Head of Secondary

International Schools Partnership

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Key Responsibilities:

• To successfully lead all aspects of the secondary department
• To ensure children are safe and well cared for at all times
• To contribute to the leadership and day to day running of the whole school
• To lead, support and direct the work of others, as appropriate
• To lead CAS activities, participating and leading staff training and contributing to the establishment and development of the school community
• To comply with our agreed policies and Aquila Ways
• To actively engage with our school community e.g. through newsletters, informal dialogue, reporting, supporting school functions and contributing to community and marketing activities
• To actively participate in the performance management process of self and others
• Building relationships and showing credibility as a leader – especially of teaching and learning
• Ensuring outcomes for all children are as high as possible
• To maintain a sense of school connectedness for staff and encourage staff retention
• Improving teaching – especially for teachers who are not yet consistently good.
• Making sure that the pathways and curriculum on offer for all year groups in secondary are aligned with pupil interest, local requirements and the school budget
• Ensuring the staffing and leadership structure is appropriate to enable us to raise standards and improve outcomes so that there can be a significant number of uplifts in the next DSIB inspection
• To minimize the number of leaving pupils and to maximize the number of joiners – working alongside the marketing and admissions team
• To be visible and high profile.
• Further develop enrichment activities for the pupils
• Lead on events such as sports evening, family workshops, presentations, information meetings, coffee mornings etc.
• Make sure the SEF and SIP etc. are complete and up to date – completed under your guidance by members of your team.

Skills, Qualifications and Experience:

• Qualified teacher status recognised in the UK
• At least ten years teaching experience post qualification - which must include time spent teaching KS3/4/5 in the UK / Ireland
• Previous experience of a senior leadership position in a through school or secondary school (deputy or head teacher / Principal)
• Clear understanding of the role - how to further develop secondary while maintaining the ethos of our school
• Clear understanding of the ethos of the school
• Experience of raising standards and having high outcomes in external assessments
• Experience of developing a curriculum for KS3, 4 and 5 and preparing children for life and learning beyond school
• Experience of growing a school and maximizing re-enrollments and enrollments
• Willingness to work above and beyond to contribute to the development of a learning community
• Ability to form and maintain professional working relationships with all members of the school community
• Credibility as a leader of learning
• Experience working in an international school in the UAE
• Educational leadership qualification (MA/ED or NPQH)
• Experience of BTEC/IB in KS5
• Experience of inspecting other schools (eg Ofsted, Cobis, BSO)

ISP Commitment to Safeguarding Principles:

ISP is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

All post holders are subject to appropriate vetting procedures, including an online due diligence search, references and satisfactory Criminal Background Checks or equivalent covering the previous 10 years’ employment history.

ISP Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging:

ISP is committed to strengthening our inclusive culture by identifying, hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing teammates regardless of gender, age, disability status, neurodivergence, socio-economic background or other demographic characteristics. Candidates who share our vision and principles and are interested in contributing to the success of ISP through this role are strongly encouraged to apply.