Job Description
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The Governors of St Mary's CofE Primary School, Burnham on Crouch are pleased to invite applications for an inspirational and dedicated Headteacher to join our community from 1st September 2025, following the retirement of our current Head.
About Us
St Mary's Primary school is a small primary school within the town of Burnham on Crouch, set on the beautiful Dengie peninsula. We pride ourselves on being a caring, friendly and vibrant school with a strong supportive community and a focus on promoting Christian values.
In September 2022, Ofsted rated our school as good, saying that: "Pupils at St Mary's Church of England school are happy and appreciate their teachers. They enjoy the ambitious curriculum and work that is set for them and strive to do their best."
And in January 2020, the SIAMs inspection said of our school, that "High expectations and aspirational targets within a nurturing environment enable all to achieve their best".
Key Responsibilities
As Head Teacher, you will work with governors to shape the strategic direction of St Mary's and lead the day-to-day management of our school. You will inspire and develop our dedicated team, supporting them to deliver outcomes in the best interests of our children.
We are looking for someone who:
- will embody our Christian values and vision, leading our children to Aspire, Believe, Belong and Achieve, guided by the love of God
- is passionate about creating a child-centred vision for education and nurturing an inclusive, aspirational and ambitious environment for all pupils and staff
- will champion a broad and exciting curriculum that inspires both staff and pupils
- can build upon our strong foundation of academic progress and demonstrate a successful track record of inspirational and strategic leadership
- has a robust understanding of safeguarding practices and is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of every child
- will maintain and build close links with St Mary's church and the wider school community.
We offer:
- a vibrant, inclusive school with a strong Christian vision and values
- engaged, enthusiastic pupils who are well behaved and eager to learn and are proud to be at St Mary's
- an enthusiastic, dedicated and ambitious Senior Leadership Team
- a professional and dedicated staff team
- supportive parents, and an active and engaged board of governors who work closely with the school and its leadership team
- a strong sense of school community with strong local relationships and reputation
- a commitment to international learning, having achieved the International Schools Award.
Visits to our school are warmly welcomed and actively encouraged. Please call the school office on 01621 782626 to make an appointment.
To find out more about this exciting opportunity and St Mary's Primary school please visit our website www.stmarysschoolburnham.org.uk or contact us to arrange a visit. Alternatively, you can contact Stephen Kimber, Chair of Governors, via the school office, who would be happy to have an informal conversation with any interested candidates.
Information about the School
We are a one-form entry primary school in Burnham-on-Crouch with 237 pupils currently on role. We are fortunate to have attractive and very spacious grounds, with a good sized playground, spiritual garden, large field, a forest school area and our own swimming pool. We are well resourced and our children appreciate and care for their school.
At St Mary’s, we are proud to be a Church School and our close links with the St Mary’s Church and the church community help to strengthen and enrich our Christian Vision, ‘to aspire, believe, belong and achieve, guided by the love of God’. The first letters of these words spell the word ABBA. Importantly for us, this is the Biblical word meaning ‘Father’ and reflects our school’s Christian distinctiveness.
Our vision is woven through all aspects of school life and is evident in the curriculum, worship and day to day activities of St Mary’s School. Our Christian Vision has always been a strength of the school and our community is shaped and underpinned by it in every way.
Our parents/carers are supportive and keen to participate in school life. We are fortunate to have an active Parents' Teachers' and Friends' Association which helps us in many ways, including fundraising for the school. Ofsted 2022 noted that, "Parents are appreciative of the commitment from staff and leaders. As a result, a number of parents commented positively on the support their children had received."
We follow an exciting curriculum, which uses a cross curricular approach where appropriate. We are extremely proud to have been re-accredited with the full International School Award in 2023, which greatly enriches life at St. Mary's and our participation in a range of international projects and activities is an integral aspect of school life.
We prioritise the well-being of pupils and staff. Our exciting OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) initiative has improved the quality of our lunchtime provision, meaning that our pupils return to classrooms in the afternoon happy and ready to learn.
Our pupils achieve well; in 2025, we were delighted with our statutory assessment results.
We are very proud of our school, our pupils and our strong, successful team.