Assistant Headteacher - Teaching & Learning

Be part of our journey…

With a new name, a new uniform and a new ethos, Queen Elizabeth School is on a journey to excellence. We are on a mission to “empower our students to achieve academic excellence through aspiration and innovation”. With the support of a highly ambitious leadership team and surrounded by colleagues who are passionate about the whole student experience, now is a fantastic time to be joining our forward thinking school.

Whatever their role in the school, all of our colleagues share a passion for learning and working with the next generation. 

Situated on the Hertfordshire/Bedfordshire border and close to the market town of Hitchin, the school also benefits from being within five minutes drive of idyllic countryside locations, yet being 5 minutes from the M1 and London Luton Airport. 

We are now looking for an Assistant Headteacher to join our team. This is a key position within the Senior Leadership Team of the school as we look to build on the impressive improvements we have already made. This colleague will have oversight of key areas of Teaching and Learning, along with other areas of responsibility to be agreed on appointment. This role would be ideal for someone who has led successful school improvement initiatives and is now looking for a substantive senior leadership role, or an existing senior leader looking for a new challenge. The successful candidate will be tasked with further developing the whole school curriculum, staff development and, working closely with subject leaders to embed outstanding practice, ensuring that our signature approach to teaching and learning is evident through each subject and in every lesson. Based on our school priorities the successful candidate will ideally be a specialist English teacher, able to teach to A Level.

Find out more about Queen Elizabeth School, from the voices of our school community here https://www.qesluton.co.uk/Choose-QES/.

We welcome visits from all prospective staff to Queen Elizabeth School. The next visits are scheduled at the following times:

● Thursday 27th January 2022

To book a place on a visit, or to arrange a telephone conversation to discuss the role further, please contact cwoodcock@qesluton.co.uk

Key duties

● Establish and sustain high-quality teaching across subjects and phases, based on evidence

● Support the development of Middle Leaders across the school

● Establish and oversee systems, processes and policies so the school can operate effectively

● Create a culture where students experience a positive and enriching school life

● Uphold educational standards in order to prepare students from all backgrounds for their next phase of education and life

● Ensure a culture of staff professionalism

● Carry out appraisals and hold staff to account for their performance

● Treat students with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect

● Ensure staff and students’ safety and welfare through effective approaches to safeguarding, as part of duty of care

The successful candidate will 

● Share our values of ambition, integrity, determination and kindness

● Hold an absolute commitment to exceptional standards

● Be a consummate professional

● Be a team player with an understanding that excellence can only be achieved by working together

● Have a passion for their subject and ensuring students progress

Benefits

● Work in a state of the art building with outstanding IT, sporting and performance facilities

● Excellent opportunities for progression- we will always seek to promote from within in the first instance

● Outstanding professional development opportunities, both from our internal CPD programme and through our partnership organisations

● Free private healthcare

● Season ticket loan

● Use of our on site fitness suite

● Bike to Work scheme

● Opportunities to support extra-curricular activities domestically and internationally

● Ample staff parking and excellent transport links

● Subsidised staff accommodation available

Start date: April or September 2022

Salary: Leadership Scale – to be agreed

Job Role: Permanent, Full-time

Recruitment Timeline:

Position advertised: 21 January 2022

Closing date for applications: 07 February 2022

Final Shortlisting: 08 February 2022

Interviews: W/e 11 February 2022

We reserve the right to interview and appoint a suitable candidate before the deadline date. 

Safeguarding

Queen Elizabeth School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment.  Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. We are an equal opportunities employer. 

The Department for Education (DfE) has set out statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ for schools and colleges on safeguarding.

Safeguarding is defined in paragraph 4 as:  “Protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.”

The definition of 'children' includes everyone under the age of 18.