EYFS Leader

EYFS leader – Required for September 2019

St James’ Primary Academy is a successful and ambitious 2 form entry school with a firm commitment to continue to improve and develop every day.  We are lucky enough to work on the historic and beautiful Jurassic coastline of Dorset – a place of sunshine, endless beaches and good links to the rest of Southern England.  It’s a pretty good corner of the world…

We are seeking to appoint an aspirational and ambitious teacher to lead our Early Years and manage a team of colleagues to deliver inspiring experiences that meet the needs of all young learners. The successful applicant for this post will have a positive attitude of self improvement and a commitment to working alongside colleagues to share best practice, learn, reflect and improve.   We are looking for a professional with a strong vocational commitment to enhance the life chances of our children with exciting and engaging teaching and learning.  Essentially, we want to be the best primary school in the world, with the best staff, the best opportunities and the strongest focus on delivering an exceptional schooling experience for both children and adults.  If you fancy some of that then we’re very keen to hear from you…

We are on a journey of developing and enhancing both our indoor and outdoor learning environments and the successful candidate will be a key participant in this process with the backing of the school’s leadership to develop a learning space that wrings every inch of opportunity for learning, engagement, exploration, collaboration and fun.  We are ambitious and keen to harness like-minded professionals who have drive and determination to make the good things happen.

This position is a wonderful opportunity for a professional who is ready to take the leap into leading their own EYFS practice, or for an existing EYFS leader who is looking to move settings and continue to develop.  You will ideally have experience of teaching in other year groups in a primary setting also.

Our successful candidate will be:

• Passionate about making learning experiences exciting and memorable 

• Determined to ensure that all children have the opportunity to make excellent progress in the crucial first year of their primary education 

• Willing to be challenged and keen to be ambitious

• A teacher with high expectations of their own, their team and their children’s performance

• Confident to engage with parents and develop positive home/school relationships,

• Experienced in the Early Years and forward thinking in their ambition and vision

• A reflective practitioner who is always open to new initiatives

• Able to demonstrate their capacity to lead and manage with a single focus on delivering the best learning experiences for all children

• A team player who is highly motivated and enthusiastic 

• Prepared to take an active part in the wider life of the school, willing to add something extra to the school community by sharing their talents

• Able to demonstrate knowledge of our school in their application and indicate how they believe they could contribute to developing our community and the opportunities for our children

• Empathetic and able to support and promote our Christian ethos

• Someone who lives life with a smile

In return we offer:

• A learning community where you are encouraged to innovate, think for yourself, try new ideas, make a difference and take on responsibility

• Happy, enthusiastic children who are motivated to learn

• A dedicated and mutually supportive staff team

• Supportive leadership, parents and governors

• Opportunities to network with partnership school colleagues

• High quality opportunities for continued professional development

• A real education experience – yes, we know we have to achieve high standards (and we will), but we believe that this happens through valuing the whole child, providing immersive experiences and retaining that excitement for learning that we all had when we qualified…

If you’re still reading this then that’s a good sign and thanks for sticking with us.  Why not reward yourself by checking out this video on Youtube, called ‘Wright’s Law’.  It’s not a bad way to spend ten minutes of your life….  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bSu_Snlbsw

Application Procedure

If you have something to offer the children and staff at St James’, are ready for a new challenge and available from September 2019, then we would love to hear from you!  Please ensure you describe your vision for Early Years education in your letter of application – what it should look like, how you achieve that and why you are the right person to deliver it for the children in our academy.

Visits to our school are highly recommended and warmly welcomed. Please contact the School Business Manager, Peter Leddin on: 01202 426696, to arrange an appointment for a visit. 

An application pack is available on the job vacancy page of our school website: (www.stjamescebournemouth.com) electronically via our School Business Manager: peter.leddin@stjamescebournemouth.com ; or in hard copy from the school office.

Completed applications should be emailed to the email address provided above or sent by post clearly marked for the attention of the Principal to: St James’ CE Primary Academy, Pokesdown Hill, Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH7 6DW by 12pm on Thursday 25th April 2019.  

St James’ CE Primary Academy and the PWDAT are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.  We value the diversity of our workforce and welcome applications from all sections of the community.  St. James’ CE Primary Academy is committed to equal opportunities.

Should you not be invited for interview please assume your application has not been shortlisted.  We try to let people know if this is the case, however sometimes this is not possible due to our workload.