The Key Areas of Deputy Headship Are

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB PURPOSE:

The key areas of Deputy Headship are:

A.  Strategic direction and development of the school

B.  Teaching and learning

C.  Leading and managing staff

D.  Efficient and effective deployment of staff and resources

E.  Accountability

Expertise as a deputy head is demonstrated by the ability to apply professional knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes to bring about expected outcomes. The Deputy Headteacher will work with the Headteacher, Governing Body, the senior leadership team and other colleagues in relation to all five key areas.

The Deputy Headteacher should also understand the roles of others in the school, as set out in the current national standards and should support them as appropriate in fulfilling those roles.

A.  Strategic direction and development of the school

The Deputy Headteacher, working with the Headteacher and Governing Body, should help to shape the strategic direction of the school and analyse and plan for the school’s future needs and further development within the local, national and international context.

They should:

1.  lead by example, provide inspiration and motivation, and embody for the pupils, staff, governors and parents the vision, purpose and shared leadership of the school;

2.  help to provide educational vision and direction which secures effective teaching, successful learning and achievement by pupils and sustained improvement in their spiritual, moral, social, cultural, mental and physical development, and prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life; and secure the commitment of parents and the wider community to the vision and direction of the school;

3.  implement the school development plan, underpinned by sound financial planning, which identified priorities and targets for ensuring that pupils achieve high standards and make progress, increasing teachers’ effectiveness and securing school improvement;

4.  ensure that all those involved in the school are committed to its aims, motivated to achieve them, and involved in meeting long, medium and short term objectives and targets which secure the educational success of the school;

5.  ensure the policies and practices take account of national, local and school data and inspection and research findings;

6.  monitor, evaluate and review the effects of policies, priorities and targets of the school in practice, and take action if necessary.

7.  support staff with advice on assessment, recording and reporting procedures (school, local, national and statutory).

8.  advise and inform Leadership Team and GB of relevant issues.

B.  Teaching and learning

The Deputy Headteacher, working with the Headteacher and Governing Body, should help to secure and sustain effective teaching and learning throughout the school, monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and standards of pupils’ achievement, and use benchmarks to set targets for improvement.

They should:

1.  Ensure that the quality of their class teaching is at least good and that all pupils make at least good progress in all areas of the curriculum.

2.  Help create and maintain an environment and a code of behaviour which promote and secure at least good teaching, effective learning, high standards of achievement, good behaviour and discipline, and which enables teachers to meet national professional standards

3.  Help to develop, organise and implement the curriculum and its assessment; monitor and evaluate them in order to identify and act on areas for improvement

4.  Contribute to further development of the curriculum to ensure that activities are more relevant and meaningful for pupils

5.  Ensure continued improvements in Reading, Writing, Maths, Science and information and communications technology are priority targets for all pupils, including those with special educational needs

6.  Ensure that pupils develop appropriate study skills in order to learn more effectively and with increasing independence

7.  Help to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning and standards of achievement of all pupils, including those with special educational needs, in order to set and meet challenging, realistic targets for improvement

8.  Work with other staff to further develop effective links with the local community, including business and industry, and wider communities to extend the curriculum, enhance teaching and learning and further develop community cohesion

9.  Maintain and develop an effective partnership with parents to support and improve pupils’ achievement and personal development

10.  Collaborate with other schools and outside agencies for the benefit of children within Ditton Infant School and beyond

C.  Leading and Managing

In partnership with the Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher should lead, motivate, support, challenge and develop staff to secure improvement. The Deputy Head will coordinate all aspects of continuing professional development in the school and the school’s responsibilities in initial teacher training.

They should:

1.  assist the Headteacher in managing the school

2.  maximise the contribution of staff to improve the quality of education provided and standards achieved and ensure that constructive working relationships are formed between staff and pupils

3.  plan, allocate, support and evaluate work undertaken by groups, teams and individuals, ensuring clear delegation of tasks and devolution of responsibilities

4.  with the Headteacher, implement and sustain effective systems for the management of staff performance, incorporating performance management and targets for teachers, including targets relating to pupils’ achievement

5.  motivate and enable all staff in our school to carry out their respective roles to the highest standards, through high quality continuing professional development based on the assessment of needs

6.  support and coordinate the provision of high quality professional development by methods such as lesson study, coaching, drawing on other sources of expertise where appropriate, for example, higher education, LAs and subject associations

7.  understand the expectations of all staff, and ensure that trainee and newly qualified teachers are appropriately trained, monitored, supported and assessed in relation to the standards for Qualified Teacher Status, the Career Entry Profile and standards for induction;

8.  sustain their motivation and that of other staff

9.  Provide leadership in the operational management of lunchtimes, ensuring the mid-day supervisory staff are appropriately supported and able to carry out their duties effectively in the interests of both pupils and adults

10.  Lead and manage ‘Inclusion’ throughout the school (including the role of SENCO)

11.  take charge of the school in absence of the Headteacher

D.  Efficient and effective deployment of staff and resources

In conjunction with the Headteacher, the Deputy Head deploys people and resources efficiently and effectively to meet specific objectives in line with the school development plan and financial context.

They should:

1.  work with the Headteacher, governors and senior colleagues to recruit staff of the highest quality

2.  With the Headteacher, lead the teaching assistant team meetings and be the Performance Management Reviewer for teaching assistants

3.  work with colleagues to deploy and develop all staff effectively in order to improve the quality of education provided

4.  help to set appropriate priorities for expenditure, allocate funds and ensure effective administration and control having responsibility for ordering and organising resources required for the curriculum

5.  manage and organise accommodation efficiently and effectively to ensure that it meets the needs of the curriculum and health and safety regulations

6.  manage, monitor and review the range, quality, quantity and use of all available resources in order to improve the quality of education, improve pupils’ achievements, ensure efficiency and secure value for money

E.  Accountability

The Deputy Headteacher works with the Headteacher to account for the efficiency and effectiveness of the school to the Governing Body and others, including pupils, parents, staff, local employers and the local community.

They should:

1.  as and when required attend Governing Body meetings, regularly provide information, objective advice and support to the Governing Body to enable it to meet its responsibilities for securing effective teaching and learning and improved standards of achievement, and for achieving efficiency and value for money

2.  help to develop an organisation in which all staff recognise that they are accountable for the success of the school

3.  assist the Headteacher to present a coherent and accurate account of the school’s performance in a form appropriate to a range of audiences, including governors, the LA, the local community, OFSTED and others to enable them to play their part effectively

4.  ensure that parents and pupils are well-informed about the curriculum, attainment and progress and about the contribution that they can make to achieve the school’s targets for improvement

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