Assistant Headteacher English

The Westleigh School; Wigan; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading school in Wigan is seeking an ambitious Assistant Headteacher to enhance English education and drive school-wide improvements. The role involves supporting teachers, monitoring student progress, and contributing to strategic direction. Ideal candidates will have leadership experience and a passion for education.

Benefits

Local Government Pension Scheme

Generous holiday entitlement

Electric Car Scheme

Medicash Health & Wellbeing Plan

DiscountForTeachers Scheme

Free Eye Tests

Cycle to work scheme

Qualifications

• Experienced English teacher with a strong track record.
• Previous leadership experience, ideally as a middle leader.
• Deep understanding of curriculum and pedagogy.

Responsibilities

• Support high-quality English teaching and raise standards.
• Monitor student progress and inform improvement strategies.
• Collaborate on whole-school improvement initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Collaboration

Education

Qualified Teacher Status

Job description

We are seeking to appoint an ambitious and experienced English practitioner ready to take the next step into senior leadership, or an existing leader looking for a new challenge. This Assistant Headteacher role will play a key part in driving whole-school priorities and improving student outcomes across the school.We are looking for someone with the subject expertise, credibility, and passion to support and influence excellent practice in English, while taking on broader leadership responsibilities.

Key whole-school responsibilities will be agreed at interview, based on the strengths and interests of the successful candidate, but the role will contribute significantly to the strategic direction of the school.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the development and consistency of high-quality English teaching, working with curriculum leaders to raise standards and outcomes.
• Monitor and evaluate student progress, using data to identify priorities and inform intervention and improvement strategies.
• Collaborate with senior leaders on whole-school improvement initiatives.
• Promote literacy, reading, and a love of English throughout the school community.
• Contribute to the professional development of staff, modelling excellent practice and supporting colleagues across subjects.

The Ideal Candidate:

• An experienced and skilled English teacher with a strong track record of impact at Key Stages 3 and 4.
• Previous leadership experience (e.g. as a middle leader), with the drive and potential to succeed in a senior leadership role.
• A deep understanding of curriculum, pedagogy, and the strategies that improve student outcomes.
• Strong interpersonal, organisational, and communication skills.
• A collaborative and aspirational approach, with the ability to inspire and influence others.
• A clear commitment to inclusive, high-quality education and continuous school improvement.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a supportive and forward-thinking leadership team. If you're ready to make a wider impact while bringing subject expertise in English, we’d love to hear from you.

At The Westleigh School, we place the utmost importance on the wellbeing and professional development of our staff. We believe that happy, supported educators are the key to unlocking the potential in our students. That’s why we prioritise a healthy work-life balance, continuous professional growth, and a collaborative, nurturing environment. We are proud to be a school that has enabled more staff than ever before to complete National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), and we remain fully committed to supporting ongoing development at every stage of a teacher’s career.

Uniting with The Shaw Education Trust brings with it new opportunities and a wealth of resources to supplement our mission to improve outcomes for all our students.

All candidates are required to provide a supporting statement on the formal application forms which states clearly your reasons for applying, skills and experience for this position.

Shaw Education Trust are a thriving mix of diverse and growing schools including Primary, Secondary and Special Schools all working together to improve the lives of young people in our communities.

Please visit our Careers site for more information on The Westleigh School on Vacancies at The Westleigh School | The Westleigh School

Shaw Education Trust offer the following employee benefits with your Teaching or Support Staff employment:

• An excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (Support Staff) / Teachers Pension (Teaching Staff)
• Support Staff only based on working full time, all year - Generous holiday entitlement from your first day of employment (37 days holiday rising to 39 days after 5 years’ service including Bank Holidays)
• Electric Car Scheme: Environmentally friendly vehicles with our electric car scheme.
• Access to Medicash Health & Wellbeing Plan: Enjoy health services designed to support your well-being.
• Free DiscountForTeachers Scheme for all staff (Support and Teaching), Exclusive discounts to save money with a wide selection of discounts and exclusive offers from hundreds of the biggest brands.
• Free Eye Tests
• Cycle to work scheme
• Access to our Institute of Education and fantastic opportunities to help you grow, contribute and flourish in your role and in the Trust.

We know our people are the key to our success and so we’re committed to ensuring the employment experience at Shaw Education Trust is a rewarding one.

Colleagues within the Trust benefit from: Access to a full range of courses both in-house and professionally accredited. These courses include all of the National Professional Qualifications – NPQH, NPQSL, NPQEYL, NPQLL, NPQLT, NPQLTD, NPQLBC are all delivered by the Shaw Education Trust as a delivery partner for Ambition Institute. In addition, we provide access to the NPQEL for Executive Leaders.

• Experienced leadership and subject-specific support.
• Guidance from former HMIs and serving Ofsted Inspectors within the Trust.
• Access to the Trust’s Institute of Education and SCITT.
• Opportunities to work with different schools within the Trust as a Professional Advocate.
• Participating in peer reviews.
• Access to a suite of online courses.
• Placement projects within our family of schools.

The Westleigh School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment, click here to review Safeguarding and Pupil Protection Policy https://www.shaw-education.org.uk/our-trust/key-information

This position is subject to appropriate vetting procedures including an online checks and criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) which will require you to disclose details of all unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions.

All shortlisted candidates will undergo an online search as part of Trust safer recruitment checks.

We are an Equal Opportunities employer and will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment.

In accordance with our safer recruitment policy CVs alone will not be accepted.

Application deadline:Wednesday, 21st May 2025 at 4pm

Interview date: Friday, 23rd May 2025

We reserve the right to appoint before the closing date as we review applications on an on-going basis and interviews may be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, therefore, we encourage early applications.

Successful candidates will be subject to a fully Enhanced DBS check along with other relevant employment checks.