Headteacher

Group 4 - NOR – 600+

Marner is a large, inclusive, three-form entry primary school and nursery, with over 600 children. Our children generally live locally and come from a wide variety of backgrounds, reflecting the borough’s cultural and economic diversity.

We are a rights-respecting “Good” school with a focus on ensuring we are supporting not just all children but also the whole child, both in curriculum learning and in non-academic aspects around wellbeing and parent engagement. We recognise that great teaching is the most important lever schools have to improve pupil attainment and we are focused on providing the best teaching that we can. Our teaching staff at Marner are an experienced group with a culture of sharing learning: bringing curriculum and pedagogy together to deliver improved outcomes for our children. We are sure that any successful applicant will find them wonderful colleagues to work with.

The curriculum is broad with an increasing focus on the richness of outdoor learning. It provides both personalised and creative content in addressing the core subjects and we are keen to continue empowering teachers to pursue new, fun and innovative ways to help our children to love learning and enjoy their time at Marner Primary School.

The School and all its staff are outward facing and are engaged in key partnerships such as the Poplar Partnership and Tower Hamlets Education Partnership. We are proud of our SHINE on Saturday school programme, providing 100 hours of additional and creative learning to 50 students every year. The school also hosts a satellite autism/speech and language provision, with children attending on-site from Phoenix Special School, a collaboration which shows our commitment to a learning model for social inclusion.

The children here come from diverse backgrounds, and we have always found them to be respectful and well behaved, but also curious and, as with all children, to have a sense of fun – qualities that we are keen to foster in their ongoing learning. There is a very strong sense of community at Marner - amongst parents, staff and children - that plays a huge part in its success and that we are keen to continue to nurture. As an example, during the lockdowns the school ran a food bank to assist those families most in need.

If successful, you will be taking on the post of Head Teacher – a role which will become vacant from September 2022. The current Acting Headteacher, Janice Long, will not be applying for the role. In January 2020 the school suffered the sudden and tragic loss of the then Head Teacher of 6 years, Nicholas Hague, and Janice (then Deputy Head) has ably stepped in and has done an exceptional job of steadying the ship and ensuring that the school continues to flourish.

We are looking for a new Head Teacher who will maintain the character of our diverse, inclusive, friendly and community-based school, while continuing to raise standards for all children. Our new Head Teacher will build on the recent successes of the school. They will enjoy working with a committed team of staff and will love working with our children who make the job worthwhile and fun! The new Head will have the support of an active Governing Body and the Local Authority.

The Governors believe the chance to lead our school is a brilliant opportunity for a Head Teacher who is passionate about education, keen to innovate and who can play a critical role in the next step in Marner’s Story of Us: building an ambitious vision and strategy for the future. We look forward to working together with the successful candidate to achieve Marner’s goal to enable all children to become resilient, lifelong thinkers and learners. While we recognise the value of previous experience, we are open minded about who our new Head Teacher will be and are eager to find somebody with exceptional leadership skills, energy and commitment.

We think it is important to offer candidates the opportunity to visit the school and we propose to facilitate this by offering appointments to come to the school. If you would like to apply, please do come and visit us. We are in walking distance of Bromley-by-Bow Underground station and Devons Road DLR Station. The current Head Teacher will be happy to show you around and answer questions, though Andrew Best, our Recruitment Adviser, is available to speak to if you have further questions.

Closing date for applications: 12 noon on 24th January 2022

Interview dates: 31st January & 1st February 2022

(Candidates to be notified of attendance by 28th January 2022)

A visit is essential and can be booked by contacting:

Jackie O’Hara or Nadia Kalam via email at admin.marner.towerhamlets.sch.uk or by calling on 0207 987 2938.

If you have any questions or to have an informal chat with our adviser, please call Andrew Best on 07917 080201.

Please read the instructions for your application carefully in the attached pack.

Please email your completed application and any other

attachments directly to andy.best@fsed.co.uk