The posting
This is an exciting time of development and improvement for Emmaus Primary with a new headteacher in place from September 2026. We now are excited to welcome an experienced leader who will help to lead positive change alongside the hard-working and motivated senior leadership team who are well support by St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust.
Job Title: Assistant Headteacher (Behaviour, Teaching & Learning)
Closing date: Wednesday 14th October by 12 noon
Start date: January 2027
Interview date: Wednesday 21st October 2026
Pay scale: Leadership Scale 3 to 7
Contract Type: Permanent-Full-time or Part-time 0.8
Reporting To: Headteacher
The Governors of Emmaus Catholic and Church of England Primary School are seeking to appoint an outstanding, visionary and deeply committed leader to the position of Assistant Headteacher.
As a dual-denomination school, Christian values sit at the heart of our daily life. We bridge two church families -the Catholic Church and the Church of England -and require a leader who will champion this unique, inclusive ethos while fiercely driving academic and behavioral standards.
This specific strategic role focuses heavily on elevating the Quality of Education and embedding a positive, transformative culture of Behaviour. You will be a highly organised person and an exemplary classroom teacher who inspires staff, nurtures pupils to realise their full potential, and builds strong partnerships across the community. You will be a person who get’s jobs done.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Leadership of Behaviour & Attitudes
- Positive Behaviour Culture: Lead, evaluate, and refine the school's behavior policy, embedding distinct learning behaviors across all phases. Ensure a calm, orderly, and highly respectful environment, leading by example.
- Restorative Practices: Champion relational practice to embed positive behaviour across schools and pastoral support that mirrors the school's values of reconciliation and mutual respect.
- High Expectations: Support staff in managing challenging behavior effectively, implementing robust monitoring systems to analyse behavioral data and implement proactive, inclusive interventions.
2. Instructional Leadership: Teaching & Learning
- Curriculum & Pedagogy: Contribute to the overseeing the development and delivery of a highly ambitious, sequenced primary curriculum in line with trust policy that matches and exceeds National Curriculum standards.
- Quality Assurance: Contributes to the leading of robust quality-of-education monitoring, including regular learning walks, book scrutinies, planning reviews, and pupil voice analysis.
- Coaching & Mentoring: Implement an impactful instructional coaching framework to upskill teachers and support staff, fostering a culture of professional growth, continuous editing, and practice.
- Teaching Commitment: Serve as a model of classroom excellence by maintaining a reduced teaching timetable, demonstrating outstanding pedagogy to peers.
3. Ethos and Joint-Denominational Leadership
- Faith Integration: Actively support the distinct dual-denomination Christian character of Emmaus, weaving values like forgiveness, reconciliation and love into our teaching and behaviour policies.
- Community Presence: Work in close partnership with our diverse families, both Catholic and Church of England parish communities and wider networks.
4. Pupil Progress & Targeted Intervention
- Data-Driven Progress: Work collaboratively with phase leaders to analyse school performance and pupil progress data, identifying and addressing underachievement swiftly.
- Inclusive Achievement: Ensure teaching, learning, and behavioral strategies fully support the progress of vulnerable groups, including pupils with English as an Additional Language, Pupil Premium and pupils with SEND.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Training
- Essential: Hold Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a degree-level qualification.
- Desirable: Evidence of professional leadership training (e.g. NPQSL or NPQH) or qualifications relevant to church school leadership.
Experience
- Teaching Excellence: A proven track record of consistently outstanding primary classroom teaching.
- Middle/Senior Leadership: Demonstrable success in leading a whole-school initiative or core curriculum area, with a tangible impact on teaching standards and pupil behavior.
- Ethos Alignment: Experience working within, or an understanding of a Church of England or Catholic school.
Knowledge & Skills
- Behaviour Expertise: Deep understanding of evidence-based behaviour management techniques, restorative practice and pastoral systems in a primary setting.
- Pedagogical Mastery: Expert knowledge of what makes great teaching and learning, cognitive load theory and formative assessment frameworks.
- Communication: Inspiring interpersonal skills, with the ability to navigate leadership with tact, emotional intelligence and professional authority.
- Organisation Skill: Ability to create highly effective systems to contribute to the implementation of school properties and enable the smooth running of school.
Personal Attributes
- Faith Commitment: Willingness to fully support, live out and preserve the joint Catholic and Church of England values of Emmaus Primary School.
- Resilience & Positivity: A solutions-oriented mindset, an energetic approach to challenges and a warm, highly visible presence around the school.
We will offer you
- A joint Catholic and Church of England Primary School for children aged 3-11, part of the St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust.
- A diverse school community with wonderful children who enjoy learning.
- A caring ethos centered on dignity, compassion and celebrating each child’s uniqueness.
- High quality opportunities at school and trust level to develop professionally.
- An environment where staff are valued and supported.
We welcome and encourage visits from potential applicants, so please call our school office on 0114 2766474or contact us via email: [email protected]. Application forms can be found on our school website using this link: Emmaus Catholic and Church of England Primary School, a Voluntary Academy - Vacancies and should be returned [email protected] by Wednesday 14th October by 12 noon.
Please note we understand AI is commonly used in applications but ask that personal statements are specific to our school and give personal examples.
Emmaus Catholic and Church of England Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants will undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers. The role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore candidates will be subject to an enhanced DSB certificate, the role is engaged in regulated activity and will therefore require a Children’s Barred List Check. Shortlisted Applicants will be required to complete a self-disclosure. Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service
We are committed to the equality of opportunity in the services provided to customers and all aspects of employment. We warmly welcome applications from all sectors of the community. Our recruitment policies, procedures and practices enable all applicants to be considered on merit and ability to do the job. We will make reasonable adjustments, in line with the Equality Act, for disabled applicants if these are needed.
