Headteacher

Job Description

A unique role as the founding headteacher of Big Educations new primary schoolThe roleThis is an extraordinary role for someone who wants to be at the cutting edge of education innovation. It is a one off. Your chance to lead a new primary school as part of a ground-breaking project to push the boundaries of how we do education in this country. Big Educations new primary school will open its doors in September 2021 to a state-of-the-art new building. Our aim is to develop a more expansive education, one that develops head (academics), heart (growth and well-being) and hand (creativity and problem-solving). To achieve this requires fresh thinking - about the curriculum, teaching and learning and ways of working. This school is the chance to put these ideas into practice and develop a school that can over time become a beacon of what a Big Education can look like. The new primary school will not be isolated but part of a cluster of three Big Education schools in the area - the closest being School 21 - a 4 to 18 school with a strong reputation for innovation and high standards - as well as an array of educational, creative and business partners - a Big Education Zone. We believe in our schools being rooted in their communities, responsive to the full range of diversity of our local families and children, and providing a curriculum that skillfully weaves together head, heart and hand. Each of our schools is distinct rather than uniform and this is your chance to shape the vision for the new primary. We want young people to be taught how to solve problems in creative ways, and make a difference to the world around them. There are exciting opportunities to develop a professional learning community that develops a series of courses and experiences for pupils that draw on the huge expertise and creativity of our partners. The successful candidate might be an experienced head but also might be someone who is a relative newcomer to senior leadership. What matters is the mindset. We are looking for someone (or a double act - we are open to a co-headship) who has the courage to take calculated risks, who is itching to change the way schools go about their business. Someone constantly curious, self-reflective, eager to make new connections, and add to the learning. Someone who is comfortable dealing with complexity and embracing a diverse range of ideas, and who is able to bring clarity and a sense of identity to that thinking. At Big Education we are creating a climate in which these mindsets can flourish, coaching and supporting leaders to help them grow and develop their thinking. We believe in a high autonomy and high support model within our organisation, so you will have the freedom to pursue your vision for how a Big Education should be realised and in collaboration with the other schools and partners you will be able to create something that brings learning alive for the community. We are looking for someone who is.......

Committed to educating the whole child - head, heart and hand.

Values driven - Believing in every child, a deep sense of diversity and inclusion, and a belief in social action and social justice.

Entrepreneurial - with the capacity to set up a new school, develop its vision, culture, curriculum and approach to learning and build a network of powerful partnerships.

Curious, reflective and restless - Constantly seeking out new ideas and thinking deeply about the purpose of education.

Thoughtful collaborator - Seeking out opportunities to forge partnerships and deepen relationships, relishing the chance to work with the other schools, partners and thought leaders in the Big Education Zone and our MAT.

A courageous designer - To design great practices that balance innovation with rigour and to be as concerned about skilled implementation and effective ways of working as generating ideas.

Skilled at developing staff and creating a climate of innovation and enquiry within a collaborative professional learning communities.

We offer...

The chance to work in an exciting, growing MAT and social enterprise - Big Education

Co-Directors (Peter Hyman and Liz Robinson) who believe deeply in a supportive, developmental culture

A network of interesting, creative educationalists to act as thought partners

The chance to work closely with our pioneering schools (School 21 and Surrey Square Primary School) and their leaders, to share ideas and practice

Strong institutional knowledge of opening free schools

Established and effective operations functions to support the Headteacher

Big EducationBig Education is a social enterprise and multi-academy trust that is a force for change in education in the UK. Launched in September 2018, Big Education has big ambitions. We seek to bring together the energy and spirit of our schools, teachers and communities to deliver a bigger and bolder vision of what education can be.We believe deeply that education needs to be more expansive, that we need to educate the whole child - head, heart and hand. We believe that if we do that with innovation and rigour, then young people will be equipped to make a difference to the world.There are three main strands to our work:

Running and supporting schools: Big Education is currently running three schools and works with a number of others in different ways and is in the process of setting up two more brand new schools of which this is one. The schools that we are currently running are:School 21Surrey Square Primary School International Academy of Greenwich

Designing programmes, products and tools to support a Big Education. These include our pioneering leadership programme, the Big Leadership Adventure, as well as toolkits for use by headteachers and teachers.

Thought Leadership: We want to build a coalition of people who are united around the idea that the education system needs to be done differently. Working with educationalists, thinkers, business people, social entrepreneurs, and policy makers we want to be a catalyst for change. A recent example of this is our Learning from Lockdown website where we have developed a website of blogs from a range of great educationalists all trying to learn from lockdown so schools can come back stronger. Big Education is an equal opportunities employer and we actively seek applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds. All recruitment is subject to comprehensive DBS checks. How to apply To apply, please visit the new primary schools w