Deputy Headteacher - Allenbourn Middle School

Dorset Council; Wimborne Minster; On-site; GBP 66,000 - 73,000; Full time

Job summary

Allenbourn Middle School in Wimborne Minster seeks a Deputy Headteacher from January 2027. The post offers a leadership opportunity to shape curriculum, safeguarding and inclusion while building on our Outstanding Ofsted strengths.

A proven track record in school improvement and strong communication skills are essential for success. The successful candidate will work with senior leaders to drive strategic priorities, foster a positive staff culture and ensure high levels of attendance and

Qualifications

• Experience in senior leadership roles within a school.
• Proven track record of driving school improvement and attainment.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding and inclusion practices.

Responsibilities

• Play a strategic role in the ongoing development and improvement of the school.
• Lead and influence senior teams to raise standards in teaching, behaviour and attendance.
• Coach and mentor staff to maximise performance across departments.
• Collaborate with families and partners to plan the school's strategic direction.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Communication

Coaching/Mentoring

Safeguarding

Curriculum knowledge

Job description

About the role

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an ambitious and suitably qualified school leader to join our strong senior leadership team as Deputy Headteacher from January 2027.

Actual Salary £66,368 - £73,105 per annum (Leadership Scale L11 - L15 pay award pending)

It is offered on a permanent full time basis.

Start date: 1st January 2027

Allenbourn Middle school is a thriving five form entry Middle School. This post provides an excellent leadership opportunity for candidates seeking progression into Headship whilst contributing to the continued growth and improvement of our school graded as Outstanding in each of behaviour and attitudes and personal development by Ofsted (January 2025).

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work alongside our ambitious senior leadership team, ensuring that all of our children achieve consistently well across the curriculum whilst maintaining the highest standard of attendance and behaviour.

You should be an outstanding practitioner, with an excellent knowledge and understanding of our school curriculum. We would encourage candidates to state their curriculum, teaching and relevant leadership strengths within their application.

You will ensure that all of our children participate fully and grow as part of our Gold Rights Respecting School. A thorough understanding of effective safeguarding and inclusion practices is essential for this role. Under your leadership, Allenbourn Middle School will continue to develop a reputation for excellence. As part of our team you will have clear opportunities to grow as a school leader alongside school and Trust colleagues to plan, influence and shape our strategic direction.

The successful candidate will ideally have previous experience of working in a senior or leadership capacity and be able to demonstrate their proven track record in school improvement.

In return we can offer a happy, friendly and supportive staff team who are highly committed and hardworking; enthusiastic, well motivated children who love learning and a genuine commitment to your further professional development.

The successful applicant must:

1. play a strategic role in the ongoing development and improvement of our school through high quality leadership.
2. Be prepared to make a full commitment to the wider life of our school providing extended opportunities for our children.
3. be self-reflective and able to lead and motivate others to ensure that they perform at their very best consistently.
4. have a highly professional outlook and thrive on challenge.
5. be a highly effective class teacher, who is ambitious for children and for making a difference.
6. be a skilled communicator, with a proven ability to coach and mentor others from different starting points.
7. understand that different children learn in different ways and have a range of skills to make this happen.
8. be able to forge strong and meaningful links with our families.
9. enjoy being part of our team and working with others.

Specific responsibilities will be determined on appointment.

Tours for prospective candidates will be led by the Headteacher at the following times:

Wednesday 16th September 2026 - 9:15 - 10:15am
Thursday 17th September 2026 - 9:15 - 10:15am
Tuesday 22nd September 2026 - 9:15 - 10:15am
Friday 25th September 2026 - 9:15 - 10:15am

Closing date: Midnight on 4th October 2026

Interview Date: 15th & 16th October 2026

Please refer to the attached job description for more details about the role.

Further Information

Allenbourn Middle

School values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

We arecommitted to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people; this is a commitment which we expect all staff and volunteers to share. The successful candidate will be required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service check in line with the Governments safer recruitment guidelines.

This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be established as part of the appointment process.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

Keeping Children Safe in Education

The school will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. This check will be part of a safeguarding check, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. All aspects of social media and internet searches will be conducted. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.

About Us

At Allenbourn Middle School we are committed to ensuring that our children grow and learn alongside their peers in a safe and nurturing environment. Our school community works together embracing our shared values of 'Academic Excellence', 'All Inclusive' and 'Responsible Individuals' ensuring that every child is able to 'aspire@AMS'.

It is our aim to ensure that our children become well-motivated, confident learners, capable of achieving the highest possible standards, whilst becoming positive role models. We welcome children aged nine and they leave us aged thirteen with a clear sense of purpose and an enthusiasm for their future learning.

Children experience a rich curriculum taught by subject specialist teachers and enjoy a wide range of extracurricular clubs and opportunities throughout their time with us.

We take pride in maintaining positive relationships with parents and the wider school community and value the role the whole school community plays in maintaining high expectations for our children.

For more information please visit our school website: https://www.allenbournmiddle.org/