Aspiring Principals Programme - Vice Principal

Aspiring Principals Programme – Vice Principal

Star Academies is seeking dynamic and ambitious secondary school senior leaders to join our Aspiring Principals Programme. If you’re a gifted future principal, and are eager to embark on a journey of rapid development that includes bespoke support, we want to hear from you.

Star Aspiring Principals Programme

The Aspiring Principals Programme forms part of Star Academies’ new Talent Strategy which focuses on harnessing and nurturing talent and accelerating professional growth, through a range of mechanisms.

We are currently recruiting to the programme and are seeking to employ five Vice Principals in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Bradford and Birmingham with a view to fast tracking them into the role of Principal, in a Star school, within three years.

Our programme responds to research into what effective headteachers, who took a fast-track route, found most useful and contributed to their success.

Evidence indicates that high quality support for leadership development, combining experiential, collaborative and formal learning, is an imperative. Most importantly:

• having in-school opportunities to take on a breadth of leadership roles and specific whole school responsibilities, including high stakes accountability
• leadership coaching provided highly effective school principal
• opportunities to discuss the impact their leadership actions on pupil outcomes and to problem solve with peers
• engagement in formal learning
• activities to build a professional identity and credibility as a leader
• securing expertise in leading the improvement teaching and learning, at scale

What you will get

Across the three years, working as a Vice Principal in a Star school, you’ll receive:

• a programme of leadership responsibilities, matched to your talents and identified gaps, to enable both professional growth and opportunities to demonstrate your impact on pupil outcomes
• regular leadership coaching from the principal of an outstanding Star school
• the opportunity to complete any National Institute of Teaching National Professional Qualification that matches your aspirations and development needs
• an annual bursary to spend on professional development or qualifications of your own choosing
• access to mentors in other Star schools according to need
• the opportunity to act as a Star Leadership Excellence Fellow, providing support for other schools
• visits to exemplary schools across England

On demonstrating your impact as a Vice Principal you will be appointed, as Principal, to a Star school.

Who we’re looking for

We are seeking experienced senior leaders in secondary schools, who have the capability to become a principal within 3 years.

Applicants must:

• have the potential, commitment and track record to become a school principal
• have qualified teaching status or qualified teacher learning and skills status
• have senior leadership experience in the last 4 years such as deputy or assistant head/principal in a secondary school
• be able to demonstrate the impact you’ve had across a school
• be open to working in a school in a challenging context

When it’s available

From September 2024 going forward.

How to apply

Find out more

Please download the job description and person specification below for further information about the role.

To apply for a place please use the 'Apply for job' link below. You should ensure your application form and supporting statement address all elements of the person specification. We will only consider candidates who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification.

Key Dates

Closing Date: Friday, 24th May 2024 at midnight.

Interview Date: Week commencing: Monday, 27th May 2024.

Proposed Start Date: September 2024.

About Star Academies

Star Academies is a high-performing multi-academy trust that runs 35 primary and secondary schools. We are a values-based organisation that works to improve the life chances of young people in areas of social and economic deprivation to help them succeed at the highest levels of education, employment and the professions. Every single day you’ll be rewarded with the opportunity to shape a young person’s future - our STAR values embody what we believe is needed to succeed.

Professional development is key to our ongoing success, so we continually invest in our employees through our learning and development centre, Star Institute. With a wealth of training, mentoring and progression opportunities across a growing group of academies, joining our team of leading education experts could propel your career to the next level.

We can also offer you a range of rewards and benefits, including competitive salaries and pension schemes, generous holiday entitlements and healthcare cash plans.

Application Process

To apply for this vacancy please use the 'Apply for job' link below. You should ensure your application form and supporting statement address all elements of the person specification. We will only consider candidates who meet the vast majority of the essential criteria outlined in the person specification.

Our Commitment

Star Academies is committed to safeguarding, safer recruitment and promoting the welfare of pupils. Our comprehensive recruitment and selection processes aim to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants. Successful candidates are subject to rigorous pre-employment checks.

We are equally committed to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity. We aim for our workforce to be representative of society and that each employee feels respected and able to give their best. We are committed to providing equality and fairness in our recruitment and employment practices and not to discriminate on any grounds. We oppose all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination.