Job Introduction
Head School Librarian
Salary: Grade 6 FTE £27,899 - £30,060
37 hours per week term time only
Start Date: September 2025
Do you have a passion for inspiring young minds and fostering a love of reading?
Are you ready to play a key role in supporting literacy across the school?
Do you have the skills to manage a dynamic library that encourages students to explore, learn, and grow?
Following the retirement of our current librarian after 26 years of dedicated service, we are seeking a passionate, dynamic, and highly organised individual to join our school community as a Secondary School Librarian.
At Woodlands, the library is very much at the heart of the school and is a thriving place where students come to study and socialise. This is an exciting opportunity to lead our library services and play a pivotal role in supporting students' literacy development.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the delivering of literacy lessons in the library. These take place once per fortnight for all KS3 classes. They are led by a classroom teacher, mainly an English teacher, and are intended to provide students with a regular opportunity to use the library and engage with their reading progress.
- Monitor Reading Engagement: Track and monitor reading engagement across the school, using STAR reading analysis tools to identify trends and opportunities for further improvement.
- Reading Age Testing: Administer and track reading age tests to provide accurate assessments of students' reading levels, using data to inform targeted support.
- Celebrate and Promote Reading: Champion reading for pleasure throughout the school by organising events, activities, and initiatives to foster a love of reading and celebrate literary achievements.
- Library Management: Oversee the daily operations of the library, ensuring it remains a welcoming, accessible, and resource-rich space for all students and staff.
- Line management of Library Assistant
- Responsibility for budget
- Training, leading and supporting team of student librarians.
Desirable Skills & Experience
- Experience with Libresoft and Accelerated Reader systems, or similar systems, is highly desirable.
- Proven ability to support and enhance students' literacy and reading skills.
- Strong organisational and communication skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks.
What We Offer
- A welcoming, inclusive school community driven by our core values.
- A curriculum vision that values literacy
- A school with a reading culture, with well-established reading systems in place
- A school with wellbeing at the heart of all we do and regular events to promote wellbeing
We encourage visits from prospective candidates to meet members of our school community. If you would like to visit the school or talk with a member of the Senior Leadership Team about the post, please contact Nikki Purse on 02380463303 or via email: nicola.purse@woodlands.southampton.sch.uk
Closing date for applications is Tuesday 22nd April.
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.
