Job Description

An exciting opportunity to lead a recently constructed two form entry school located in a newly developed section of an established village and serving children within the community. The school has excellent up to date facilities and extensive grounds.

We took our eye off the ball during a time of rapid expansion and needed a wakeup call. Ofsted visited us in June 2014 and, whilst recognising some of our strengths, hit us hard with challenges around teaching, learning and leadership.

The headteacher stood down and since that time an Executive Head has been working with the Local Authority and our dedicated staff, and significant progress has been made.

The school will be converting to an academy sponsored by The Learning Partnership Trust on 1st September. The Trust is a new primary multi-academy trust established by Hatfield Heath Primary School, an Outstanding school in Essex near Bishop's Stortford and Stansted Airport. The Trust has a vision for a small family of outstanding primary schools serving local communities and has an absolute commitment to the highest standards of education based on a can-do culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

We are now looking for an experienced headteacher with the ability and drive to lead, nurture and inspire high quality teaching and learning who will help us secure good and then journey beyond to outstanding. The potential for this school is immense.

We have hardworking staff, amazing children and a community that is passionate about their children's education and want to work with the school to make it great.

We are ideally situated on the Essex/Herts/Cambs border with easy access to the M11 and A120.

Visits to the school are warmly welcomed and encouraged. Please contact Tracy Rayner on tel. 01279 870541 to arrange an appointment.

Information about the School

We are proud of our history of providing education for children in the local area from 1869 when the school was first opened as a Penny School; the children of ordinary people were charged 1 penny a day whilst children of shopkeepers were charged 3 pennies. At this time the school was located at Brewers End (on the old A120) and the buildings can still be seen there. Since that time the school has grown and developed and in September 2012 the school relocated to a brand-new school on its current site at Priors Green, Little Canfield.

Currently the school has 351 pupils on roll based in 13 classes covering Year groups from Reception to Year 6. Each classroom is a good size and has effective IT resources to support high quality teaching and learning. Our superb staff are led by a strong Senior Leadership Team. Our outside areas have also been enhanced with some excellent PE equipment and re-energised spaces. The school is an integral part of the village of Takeley and Little Canfield working closely with all the other organisations in the area to promote a sense of community.

The behaviour of pupils in the school is exemplary and we have a behaviour system that builds on positive attitudes and achievements. Attitudes to learning reflect a growth mindset and our pupils are eager to learn and impress their teachers and parents/carers with the knowledge that making mistakes supports their learning.

We firmly believe that all our children are very special with the capacity to achieve in a variety of areas. ‘Learning, achieving and enjoying together’ is our core professional purpose and our staff are committed to develop the skills and talents of all the children in our care. Together we are all working towards our children being confident and independent learners who have the courage to seize all the opportunities available to them both now and in the future.