What skills and experience we're looking forWe are seeking to appoint an experienced or aspiring school leader with an outsta.....
What skills and experience we're looking for
We are seeking to appoint an experienced or aspiring school leader with an outstanding teaching record to take on the Deputy Headship of our vibrant and innovative local authority maintained primary school. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced, forward-thinking educational leader to contribute to our school’s future success and growth. We are proud to have our own resource base which complements our inclusive practice and enriches our school.
About the Role:
As Deputy Headteacher, you will play a key role in supporting the headteacher in driving the strategic direction of the school, with a particular focus on:
• Leading on Teaching and Learning: Ensuring high standards of teaching practice across the school, promoting innovative pedagogy, and fostering an inclusive, aspirational learning environment.
• Curriculum Development: Taking the lead in implementing a broad, balanced, and engaging curriculum that meets the needs of all our pupils, while maintaining our high expectations for progress and achievement.
• Teaching Commitment: You will have a teaching commitment of up to 0.6 FTE, supporting colleagues by modelling best practice and contributing directly to the academic success and pastoral care of our pupils.
• Staff Development: Leading professional development across the school, inspiring and mentoring staff to reach their full potential and ensuring a culture of continuous improvement.
• School Leadership: Working closely with the headteacher, governing body, and other leaders to shape and deliver the vision and strategic priorities of the school, while maintaining our strong Christian ethos.
About You:
We are looking for an enthusiastic leader who:
• Has a proven track record of excellent classroom practice, coaching skills and curriculum leadership.
• Demonstrates a passion for teaching and learning, with the ability to inspire and engage staff and pupils alike.
• Has experience in leading successful school initiatives, especially related to curriculum and pedagogy.
• Is able to think strategically and work collaboratively within the senior leadership team to support whole-school improvement.
• Holds high expectations for all pupils, ensuring no child is left behind.
• Is committed to upholding and promoting the Christian values and ethos of the school.
What We Offer:
• A welcoming and supportive school community in the beautiful rural countryside of Torridge and North Devon.
• A committed and enthusiastic staff team.
• Happy and motivated children.
• Opportunities for professional growth and leadership development.
• A collaborative working environment with a focus on continuous improvement supported by the local authority.
• The chance to make a real difference in a vibrant and caring school with a long history of excellent inclusive practice.
• Access to discount schemes (Vivup and Blue light card) through your employment with Devon County Council.
If you are passionate about making a lasting impact on children's lives and are excited to take on a leadership role in an ambitious and caring school, we would love to hear from you.
What the school offers its staff
We are a local authority, voluntary controlled primary school catering for pupils from 2 - 11 years of age. Our school nursery has capacity for up to 39 FTE pupils, including ‘rising 3s’ and we are currently consulting on the development of an additional 12 FTE spaces for 2-year-olds. We host Nursery Plus and provide Early Years support on request to a range of settings through our Early Years Teaching Centre.
We have provided specialist provision for up to twelve KS2 pupils in our Bluecoat Group Resource Base since September 2017 and we are currently consulting on formalising and extending this provision to include places for eight Reception and KS1 pupils. We have a dedicated Forest School on site. We provide Breakfast, After School and Holiday Club provision through our dedicated Family Project, which is run by school staff and highly valued by our families.
Our school ethos is centred around the Fruit of the Spirit and the philosophy that “At the heart of the education process lies the child”. Our provision is child-centred, creative and innovative, fostering curiosity and a love of learning. It is accessible to all because we ensure all children are empowered to think for themselves and have the skills they need to engage with their learning at every level. The emphasis we place on metacognition helps us to prepare our children to be resilient, reflective learners able to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing world. Our approach to ‘Building Learning Power’ is deeply embedded across the school.
We value pupil voice and have a wide range of citizenship roles in place which support and encourage pupil participation in the life of the school, including Pupil Councillors, Arts Ambassadors, Eco Warriors, ICT Ambassadors, Librarians, House Captains, Ethos Ambassadors and Peer Mediators.
In Devon we are committed to encouraging the participation of headteachers in national programmes as well as high quality local training and to foster close links with colleagues in Devon schools and others in the Local Authority. Newly appointed headteachers receive an induction briefing visit from the Link Adviser and are invited to attend a New Heads Welcome Day event, where new headteachers are given the opportunity to meet with colleagues and services available to support headteachers. They can also receive purchased support visits from the school link adviser to focus on leadership and management issues and to provide negotiated professional support and development. Headteachers will be provided with full details of the support available within the Local Authority.
Further details about the role
To discuss this post please contact the Headteacher, Angela Fleming, on 01805 622333.
Visits to school to be arranged through Andrea Magarotto - amagarotto@bluecoat-learn.org, 01805 622333
Commitment to safeguarding
Great Torrington Bluecoat C of E Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the well-being of children, young people and their families. We expect all governors, staff, students and volunteers to share this responsibility. The protection of children within our care is our first responsibility and will supersede all other considerations. Please see our Safeguarding Policy below and visit our 'Keeping Children Safe' page for more information and details of our safeguarding team.