Headteacher

Horton Lodge School is situated near the village of Horton in the Staffordshire Moorlands and in close proximity to the tourist attraction of Rudyard Lake. The market town of Leek is 3 miles away. The surrounding area is rural and peaceful and yet has easy access to more major conurbations.

The school is a well-established, successful Local Authority Primary School, providing a specialist education for pupils with physical disabilities and associated learning needs. The school also caters for pupils with more Profound, Multiple Learning Difficulties and complex medical needs. Conductive Education is embedded in the curriculum. The school currently has 58 pupils and a PAN of 55, with pupils from 2 – 11 Years of age. The school also offers residential opportunities to pupils.  

As the school looks to the future, we are in the process of converting to academy status within the Talentum Learning Trust which is based locally. We are associate members of the Trust and our application for full academy status has been submitted to the DfE. The Trust is also planning to transfer its headquarters to Horton Lodge.

The Headteacher vacancy has arisen as the Headteacher, Sarah Latham, is moving to a second headship. Sarah has led the school very successfully for 3 years. In our last Ofsted Inspections both the school and the residential facility were rated “good”. To build on our success, we wish to appoint a Headteacher with strong leadership skills who will steer the school through its next stage of development in an ever-changing and financially challenging educational environment. Part of the role is to provide the strategic lead for Kiplings, our residential facility. The unit has its own manager and the Headteacher does not have a sleep-in responsibility.

You will need to be a confident communicator to interact with staff, pupils with a wide range of communication needs, parents and other stakeholders.

You will need to be committed to the safeguarding of pupils which encompasses all their complex health and welfare needs. 

We encourage you to visit our School to help you prepare for your application. You are assured of a warm welcome. Visits can be arranged by emailing Linda Povey in the office lpovey@hortonlodge.staffs.sch.uk 

The interviews will be held on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd of April at Horton Lodge. These will be held in person, on site and not virtually.

Key dates:

Deadline for applications: 12 noon on Monday 19th April 2021.

Shortlisting: Monday 19th April 2021 

Interviews and assessments: Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd April 2021

Contract begins: 1st September 2021

Candidates should complete their application form electronically and email it to the school, together with a short covering letter addressed to Chair of Governors, Mr J Harris, explaining their reasons for applying. There is no need to submit a separate CV.

Please email your completed application form and covering letter (both as PDF files please) to: harris.j@hortonlodge.staffs.sch.uk