Headteacher

Headteacher

Woodlands Primary School, Sheffield

L16 – L22

Woodlands Primary School is one of Sheffield’s most remarkable places to be a young learner. We are privileged to be responsible for a wonderful group of confident, curious, and enthusiastic children, who love their school and are passionate about being the best they can be. Our school is an oasis of delight, safety and curiosity for its 450+ young adventurers. The extensive site includes plenty of space to play, and a very popular Forest School. The buildings have been comprehensively refurbished and redecorated in recent years, and plans for a new co-located Integrated Resource Provision are well underway to further enhance our offer for pupils with special educational needs.

But an excellent school is about far more than high-quality premises, and we’re no exception. Our responsibility is to give children the best possible start in life, and that philosophy underpins every aspect of school life – from our ambitious curriculum, to our sophisticated approach to inclusion and pastoral care, and our comprehensive professional development programme. We’re committed to providing a warm, welcoming, safe, and happy place, in which all relationships are based on respect and kindness. Woodlands’ children deserve the highest levels of commitment and professional practice, and that’s what we undertake to deliver.

We’re looking for a new Headteacher to lead a really exceptional leadership and staff team, and take our school to the next level of effectiveness. Our outgoing Head leaves a wonderful legacy of strong culture, shared vision and collaborative practice, so her successor will be building on very secure foundations. As a team, our primary objective is to secure children’s personal and academic success – not least helping them make the best possible transition to secondary school – so we want to develop even greater consistency, and embed a culture of high expectations.

We’re not dogmatic about your experience to date, and would welcome interest from both strong candidates who are looking for their first Headship, or experienced Headteachers looking for a new challenge within a great trust. If you haven’t yet led a school, you must have held extensive SLT responsibility and / or acted up for a period. Alongside your open, optimistic mindset and profound sense of moral purpose, you’ll be an inspiring leader, who can both articulate and drive a strong culture of continuous self-improvement towards excellence. Emotional intelligence is essential, and you must have a track record of impact beyond the school gates. We are a professionally curious team, and you will share our deep interest in emerging pedagogy – in particular, how to maintain our rapid trajectory of improvement.

Mercia Learning Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful candidates will undertake Enhanced Disclosure. Mercia Learning Trust is an equal opportunities employer. We value our diverse workforce and aim to work together to make the most of our differences. We welcome applications from everyone. Under the Disability Confident Scheme, disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria of this job are guaranteed an interview.

Please visit https://lead-woodlands.co.uk to find out more. If you would like to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact David Gooda at Navigate NDC on 01625 800862. Closing date: Sunday 25 February 2024. Interviews are expected to be held w/c 4 March 2024.