Assistant Headteacher – Maternity Cover 

Contract Term: Maternity  

Start Date: April 2026

Contract Type: 0.6

Salary:  L7 

Watling View is seeking to appoint an Assistant Headteacher to cover maternity leave. The successful candidate will be someone who will inspire, enthuse and motivate our pupils and staff to help the school achieve its vision.  

This position will be part of the school’s Senior Leadership Team and play a key role in the within the areas of responsibility linked to this position (exact areas to be discussed with the successful candidate). The successful candidate will be an excellent teacher who can ensure the development and progress of pupils at Watling View.   

The successful candidate will be 

• Experienced in supporting young people with SEND 

• Someone who has demonstrated successful leadership within an area of school development 

• A leader who can communicate with key stakeholders about the areas they lead on.

• Able to take personal and professional responsibility to lead and develop this area.

• Able to articulate and implement a clear vision for the education of pupils at Watling View 

• Able to work as part of the Senior Leadership Team to help drive forward school improvement 

• Able to demonstrate successful school leadership that has brought about improved outcomes for pupils 

• Committed to upholding the vision and values of Watling View and passionate about the education and safeguarding of young people with SEND 

Application:

Closing Date:  12.00pm on Thursday 29th January 2026 

Interview Dates: Thursday 5th February 2026

Visits to the school prior to application are highly recommended. Please call Jo Roberts 01727 850560 #6 to arrange an appointment. You can visit our website www.watlingview.herts.sch.uk.

This position is for maternity cover only.  The position will terminate when the existing post holder returns to work after their maternity leave.

Please contact the school office for further information and to talk to the Head Teacher. Applications can be made online at www.mynewterm.com or www.teachinherts.com. Please do not send CV’s as they will not be considered. 

Job Description

Main Purposes

To promote the vision, mission and aims of Watling View by working with the Headteacher and other members of the Senior Leadership Team to provide strategic leadership and direction in a department and other areas of school improvement ensuring high quality education for pupils at Watling View. 

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT): 

• To provide professional leadership to secure sustained improvements in the school’s performance in partnership with staff, pupils, parents, governors, the LA and the community.

• To provide an environment for teaching and learning that empowers both pupils and staff to achieve their fullest potential. 

• Raise standards in teaching and learning across the school.

• Lead on the development of whole school policy and improvement priorities as determined by the Headteacher and Leadership Team.

• To undertake any professional duty of the Headteacher which may be delegated, in accordance with the pay and conditions document.

• To undertake in the absence of the Head and to the extent required by the Governing Body, the professional duties of the Headteacher including the deployment of staff to ensure their effective contribution to pupil learning.

• To lead on identified areas of whole school improvement. 

• To lead and manage a department and staff developing a framework of mentoring, coaching and peer support.

• To lead, manage, and develop the provision for pupils in a department including but not limited to aspects of curriculum and assessment including transition arrangements. 

• To lead and manage an area of the curriculum.

• Contribute to the whole school improvement plan and school evaluation procedures, including implementing a department development plan to secure continuous school improvement. 

• To be responsible for the effective use and monitoring of particular budgets as directed by the Headteacher 

• To liaise and report to Governors on specific areas of development

• Monitor evaluate and review the effectiveness of the school policies and procedures 

Qualities and knowledge

• Hold and articulate clear values and moral purpose, focused on providing a world-class education for the pupils you educate and support at Watling View. 

• Demonstrate professional personal behaviour, positive relationships and attitudes towards the pupils and staff of Watling View, and towards parents, governors and members of the local community. 

• Lead by example - with integrity, creativity, resilience, and clarity - drawing on your own scholarship, expertise and skills, and that of those around you. 

• Sustain wide, current knowledge and understanding of education and school systems locally, nationally and globally, and pursue continuous professional development. 

• Work with political and financial astuteness, within a clear set of principles centred on the school’s vision, ably translating local and national policy into the school’s context. 

• Communicate the school’s vision and support the strategic leadership, empowering all pupils and staff to excel. 

Pupils and staff

• Demand ambitious standards for all pupils, overcoming disadvantage and advancing equality, instilling a strong sense of accountability in staff for the impact of their work on pupils’ outcomes. 

• Ensure holistic pupil development across the department through successful multi-disciplinary working.

• Secure excellent teaching through an analytical understanding of how pupils learn and of the core features of successful classroom practice and curriculum design, leading to rich curriculum opportunities and pupils’ well-being. 

• Establish an educational culture of ‘open classrooms’ as a basis for sharing best practice within and between schools, drawing on and conducting relevant research and robust data analysis. 

• Create an ethos within which all staff are motivated and supported to develop their own skills and subject knowledge, and to support each other. 

• Identify emerging talents, coaching current and aspiring leaders in a climate where excellence is the standard, leading to clear succession planning. 

• Hold staff to account for their professional conduct and practice addressing under-performance, supporting staff to improve and valuing excellent practice.

• To lead and manage teachers, teaching assistants and mid-day meal supervisors throughout the department, including contributing to the appraisal cycle. 

• Provide a safe, calm and well-ordered environment for all pupils and staff, focused on safeguarding pupils and developing their exemplary behaviour in school and in the wider society. 

• Distribute leadership throughout the organisation, forging teams of colleagues who have distinct roles and responsibilities and hold each other to account for their decision making.

• To participate in staff recruitment and selection processes and the management of human resource / employment issues arising including staff well-being

Teaching Commitment

• To have a teaching timetable providing a model of excellent practice including the planning and assessment of learning activities

Staff are expected to comply with any reasonable request from the Headteacher to undertake work of a similar level that is not specified within this job description. This job description is current at the date shown, but it will be reviewed regularly, to reflect changes in the job commensurate with the job title, purpose and grade and in response to school improvement priorities.

The appointment is subject to the current conditions of employment in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions as they relate to Assistant Headteachers.

The Governing Body are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.