Assistant Headteacher

Job Purpose

The Assistant Headteacher will support the Headteacher in providing strategic leadership and management for the school, ensuring a clear vision for high-quality education and excellent student outcomes across Key Stages 3–5. The Assistant Headteacher will drive whole-school improvement, leading on key priorities to secure outstanding teaching, strong pastoral systems, and a culture of high expectations, inclusion, and continuous improvement. The role involves developing staff, using data intelligently, and ensuring all students achieve their full academic and personal potential.

Key Duties

Curriculum Impact

• Set goals that stretch and challenge students of all backgrounds, abilities and dispositions
• Be accountable for students’ attainment, progress and outcomes
• Students should be able to verbalise:

o their learning within the lesson

o how the lesson contributes to the end point of the unit

• Be aware of students’ capabilities and their prior knowledge, and plan teaching to build on these
• Guide students to reflect on the progress they have made
• Know and understand how to assess the relevant subject including statutory assessment requirements
• Make use of formative and summative assessment to secure students’ progress, including effective use of questioning throughout the lesson
• Use relevant data to monitor progress, set targets, and plan subsequent lessons
• Give students regular feedback, both orally and through accurate marking, and encourage students to respond to the feedback
• Give feedback on your classes to your second in charge after each Assessment Point, including your planned interventions to tackle any underachievement in your classes

Curriculum Implementation – Subject Knowledge

• Have a secure knowledge in the relevant subject(s) and curriculum area. Be able to verbalise the sequencing of the components of each unit of work
• Foster and maintain students’ interest in the subject
• Address misunderstandings / misconceptions
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in the subject
• Take responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy, articulacy and the correct use of standard English
• Take part in regular CPD in order to ensure that your knowledge is up-to-date
• Use ICT to effectively enhance learning
• Develop high standards of Numeracy whenever appropriate
• Ensure that your approaches to T&L contribute to the design and provision of engaging lessons within the agreed national Curriculum programmes of study

Planning and Teaching

• Effective use of lesson time in order to maximise students’ achievement and enjoyment
• Set homework and plan other out-of-class activities to consolidate knowledge where appropriate
• Reflect systematically on the effectiveness of your lessons and adapt content following your monitoring of the students’ work in class
• Ensure that your approaches to teaching contribute to the design and provision of engaging lessons
• Ensure that all lessons include: retention strategies (for example, spacing / interleaving)

Adapt Teaching to Respond to Needs

• Know when and how to differentiate/personalise appropriately
• Use approaches which enable students to be taught and learn effectively, to the best of their ability
• Demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual development of children
• Have a clear understanding of the needs of all students, including those with special educational needs; those of high ability; those with English as an additional language; those with disabilities, ensuring that they are all met

Behaviour and Attitudes

• Establish a safe and stimulating environment for students, rooted in mutual respect
• Demonstrate consistently the positive attitudes, values and behaviour which are expected of students
• Have clear rules and routines for behaviour in classrooms, and take responsibility for promoting good and courteous behaviour both in classrooms and around the school, in accordance with the school’s behaviour policy
• Have high expectations of behaviour, and establish a framework for discipline with a range of strategies, using praise, sanctions and rewards consistently and fairly
• Manage classes effectively, using approaches which are appropriate to students’ needs in order to involve and motivate them
• Maintain good relationships with students, exercise appropriate authority, and act decisively when necessary
• Ensure that the 4 Rs are consistently followed
• Monitor and follow up non-attendance to learning

Personal Development

• Uphold British values and ensure that students respect them
• Have regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions and take action accordingly
• Contribute towards SMSC
• Contribute to enhancement of the wider curriculum (for example: trips, clubs etc…)

Wider Responsibilities of Assistant Headteachers

• Collaborate as a member of the Senior Leadership Team to develop the shared vision/future strategy for the school
• Have direct line management of a year team
• Agree to aspirational targets, ensuring rigorous monitoring, evaluation and review of progress towards these
• Ensure high quality teaching and learning in line led areas
• Contribute to the school’s self-evaluation process
• Be involved in the process of appointing new staff including the shortlisting and interview process, ensuring up to date personal Safer Recruitment accreditation is maintained
• Be actively on duty at break, lunch and before and after school, contribute to patrols
• Deliver assemblies as part of cycle
• Share in the management of student behaviour incidents, making recommendations to the Headteacher/Deputy Headteacher regarding Inclusions/Exclusions and facilitating the process of student reintegration
• Actively participate in the monitoring, evaluation and review of teaching and learning in line led areas – subjects to be agreed
• Manage any capability or disciplinary procedures in line with the Trust’s policy, where appropriate
• Be a core part of the appraisal process, setting targets and reviewing progress
• Promote equal opportunities and celebrate diversity in all aspects of the school
• Comply with the Trust’s Health and Safety policy and undertake risk assessments in line with national requirements where necessary
• Show a record of excellent attendance and punctuality
• Provide, or contribute to, oral and written assessments, reports and references relating to individual students and groups of students
• Contribute to the school’s and Trust’s INSET programme
• Partake in activities aimed at promoting the school, including, but not limited to, open evenings, visits to primary schools and community events
• Carry out other tasks commensurate with their position, as directed by the Headteacher or Deputy Headteachers

Classroom Teacher Responsibilities –

• To carry out the duties of a School Teacher as set out in the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document.
• To continue to meet the Professional Standards for Senior Leaders

Note, whilst every effort has been made to explain the main duties and responsibilities of the post, this job description is not prescriptive, and each individual task undertaken may not be identified. Employees are expected to comply with any reasonable request from a manager to undertake work of a similar level and/or scope that is not specified in this job description. Job descriptions are subject to change, in consultation with the post holder, to meet the changing needs of the broader Trust.