Job Introduction
Join Us in Shaping Futures at The Federation of Burley and Sopley!
Are you a passionate, dynamic, and experienced school leader ready to make a lasting impact? The Federation of Burley and Sopley – two vibrant, nurturing, and community-focused village schools nestled in the heart of the New Forest – is seeking a dedicated Deputy Headteacher to help lead our Federation into its next exciting chapter. This is a rare opportunity to play a pivotal role across both schools, working in close partnership with the Executive Headteacher to inspire staff, support pupils, and shape the strategic direction of our inclusive and ambitious learning community. Visits to our schools are warmly welcomed, to meet the team and also find out a little more about this role.
This role could be offered on a full-time basis or 4 days a week for the right candidate.
Interviews are currently planned for October 13th with an intended start date of January 1st .
Person Specification
Qualifications & Experience
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) – (Essential)
Substantial experience of teaching in primary schools – (Essential)
Proven leadership and management experience in a school setting, which has impacted positively on provision and standards – (Essential)
Evidence of recent and relevant professional development – (Essential)
Experience of leading successful whole-school improvement initiatives – (Essential)
Proven excellence in teaching pupils within the primary phase – (Essential)
Successful experience in leading SEND provision or holding a SENCo qualification – (Desirable)
Leadership & Management
A strong track record of upholding high standards of professional conduct and behaviour – (Essential)
Demonstrable experience in supporting and developing staff through coaching, mentoring and CPD – (Essential)
Ability to contribute to and sustain a positive school culture and ethos – (Essential)
Proven ability to manage change, inspire others and lead by example – (Essential)
Skilled in the analysis of data and using this to drive school improvement – (Essential)
Experience in managing performance appraisal processes – (Essential)
Ability to prioritise and manage workload - (Essential)
An understanding of school evaluation and the development of school improvement planning – (Desirable)
Experience of facilitating whole-school INSET and/or staff training – (Desirable)
Teaching, Learning & Curriculum
Strong understanding of pedagogy, curriculum development, and assessment practices – (Essential)
Ability to act as a model for excellent teaching and learning in the classroom – (Essential)
Demonstrable impact on pupil outcomes through leadership of teaching and learning – (Essential)
Ability to monitor teaching quality and provide effective feedback and support – (Essential)
Clear understanding of current educational developments, including national assessment systems – (Essential)
Successful experience of working with pupils with SEND and overseeing provision – (Essential)
Strong understanding of how to best support children showing challenging behaviours – (Essential)
Safeguarding & Inclusion
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) trained or willing to undertake training – (Essential)
Thorough understanding of safeguarding legislation, policies, and procedures, – (Essential)
Demonstrable commitment to inclusion, equality and meeting the needs of all learners, including disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils – (Essential)
Experience of working with looked-after children and liaising with virtual schools – (Desirable)
Interpersonal & Communication Skills
Ability to build and sustain professional and respectful relationships with all stakeholders – (Essential)
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills – verbal and written – (Essential)
Ability to manage and resolve conflict professionally and sensitively – (Essential)
Commitment to effective parental engagement – (Essential)
Job Description
Reporting to: Executive Headteacher and Governors
Status of the Post
This is a senior post within the Federation’s staffing structure, which includes membership of the Strategic Leadership Team. This post holder is accountable to the Executive Headteacher and is to deputise for the Executive Headteacher in their absence. As Deputy Headteacher, you will be required to meet the general requirements of this post as specified in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (2019). In addition, you will be required to fulfil any reasonable expectations from the Headteacher.
Supervisory Responsibility
The post holder is also expected to interact and lead colleagues on a professional level in order to promote a mutual understanding of the Federation’s vision and values.
The post holder will be expected to network and liaise across the range of external providers, schools, community and coordinator networks, to ensure a consistency of approach regarding standards, support, transition and high quality learning and teaching.
Main purpose
The Deputy Headteacher, alongside and under the direction of the Executive Headteacher, will take a major role in:
Formulating the aims and objectives of the Federation
Establishing policies for achieving these aims and objectives - monitoring and evaluation their implementation and impact
Managing staff and resources across the Federation
Monitor progress towards the achievement of the Federation’s aims and objectives
Act as a lead practitioner, offering excellent pedagogical modelling and coaching to colleagues across the primary sector.
Act as SENCO and inclusion lead for both schools within the Federation – including prioritising provision for disadvantaged pupils.
Be responsible and accountable for achieving the highest possible standards in pupil and staff work and conduct
In the absence of the Executive Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher will deputise, as directed by the governing board.
Teach across all year groups and both schools within the Federation
Take responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people within the Federation
Work with the Federation Governors, attending meetings and advising on strategic direction.
Act as a DSL within the Federation.
Qualities
The Deputy Headteacher will:
Uphold public trust in school leadership and maintain high standards of ethics, behaviour and professional conduct
Act as a role model for personal and professional conduct
Build positive and respectful relationships across the Federation community
Serve in the best interests of the Federation’s pupils
Be dedicated to developing all members of staff, acting as a role model for excellent practice in the classroom.
Be able and prepared to work with a range of stakeholders and outside agencies.
Act as a support for the Executive Headteacher.
Duties and responsibilities
School culture and behaviour
Under the direction of the Executive Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher will:
Create a culture where pupils experience a positive and enriching school life
Uphold educational standards in order to prepare pupils from all backgrounds for their next phase of education and life
Ensure a culture of staff professionalism
Encourage high standards of behaviour from pupils, built on rules and routines that are understood by staff and pupils and clearly demonstrated by all adults within Federation
Use consistent and fair approaches to managing behaviour, in line with the Federation’s behaviour policy
Lead whole school assemblies
Ensure that safeguarding remains the highest of priorities.
Teaching, curriculum and assessment
Under the direction of the Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher will:
Establish and sustain high-quality teaching across all subjects and phases,
Promote consistency of agreed pedagogy
Ensure teaching is underpinned by subject expertise
Effectively use formative assessment to inform strategy and decisions
Ensure the teaching of a broad, structured and coherent curriculum
Promote curriculum leadership, including developing subject leaders
Support subject leaders in evaluating the impact of their work
Monitor teaching offering mentoring and coaching where appropriate
Evaluate and develop summative assessment systems
Keep updated with national assessment developments
Additional and special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities
Under the direction of the Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher will:
Promote a culture and practice that enables all pupils to access the curriculum
Have ambitious expectations for all pupils with SEN and disabilities
Make sure the schools works effectively with parents, carers and professionals to identify additional needs and provide support and adaptation where appropriate
Make sure the schools fulfil statutory duties regarding the SEND Code of Practice.
Report on the progress of children on the SEN register to the governing body
Monitor the implementation and impact of the SEN policy
Contribute to the development of a positive inclusive ethos
Support staff in understanding the learning needs of a diversity of pupils
Identify and assess provision needs for all children with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities
Raise standards of SEND pupils inclusion, attainment and achievement by monitoring and supporting student progress through the use of IEPs and other appropriate intervention strategies.
Engage in liaison meetings with appropriate outside agencies, e.g. Education Psychologists, Speech and Language services
Manage and deploy available resources, including Teaching Assistants
Support the curriculum and learning support for pupils at risk of underachievement due to behavioural difficulties, disadvantage or poor attendance
Develop and track the provision for disadvantaged pupils
Act as the designated teacher for looked after children, liaising with the virtual school where appropriate.
Organisational management and school improvement
Under the direction of the Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher will:
Establish and sustain the Federation ethos and strategic direction, across both schools, together with the governing board
Establish and oversee systems, processes and policies across all schools within the Federation, to enable both schools to operate effectively
Ensure staff and pupils’ safety and welfare through effective approaches to safeguarding, as part of duty of care
Manage staff well with due attention to workload
Ensure rigorous approaches to identifying, managing and mitigating risk
Allocate financial resources appropriately, efficiently and effectively
Identify problems and barriers to school effectiveness, and develop strategies for school based and federation wide improvement that are realistic, timely and suited to the school’s context
Make sure these Federation improvement strategies are effectively implemented across both schools
Work alongside the Executive Headteacher to develop school SEFs
Professional development
Under the direction of the Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher will:
Ensure staff have access to appropriate, high standard professional development opportunities
Keep up to date with developments in education
Track the impact of professional development on school improvement
Disseminate key information from external CPD
Lead whole organisational training, including staff meeting and INSET
Governance, accountability and working in partnership
Under the direction of the Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher will:
Understand and welcome the role of effective governance, including accepting responsibility
Attend governor meetings, in an advisory role, to support strategic thinking and report on progress towards desired improvements.
Ensure that staff understand their professional responsibilities and are held to account
Ensure that both schools effectively and efficiently operate within the required regulatory frameworks and meet all statutory duties
Be accountable for standards across the year groups being led, challenging underperformance and supporting teacher development.
Work successfully with other schools and organisations
Promote cross federation working, including the sharing of best practices and children experiences
Maintain working relationships with fellow professionals and colleagues to improve educational outcomes for all pupils
Work closely, alongside the Executive Headteacher to evaluate and lead improvements.
Facilitate performance management of teachers, TA’s and lunchtime supervisors.
Facilitate volunteer induction training.
Safeguarding
Manage referrals
Act as a source of support, advice and expertise for all staff.
Understand the assessment process for providing early help and statutory intervention, including local criteria for action and local authority children’s social care referral arrangements;
Have a working knowledge of how local authorities conduct a child protection case conference and a child protection review conference and be able to attend and contribute to these effectively when required to do so;
Ensure each member of staff has access to, and understands, the Federation’s child protection policy and procedures, especially new and part time staff;
Be alert to the specific needs of children in need, those with special educational needs and young carers;
Understand relevant data protection legislation and regulations, especially the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation
Understand the importance of information sharing, both within the Federation, and with other agencies, organisations and practitioners
Are able to keep detailed, accurate, secure records of concerns and referrals
Understand and support the Federation with regards to the requirements of the Prevent duty and are able to provide advice and support to staff on protecting pupils from the risk of radicalisation;
Are able to understand the unique risks associated with online safety and be confident that they have the relevant knowledge and up to date capability required to keep pupils safe whilst they are online at school
Can recognise the additional risks that pupils with SEN and disabilities (SEND) face online, for example, from online bullying, grooming and radicalisation and are confident they have the capability to support SEND pupils to stay safe online;
Obtain access to resources and attend any relevant or refresher training courses
Encourage a culture of listening to pupils and taking account of their wishes and feelings, among all staff, in any measures the Federation may put in place to protect them
Ensure the Federation’s child protection policies are known, understood and used appropriately
Ensure the Federation’s child protection policy is reviewed annually (as a minimum) and the procedures and implementation are updated and reviewed regularly, and work with governing bodies or proprietors regarding this
Ensure the child protection policy is available publicly and parents are aware of the fact that referrals about suspected abuse or neglect may be made and the role of the Federation in this
Link with the safeguarding partner arrangements to make sure staff are aware of any training opportunities and the latest local policies on local safeguarding arrangements
Help promote educational outcomes by sharing the information about the welfare, safeguarding and child protection issues that pupils, including children with a social worker, are experiencing, or have experienced, with teachers and Federation leadership staff. Their role could include ensuring that the Federation, and their staff, know who these children are, understand their academic progress and attainment and maintain a culture of high aspirations for this cohort; supporting teaching staff to identify the challenges that children in this group might face and the additional academic support and adjustments that they could make to best support these children
During term time the designated safeguarding lead (or a Deputy) should always be available (during school hours) for staff in the Federation to discuss any safeguarding concerns
It is a matter for the Federation and the designated safeguarding leads to arrange adequate and appropriate cover arrangements for any out of hours/out of term activities.
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
Communicate effectively with all colleagues
Work collaboratively with others to develop effective professional relationships
Deploy support staff effectively as appropriate
Communicate effectively with parents/carers with regard to pupils’ achievements and well-being using school systems/processes as appropriate
Communicate and co-operate with relevant external bodies
Make a positive contribution to the wider life and ethos of the schools within the Federation
Ensure health and safety compliance.
Attend PTFA meetings and work alongside the Executive Headteacher, to ensure that funds support agreed ongoing school improvement.
Undertake additional roles assigned by the Executive Headteacher, to ensure the smooth running of both schools across the Federation
Please note that this is illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of the role. It is not a comprehensive list of all tasks that the Headteacher will carry out. The postholder may be required to do other duties appropriate to the level of the role.
Please complete the application form attached and return it to Chloe Buckley at c.buckley@burley.hants.sch.uk by 1pm on Friday 26th September 2025.
To arrange a tour of the schools please contact the school office on 01425 403375 (Burley) or 01425 672343 (Sopley) on or after 4th September 2025.
Interviews are currently planned for October 13th with an intended start date of January 1st .
Safer Recruitment
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.
