Executive Headteacher
Downsend School
Surrey
- Expired
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Apply by:
- 14 November 2024
Job overview
About the School - Downsend School
Located across four sites in Ashtead, Epsom and Leatherhead, and with a pupil roll of 815 students from the ages of 6 months to 16 years, Downsend proudly plays an important part in the local community. With further change on the horizon, with a launch of a Sixth Form in September 2025, Downsend has an exciting future ahead.
Founded in 1898, Downsend has a rich history of delivering a truly holistic education and has always thrived on pushing the boundaries in every area of school life. There is an energy and a sense of purpose when you join Downsend, this is a school that works at a fast pace, has high expectations and is not afraid to do things differently. This leads to a sense of camaraderie and a shared purpose among staff that makes Downsend such a unique place to be.
We are now looking for an experienced Executive Headteacher to lead Downsend School.
About Cognita
Cognita is a global leader in independent education. Founded in 2004, we are a growing community of 100+ schools in 16 countries - in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East - serving more than 85,000 students. Each of our schools are proudly unique, however our collective purpose is to create an environment where everyone can, ‘Thrive in a rapidly evolving world’.
About the role
Step into a transformative leadership role at Cognita, where your vision and drive will shape the future of our schools. Every action you take has a clear purpose: to inspire both staff and students to achieve their fullest potential. In this role, you will foster innovation, collaboration, and inclusion, creating a lasting impact and championing a shared mission of educational excellence. Discover purpose and create change with us.
For more information on the school and role please Click Here to see our detailed candidate recruitment pack.
How to Apply
Please submit a completed Cognita application form via the Cognita Applicant Tracking System along with a cover letter that highlights how your experience and skills align with the role. The cover letter should be no more than two sides of A4.
The Closing Date for all Applications is Friday, November 15th, at 9:00 a.m. (Please note that the application closing date has been brought forward as we have interviews scheduled for Wednesday, 20th November, and we want to ensure we give shortlisted candidates enough time to prepare.) If you have an application in the process, please ensure you submit it by the new closing date.
Interview Date: Wednesday 20th November 2024
At Cognita Schools, we are fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff, volunteers, and third parties to share this commitment. As part of our safer recruitment practices, pre-employment background checks will be conducted before any appointment is confirmed.
At Cognita, diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do. As a global community spanning over 94 nationalities, we know that our strength lies in our diversity. It’s what drives our success and makes Cognita a place where everyone can thrive.
Attached documents
About Downsend School
Introduction
At Downsend, we prepare children for the future with a creative and problem-solving approach to learning that not only inspires young minds, but fosters bravery, sparks imagination, celebrates innovation and creates opportunity every day.
From nursery through to GCSEs, we provide the skills, motivation and inspiration for our students to be successful throughout their school journey and far beyond.
We have three Little Downsend locations in Ashtead, Epsom and Leatherhead. Each teaches children from the age of two to six. All the Little Downsend sites are overseen by the Head of Little Downsend, Mrs Lisa Burns, who instils the same ethos, high standards and innovative curriculum across each school through her dedicated team of experts.
The main school is located in Leatherhead and continues the same innovative, creative and academically excellent curriculum from Year 2 to Year 11 under the inspiring headship of Mr Ian Thorpe. Over the last 2 years, Downsend has benefited from an £8m investment in brand new flexible teaching spaces and our cutting edge Creative Arts Centre opened summer 2022. Last year we added Modern Foreign Languages block consisting of 5 contemporary classrooms.
Our ‘Inspiring Young Minds’ philosophy pervades all four schools and has resulted in some really creative teaching and learning initiatives across the schools, as well as fantastic enrichment opportunities, such as our tailor-made Stretch Programme.
The core curriculum provides a solid framework, preparing children well for their educational journey through Downsend. We achieve amazing success at all levels academically, and we are delighted for our first cohort of Year 11 pupils who have achieved remarkable results last year. As the first cohort to undertake a full set of GCSEs at Downsend since becoming a through-school, they mark a momentous day both personally, and for the School. We are delighted by their results, which are a testament to their hard work. With 100 % of all pupils securing the grades required for their first-choice onward destination.
It is the school's broader curriculum and strong pastoral support that particularly sets us apart, with an emphasis on practical subjects such as STEAM, Computing, Design Technology, Drama, Textiles and Food Technology.
The sporting programme offers scope for nearly every child to represent the school, with strong results achieved in both county and national competitions. The school’s huge range of clubs, with more than 50 activities on offer each week, further enhances the schedule.
The active programme continues into the school holidays when Downsend+ takes over. Children have the opportunity to participate in horse riding, rock climbing, scuba diving, fashion design or any of the other activities that are on offer throughout the holiday weeks. The school also offers Downsend Early Years+, for younger girls and boys age 2 to 5, at Little Downsend Leatherhead. Combined with term time schooling, Downsend can offer 50 week provision for working parents.
We are an incredibly friendly and supportive staff and we are looking for the right people to join us. So, if you are a great practitioner with a level of creativity and innovation to your teaching, would relish contributing to the extra-curricular life of school, are ambitious, and are happy to challenge and be challenged in a positive way for better outcomes for the children, then we want to hear from you.
Additional Benefits
· Free on-site parking
· Good road and rail transport links and proximity to London
· School Fee remission after qualifying period
· Childcare voucher scheme in operation
· Holiday club discount
· Free lunch available
Benefits of being a Cognita School
Cognita is an international group with over 90 schools in Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Asia, we employ 15,000+ teaching and support staff in the care and education of more than 60,000 students.
Teaching excellence represents everything we stand for at Cognita. We’re committed to hiring and retaining outstanding talent: teachers and school leaders who are passionate about their craft as well as functional leaders and professionals in our Head and Regional offices who can take the business forward.
We are looking for people who want to make a positive difference to children’s lives, who can help us stretch and support children to achieve beyond expectation.
Our diverse portfolio of schools and Regional Offices, combined with our ongoing investment in the professional development of our people, means we can offer first-class career opportunities with a global dimension. If you want to take your career further, we want to support you in achieving that goal within Cognita. www.cognita.com
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