary School is a small school which plays a big part in the lives of our local community. We are proud of many aspects of our school, but we’re particularly proud of our dedicated and experienced staff who lead a broad and varied curriculum, ensuring we get the best out of every child. From the very start of our pupils’ time in reception to the end of Year 6 we see children grow in confidence and ability, ready to take on the next chapter of their education.

We have been fortunate to have had the stability of a headteacher in post for six years. Claire’s leadership has been greatly valued and appreciated, as has the expertise she has brought in teaching science. She leaves a legacy of strong educational values and sound management on which you can build.

We welcome applications from experienced headteachers and from candidates ready and ambitious for a first headship. We are seeking to appoint someone with demonstrable leadership skills and enthusiasm for teaching and learning. A willingness and ability to work collaboratively with staff and governors is of particular importance as well as being outwardly facing; helping to shape a clear vision for the future. Everybody in our school has an important role, and we also look forward to exploring the personal skills, interests and specialism you might bring.

As headteacher at Fen Drayton Primary School, you can be assured of a supportive and committed Governing Board. Whilst we are representative of a small community, we have strength and breadth across all aspects of governance including primary education, finance, safeguarding, SEN and HR. We are also able to pool our collective experience and networks in areas such as marketing and communications, grant writing, and facilitating links with the wider community when called upon. We’ve enjoyed a very effective partnership with Claire, as our current headteacher, based on mutual respect, collaboration and challenge. This is underpinned with well-organised and effective processes, good communication and an ongoing commitment to training and learning.

We look forward to giving you a warm welcome to what we think is a rather special place. At the time of writing this, it is still unknown when schools might fully re-open their doors without strict measures around social distancing, and it is most important to us that you get to see the school in full operation as far as possible. In the meantime, please do take the opportunity to get in touch with myself (PStorer@fendrayton.cambs.sch.uk) or Claire Turner (head@fendrayton.cambs.sch.uk) to arrange a call if you’d like to find out more. You can also explore our website which includes a virtual tour and some of the highlights of our school calendar.

With best wishes,

Philippa StorerChair of Governors

Our SchoolOverview

Fen Drayton Primary School is a small, friendly school situated in the village of Fen Drayton, which is near Swavesey and Fenstanton. It is part of the cluster of primary schools which feeds Swavesey Village College, called the Octagon Cluster.

We believe that children learn best when they enjoy what they are doing, so we plan to ensure that our provision is varied, practical and enjoyable. Our close-knit community helps children to feel safe and enables us to have a strong safeguarding culture as we all look out for each other.

100% of respondents to our 2020 parent/carer survey would recommend the school to others.

Staff TeamOur experienced team of staff have complementary skills covering the whole curriculum, and the headteacher plays a vital role in this. We also benefit from the expertise of community volunteers, such as librarians and parent helpers. The school employs its own cooks, who are also two of our parents, and our own cleaner. Everyone helps out when things need to be done.

Word cloud created from parent/carer responses about the assemblies and special events at Fen Drayton Primary School.

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What the Parents Say

“We value how much hard work the teachers put in to give the pupils varied learning opportunities.”

Our School Curriculum We have always placed great emphasis on our whole curriculum offer and are now enjoying being able to focus on developing subject-specific skills. The varied talents of our staff team enable us to improve our skills in many different areas. We use Pie Corbett’s Talk for Writing to develop children’s literacy skills and promote reading for pleasure from the Early Years onwards. One of our teachers is a Maths Mastery Specialist who works with schools in different parts of Cambridgeshire to support them to introduce a mastery approach to maths: we use these strategies in our school as well.

A few years ago, we gained the Primary Science Quality Award at Silver level, which recognised the high standard of science teaching: this now needs re-accreditation. We also promote fitness and sport, having achieved the Schools Sports Silver Award for three years in a row, and we all do the Daily Mile on our purpose-built track. We subscribe to the Cambridgeshire PSHE service annually to support our delivery of PSHE and invite the Life Bus to visit every two years.

A few years ago, we all attended training on growth mindset and have adopted its principles for our school. It fits very well with our 5 Rs, so we encourage the children to have a positive attitude towards learning, be resilient when it gets hard, and view mistakes as opportunities to learn and reflect on the feedback they are given.

We work closely with our cluster and have a few shared resources, such as an Early Intervention Family Worker, who does coffee and chat sessions with parents and is available for individual consultations. We also have access to the Local Authority’s offer for SEN support and have used Blue Smile to provide therapy for children when needed.

Between 10 - 15% of our school population are pupil premium and we spend most of our funding on a teacher who works some afternoons supporting individuals and small groups with extra interventions. This usually provides a very effective boost to their learning and enables the pupil premium children to make good progress over the course of their primary career.

Inclusive Environment We are an inclusive school and often find that parents with children with SEN choose us for the small friendly environment where their children feel more confident. It can sometimes be challenging to meet their needs with the funding we have, but working closely with parents enables us to target our resources most effectively.

Staff have had recent training in ASD and dyslexia.

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What the Parents Say

“The small school size benefits my child as I firmly believe they would have been overlooked in a larger school. At Fen Drayton my child is well understood by not only her class teachers but all staff in the school.”

Our School

Further Information

Please visit our school website, which gives a good overview of our school: www.fendraytonprimary.co.uk

Have a look at our virtual tour of the school too.

If you have further queries, please contact Philippa Storer, Chair of Governors, PStorer@fendrayton.cambs.sch.uk

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Vision and Values

At Fen Drayton Primary School, we help children become responsible citizens, discover their strengths and learn about the world. We want all our children to enjoy learning and be great at it.

Our values help children to develop the qualities that will lead them to be successful learners throughout their lives.

We place great emphasis on character development through our 5 Rs: reflection, resilience, readiness, resourcefulness and responsibility. And children are provided with opportunities to develop a sense of citizenship by taking on roles within the school, such as being a buddy, a play leader, peer mediator or school councillor.

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What the Parents Say

“The broad curriculum is a great advantage. It's not all maths and English. My child benefits from and enjoys the special days enormously. Hats off to the staff for going the extra mile with these.”

Achievement and Progress

Statutory results, 2019 Cohorts are typically 15 children. Data comparisons should take into account the fact that one child represents around 7%.

Key Stage Two: at expected levels or above standard

Key Stage Two: greater depth

Key Stage One: at expected levels or above standard

Key Stage One: greater depth

EYFS: good level of development

Year One: phonics screening test

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Subject School Cambridgeshire National Reading 69% 73% 73% Writing 75% 75% 78% Maths 75% 76% 79% GPS 81% 76% 78% Combined [RWM] 63% 62% 65%

Subject School Cambridgeshire National Reading 25% 28% 27% Writing 0 17% 20% Maths 6% 26% 27% GPS 19% 33% 36% Combined [RWM] 0 9% 11%

Subject School Cambridgeshire National Reading 79% 74% 75% Writing 64% 67% 69% Maths 64% 75% 76% Combined [RWM] 57% 63% 65%

Subject School Cambridgeshire National Reading 29% 25% 25% Writing 7% 14% 15% Maths 14% 21% 22% Combined [RWM] 7% 10% 11%

School Cambridgeshire National 71% 72% 72%

School Cambridgeshire National 92% 80% 82%

School Development Priorities

Our current priorities are to:

► Improve non-fiction writing, to increase the number of children who achieved greater depth in writing at the end of KS2. This is drawn from the analysis of our SATs results last year, when the moderator told us that our children’s fiction writing was better than their non-fiction.

► Improve pupil premium children’s attainment in maths, which seemed last year to lag behind their improvement in reading and writing.

► Develop our foundation subject leaders’ monitoring and evaluation of their subject: this was an action from our last Ofsted inspection, and is also in line with the current Ofsted framework.

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What the Parents Say

“Fen Drayton is a lovely school where pupils thrive. As it is a small community, all the children are taught to look out for each other and the buddy systems really help the children to develop and understand compassion.”

What the Parents Say

“I love the relationships between both teachers and pupils. Everyone is encouraged to help look after each other and because the school is lovely and small it creates a great sense of community.”

Extra-Curricular Activities

Alongside our half-termly special days, we regularly take children out on trips related to their topic. Venues have included the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Scott Polar Museum, Flag Fen Bronze Age Settlement, and the British Museum in London.

Every year, we run a three-day residential trip open to children in years 4, 5 and 6 to an outdoor centre such as Grafham Water to do outdoor and adventurous activities. As the cost can mount up for parents, not all children go each year, but we encourage them to go at least once in their time at Fen Drayton.

We take part in lots of sporting competitions and events: examples include the small schools netball tournament, Year 6 hockey tournament, and the mini Olympics and cross-country running at Milton Country Park.

We offer music lessons with a peripatetic teacher in ukulele or guitar; children have the opportunity to learn the recorder as well as tuned and untuned percussion. A member of staff also runs a choir from time to time.

A gardening club, run by community volunteers, also meets regularly in the gardening season, and another member of staff hosts a computing club once a week.

We believe that performing is important to boost children’s confidence, so twice a year, teachers work with their classes to put on a class assembly for parents. The youngest children put on a Christmas play in December, usually with the help of their Year 6 buddies as narrators. In the spring term, we hold a poetry recitation competition, with the final taking place in front of the children’s parents and a panel of invited judges. At the end of the summer term, we put on a play which is led by Year 6 but involves the whole school one way or another.

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School Statistics

Overview

Staffing Structure

We do not employ a caretaker.

Class Structure

Local Networks We are a member of the Octagon cluster of schools which feed into Swavesey Village College (SVC). The headteachers meet twice a term, once with the head of SVC and once without. We arrange cluster staff meetings once a term often to carry out joint moderation and sometimes to have joint training. Sometimes the Governing Bodies of the schools meet or train together.

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Number on roll in December 2019 90 Percentage of children receiving pupil premium 11% Percentage of children with English as an additional language 7% Percentage of children who are not White British 13% Percentage of children with Special Educational Needs 11% Percentage of children with an Education and Health Care Plan 1%

Headteacher 1 Senior teacher 1 Teachers 4 Teaching assistants 5 Office staff 2 Midday supervisors 4 Cleaners 1 Catering staff 2

2019/20 class structure Numbers of pupils as of February 2020

Year group split

Maple: EYFS / Year 1 25 9/16 Ash: Year 2 / 3 24 12/12 Willow: Year 4 / 5 23 12/11 Oak: Year 6 16 16

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School Statistics Financial Position

In addition to the Schools’ Block funding, income sources include: pupil premium, sports grant, Maths Mastery and catering income – including UIFSM, along with donations e.g. village fun run and self-funded activities (e.g. trips). Expenditure, as anywhere, is mainly staffing costs with a little capital spend plus maintenance of the school site, and curriculum costs such as consumables and trips.

Parents and Teachers Association and Fen Drayton 10K Race

The support for Fen Drayton School by the parents and local community is amply demonstrated by the push of the PTA to increase fundraising from £2500 in 2016 to just shy of £5000 in 2019.

Funds are raised through a variety of activities from regular film nights to the hugely popular summer fayre. The funds raised have gone towards both school equipment such as laptops, projectors and sound systems, and curriculum enriching activities such as trips to the pantomime and the highly popular Travelling by Tuba musical workshops.

In 2011 the school asked children how to improve the local community. The children came up with the idea of increasing the fitness of the village by staging a race and so the Fen Drayton 10k and Fun Run was born. A huge success, it is now in its tenth year. The 10K and Fun Run brings school and the community together raising £6000 for the school last year.

Income Expenditure Carry forward / forecast

2018/2019 2019/2020£525,500 £589,000 (AWPU 4,588)£538,500 £561,000

£9,500 £37,500

Pupil Voice

What would you like your headteacher to be like?

“Try to be happy, nice to people when they do something wrong and not do really bad punishments.”“Kind, funny, smiley, happy, do lessons with the classes, strict if they need to be.”“A happy friendly person.”“Someone we can talk to if we are worried.”“I would like my headteacher to be crafty and fun.”“Someone who can teach us interesting things in assembly”“I would like a headteacher who is kind and listens to what you have to say, before replying.”“Someone who will listen to our ideas.”

What lessons would you like your headteacher to teach?

“More practical lessons like cooking and woodwork.”“Science lessons, PSHE, special lessons on different topics (animals), news lessons to tell you what is happening.”“Mindful, colouring and science.”“Singing”“Imaginative and creative lessons.”“How to be kind and helpful.”

What would you like your headteacher to do?

“Have golden time on a Friday afternoon as a reward for good behaviour.”“Spend time with all the children. Sometimes the good children don’t get a chance to spend time with the headteacher.”“Visit our classrooms more often so they can see what we’ve been doing.”“Let other people do music, younger years to do music.”“Teach us more often.”“Introduce pet day!”

Is there anything else you’d like from your headteacher?

“To be a boy! We haven’t got any boy teachers!!!”“To start school earlier so we can finish earlier.”

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What the Parents Say

“My child feels happy and secure at Fen Drayton.”

Views from Our Staff

Our staff shared their views on the qualities, skills and attributes they would like a headteacher to have:

“Strong leadership qualities and able to lead by example.”“Can build a mutually supportive, inclusive team - and is very much part of that team.”“Excellent interpersonal relationships with all staff, children and parents.”“Somebody who can build and maintain relationships with the wider community.”“Someone who can inspire and motivate.”“Has an optimistic and approachable presence about the school.”“Has a clear, creative vision for the school.”“Someone who can be imaginative with regards to managing workload pressure in a small school.”“Someone who has high behaviour expectations with clear and strong procedures for behaviour management.”“Support all staff with professional development.”“A person who is an outstanding teacher and understands all-round education and is not completely SATs driven.”“Strong budgetary management skills.”

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Views from Ofsted

Our last Ofsted inspection took place in May 2017. The school was awarded ‘Good’ across all evaluation areas. Report headlines

► Fen Drayton Primary School continues to provide pupils with a good start to their ► education, and to prepare them well for their next school.► Governors are effective. They have a ‘can-do’ approach. ► Throughout the school, pupils generally make good progress.► Pupils’ behaviour is good. In lessons, they try hard and want to learn because they value ► their education.► Pupils’ personal development is good. Pupils enjoy working together and helping one ► another.► Pupils said they feel happy, safe and well cared for in school. ► The school is highly valued by the village community.

Recommended next steps The recommended next steps in the report have been addressed since our inspection:

► Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that:

► lower-attaining pupils receive a sufficiently thorough grounding in multiplication ► and division to enable them to use and apply these operations accurately and confidently ► teachers ensure that pupils use their good grammar and punctuation skills ► consistently in all writing. ► Ensure that all foundation subject leaders have the information they need to secure high ► standards and good progress in the subjects for which they are accountable. The full report is available here: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/2698247

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Looking Ahead

Small schools like Fen Drayton Primary School are particularly vulnerable to predominantly pupil-led funding whereby plus or minus a few children on a roll has a significant impact. Influencing new applications and thereby numbers at the October census has been a key focus for us this year. Together, the governors alongside our headteacher have developed a new communication plan and promotional literature which reaches beyond our official catchment area and particularly focuses on the new housing estates in nearby villages.

We have been active in making our voice heard with the LA about concerns around our budget and ensuring the quality of education of our children is not adversely affected. Through prudent financial management, we go into the 2020-21 financial year with a balanced budget. This enables us to maintain our four-class structure. Maintaining this structure is wholly dependent on increasing pupil numbers over the coming years. The new headteacher will play a vital role in raising the profile of the school.

Over the past 18 months, we have worked with other schools in our cluster to explore the options, pros and cons, of academisation. Based on our research to date, this is something that we don’t feel will benefit our school significantly enough to make the change just now. However, we remain committed to reviewing this position periodically.

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School Premises

Fen Drayton Primary School moved to its current 1.5 acre site on 15 March 1971. It opened as a combined infant and junior school, serving a smaller community than it does now. The purpose-built kitchen enabled the school cook to provide fresh meals daily. A PTA-funded swimming pool was added the same year but closed in 2006 as repair bills rose. The school has a car park at the front for the sole use of staff, contractors and visitors. The layout was reconfigured following the completion of a long-awaited school hall in 2008. Until then, many PE lessons had taken place in the village hall. The new space meant that a mobile classroom, which had been in use since 1992 could, at last, be removed; an improved staff room was added; new space was created at the front for the school office and headteacher’s office. The year after, a further room was added in the North West corner of the school. This meant that the premises were able to accommodate four classrooms as well as a separate library area and a hall for assemblies, lunches, PE and events. Most children enter the school from the back, some via the village hall car park and then walk safety along a path in the village park through a back gate leading into the playground. To the right, where the mobile classroom had been located is the school’s edible garden. The garden, tended by children and volunteers, has since won a Level 4 RHS School Gardening Award. Further on, Reception and Y1 children have outdoor spaces for learning and adventure, largely provided by the teacher and her dad. The grounds are very well-used. Tree planting initiatives provided a meadow-like area at the front of the school and a woodland walk at the rear of the property. In 2018 a track was added to the perimeter of the school field which is used for Daily Mile efforts. Although the school’s first adventure playground was given back to the village, the current trim trail designed by the children was added last summer with National Lottery support. A 240 acre RSPB reserve is located within walking distance of the school and is the focus of a whole school day each year.

Local Context

Fen Drayton is a small village located approximately five miles South East of the town of St Ives and 13 miles North West of Cambridge. The school itself is situated on the main road out of the village towards Fenstanton, where two considerable housing developments are nearing completion in the next 12 months.

Cambridgeshire is the fastest growing county in the country and one of the main economic drivers for the UK. Cambridge itself is a beautiful historic city with a world-class university and excellent local economy, including growing IT and pharmaceutical industries alongside large local companies.

Cambridge has excellent transport links with London, the North and East Anglia. Fen Drayton is about 15 minutes’ drive from the mainline station of Huntingdon, which has a fast rail link to London King’s Cross and direct rail services to Peterborough. The upgrade of the A14 (the main East/West road link) is now completed. Our village is located within five minutes of the main A14 access junction at Swavesey. Villagers also have access to the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, which links St Ives and other local villages to Cambridge.

Fen Drayton itself is an attractive village with an interesting historical past. A number of the oldest houses have Dutch features, reminding us that Dutch drainage engineers operated in this region during the 17th/18th century. In more recent times the Land Settlement Association bought large areas of land on which to resettle families from the depressed industrial areas of Wales in the late 1930s. Large glasshouses remain as a testament to the production of salad crops, although this land is gradually being repurposed for the building of eco-housing.

The village has a strong sense of community which is built around events at the village hall (including a monthly community café), the local church, and our excellent village pub - The Three Tuns. Also within the village boundary is ‘Carriages’, which transports visitors back to the 1940s on fully restored Pullman-style trains set in an authentically rebuilt station. In the past few years, children from the school have been welcomed to visit, explore and to have high tea.

In walking distance from the school is the Fen Drayton Nature Reserve, a 108-hectare RSPB reserve comprising four lakes formed from exhausted sand and gravel pits. These are now a habitat for some 190 bird species, along with other associated wildlife - a great place to walk, cycle and explore.

The school itself backs on to a large open public space and newly refurbished playground. The nearby tennis club has two upgraded courts, which the school has access to. For a small village school, we are fortunate for the green space we have on our doorstep and the amenities available to us.

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The Appointment Process

The vacancy is for a headteacher working either full-time or four days a week and will include some teaching. The start date is January 2021.

The Salary range for this post will be from L6-L15 (£46,457 - £57,986 based on 2019-20 pay scales) and will be determined according to the skills and experience of the successful candidate.

Timeline

At the time of publishing this pack, we are closely monitoring the impact on school operations in response to Covid-19. We feel it is vital that any candidate has the opportunity to see the school in full operation (or as close as possible) and interact with staff and pupils. The Governing Body is committed to keeping interested candidates informed about any changes to the timeline set out below. We therefore ask any candidates interested in being kept informed about this post to contact the Chair of Governors.

Interested applicants to email Chair of Governors PStorer@fendrayton.cambs.sch.uk

Subject to schools re-opening with revised guidelines around social distancing

Deadline for applications 16 September 2020 (midnight)Shortlisted candidates advised 18 September 2020Interviews held 23 - 24 September 2020

Shortlisted candidates will be informed of what they need to prepare for the interview. Unsuccessful candidates will be notified by letter.

Applications

Please apply using the application form; CVs will not be accepted. With your application form, please include a letter of application, to tell us about you and why you are qualified for the post. This letter should be no more than two sides of A4. Your application must make it clear how you meet the person specification outlined in this pack.

We welcome applications from both experienced headteachers and from candidates ready and ambitious for a first headship.

Our school has an equal opportunities policy for selection and recruitment in accordance with our safeguarding policy. The successful candidate will be required to have an Enhanced DBS check along with a check against the DBS Children’s Barred List.

Application forms should be returned to headship@epm.co.uk

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The Appointment Process

Interview Process

Interviews will be carried out by a selection panel of governors on behalf of the full Governing Body. Governors will be drawing on the guidance and support of the Local Authority throughout the process. The panel includes at least one governor who has undertaken training on Safer Recruitment. The activities during the interviews will help governors to determine candidates’ skills, knowledge and experience against the person specification.

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Headteacher Job Description

As headteacher, you will be accountable for the education of current and future generations of children at Fen Drayton Primary School. With a love of learning, you will inspire and motivate the whole school and wider community. Your strong personal values will guide your role as school leader working with staff and governors and acting as a role model to shape the teaching, learning, and ethos in the school.

To fulfil these expectations, you will:

Maintain and enhance our school’s ethos and values by:

► Working in partnership with the Governing Body to continue to provide a shared vision firmly rooted in our school values and beliefs.

►Communicating the school’s vision and values confidently and compellingly to all members of the school community and to prospective parents.

► Promoting equality throughout the school through your own practice and that of others, and ensuring all school community members understand its importance.

► Fostering a growth mindset in the school community for continuous progress and resilience.

Develop and embed professional dialogue and development by:

► Creating an ethos in which all staff, including yourself, are inspired, motivated and supported to enhance their own practice, skills and subject knowledge along mutually agreed lines.

► Keeping up to date with developments in education and having a good knowledge of education systems locally, nationally and globally.

► Routinely assessing the impact of whole-school practice through monitoring, evaluation and review and being accountable for the schools’ performance to internal and external assessors.

Manage your team by:

► Prioritising lines of communication that will value staff contributions and acknowledge jobs done well.

► Fostering a culture of giving and receiving feedback, recognising its value and importance in the workplace, taking responsibility for managing staff well-being and ensuring the staff work together for the best outcomes for the school.

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Headteacher Job Description

► Establishing fair, transparent and rigorous systems and measures for managing the performance of all staff, addressing any under-performance, supporting staff to improve, and valuing excellent practice.

► Appropriately distributing leadership amongst staff, ensuring that roles and responsibilities are well understood and effectively carried out.

Establish high expectations and secure accountability by:

► Setting high expectations for all children, recognising differences and respecting cultural diversity.

► Instilling a sense of ownership and accountability on the basis of which staff routinely evaluate the impact of their work on outcomes for children.

► Securing the core features of highly effective classroom practice as standard across the school and demonstrating a commitment to high quality teaching through your own teaching.

Manage the organisation by:

► Ensuring that the school’s systems, organisation and processes are compliant, well-considered, efficient, fit for purpose and value for money including planning for emergencies.

► Actively supporting the governing body to understand its role and deliver its functions effectively; taking a leading role within the Governing Body to develop long term strategic educational and financial plans for the school.

► Developing appropriate operational plans in conjunction with the staff team and drawing from the governors’ long-term strategic plan.

Work with and for our community by:

► Creating an outward-facing school with priority placed on raising its profile within the local area; including the objective to increase pupil roll.

► Demonstrating optimism and nurturing positive relationships with children, staff, parents and carers, governors and members of the local community.

► Engaging with local schools and local education and community leaders, including looking for opportunities to work collaboratively.

► Working closely with agencies supporting our children with higher levels of need.

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Headteacher Job Description

Prioritise children’s personal development and well-being by:

► Leading a culture of safeguarding in the school, taking on the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead and supporting and working with the deputy DSL.

► Maintaining a broad, balanced, rich and creative curriculum to ensure high quality and personalised learning experiences for children of all backgrounds and abilities that promotes the development of the whole child and supporting extracurricular activities to that end.

► Ensuring that the implementation of the curriculum is providing for the intellectual, spiritual, moral, cultural, social and emotional well-being of all children.

► Providing a safe, calm and well-ordered environment for all children focused on learning, safeguarding and well-being throughout the school community.

► Implementing strategies which secure high standards of behaviour, attendance, welfare and citizenship.

The headteacher may be asked by the governing body to undertake other duties reasonably regarded as falling within the duties and responsibilities of the post.

This job description will be reviewed annually at the end of the academic year, or earlier if necessary. In addition, it may be amended at any time after consultation with the post-holder.

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Person Specification

These characteristics will be identified through a combination of means including the application, certification, training records, references and assessment at interview.

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Qualifications Essential Desirable QTS Degree Evidence of continuing professional development National Professional Qualification for Headship [NPQH] or willingness to work towards this, or equivalent qualifications

Experience Significant, successful experience as a senior leader within a school

Providing excellent teaching across primary phases including EYFS Working closely with staff and governors to develop the school’s ethos, values and objectives

Development of effective curriculum initiatives and whole school integration of these

Leadership of monitoring and assessment Effective school financial planning and budgeting Experience of leading continual professional development for others Working in a range of school settings, e.g. multicultural settings with EAL needs, deprived communities, and significant SEND needs

Experience of working collaboratively with another school/schools to secure improvement

Knowledge and skills Ability to analyse and interpret data accurately and critically in order to raise standards

The skills to communicate effectively, confidently and fluently in person, and in writing

A deep understanding of a creative, skills-based curriculum Ability to engage with parents/carers to support their child’s learning Knowledge of all primary key stages, including EYFS Thorough understanding of effective safeguarding practices Ability to promote the activities and ethos of the school through various media, and to “sell” the school to prospective parents

Ability to innovate around SEND Ability to promote inclusion and support children with SEMH needs Broad knowledge and interest in the latest developments in pedagogy DSL / SENDCo qualification

Person Specification

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Leadership Ability to encourage, motivate and nurture others Experience of recruiting, managing and developing staff Experience of dealing effectively with parents and the wider community Experience of effectively promoting school activities to the wider community in order to raise its profile

Ability to articulate a clear sense of direction for the school Having the courage to hold others to account and skills to deliver challenging feedback

Ability to model excellence in behaviour and relationships, even under pressure

Track record of developing others by delegating and supporting in appropriate measures

Ability to manage complaints, conflicts and divisions sensitively and constructively to achieve resolution

Personal Proven capacity to find creative solutions, take the initiative and think laterally

Ability to manage time and prioritise effectively Passionate about providing a creative learning environment Relish challenge and tackle aspirational goals with enthusiasm and resilience

Ability to bounce back and remain optimistic in the face of adversity Approachable and highly visible to children, staff and parents Development Accurate self-awareness of strengths and areas for growth, with a clear commitment to self-improvement

Value and learn from constructive feedback Evidence of personal commitment to professional development. Evidence of supporting others’ professional development Values Commitment to developing the school’s ethos and values Ambition for all our school community to reach their full potential Compassion for and an understanding of diversity and its impact on school life

Commitment to improving work-life balance for yourself and staff

Support for Newly Appointed Primary School Headteachers

New headteachers need a suitable induction programme. The Governing Body will ensure this is included in the budget. The LA provides an induction programme (New to Headship) that also offers regular opportunities for meeting colleagues who have also been recently appointed. The school buys into the Local Authority’s Primary Offer. The LA Primary Adviser should also make arrangements for the new headteacher to have the contact details of a peer mentor. This is an informal support mechanism that is intended primarily as a supportive contact without the need for reports or feedback. This may also result in wider contacts and school-to-school partnerships developing. In the first term, headteachers new to headship or to Cambridgeshire have access to an early introductory meeting with a leadership adviser. The adviser will make contact to arrange a visit and will outline the support available for new headteachers in Cambridgeshire. The New to Headship Adviser will inform the new headteacher about the LA induction programme which runs continuously throughout the academic year. These feature contributions from serving headteachers, LA representatives and provide opportunities for discussion and networking with other new headteachers. Further information available on www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/learntogether

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