Reception Year Lead & Teacher

St. Mary’s Church of England Primary and Nursery was judged by Ofsted to be 'outstanding' in all areas in October 2023: “The early years staff are highly skilled at developing children’s language and communication skills” recognising the incredible work of our team in introducing those fundamental building blocks for life.

We now seek a visionary leader to join as our Reception Lead. To manage the year group (two teachers, an unqualified teacher and our early years pracitioners) and to bring a new flavour to our setting so that our youngest children continue to thrive in our outstanding setting. Our vision and philosophy sits around three tenants that permeate everything we do:

• High Expectations
• No excuses
• Whatever it takes

Information about our school:

We are a large (three-form-entry) primary school situated by the city centre of Southampton. We serve a diverse community with over three-quarters of our pupils speaking English as an additional language (86%). We are exceptionally proud of the diverse nature of our pupil demographic - knowing that through an extraordinary education, we are shaping the life-chances of these children, their families and the community.

We are an aspirational school, but one that values our staff and builds capacity to develop exceptional leaders. We work across a partnership of schools, with St. Mary’s as the nucleus. Meaning that you will find yourself in the driving seat of not just your own team, but a wider group of schools too. We are a very well-resourced and a recently renovated school.

Our offer to every teacher:

• Bespoke professional development opportunities.
• Cutting-edge technology for the planning and delivery of lessons. Use of multi-collaboration platforms to simplify the process of lesson planning.
• A device to help your planning, preparation and assessment.
• A ‘Staff wellbeing charter’ with perks including, a paid days leave throughout the year for personal wellbeing. A commitment to reduce planning.
• The introduction of a new curriculum for non-core subjects that includes the sequential planning, learning resources and visuals.

How does the team work?

We have an Executive Headteacher and a Head of School, under which sits a leadership team and our Year Leads. You will join this established team who meet regularly, and who are each encouraged to have a voice for continued improvement at the school. Your role is pivotal as you bring to the table that insight into the most crucial stage of development of a child.

What is the vision for EYFS?

We are motivated by people who believe that there shouldn’t be a ceiling limit placed on any child’s potential; by leaders who are visionary and want to build a learning culture in their year team that enables our most vulnerable learners to thrive! Our setting exudes awe and wonder in a space where child development is initiated by the young person, their interests and ideas.

EYFS at St. Mary’s:

Our EYFS combines a Nursery and Reception provision. The curriculum is built around core texts which are chosen by staff, and that form the basis of captivating and bringing awe-and-wonder into the setting. We have ‘special moments’ which celebrate success and children’s work. These include moments where pupils can talk about their learning, at their level, in a way that helps to guide self-directed learning.

Our approach to assessment is bespoke and is not onerous to staff. We have moments planned in to ensure key-worker children have the opportunity to meet their next target.

Application information:

Your interview day is a mutual process aligned to helping you to decide if this is the school to advance your career in.

We aim to make the day as supportive as possible. Any questions pre or post application can be sent to Georgia Patel (Assistant Headteacher) at: georgia.patel@stmaryspri.org.uk

We welcome visits to our school and to see our unique setting.