Early Years Lead (Maternity cover) - St. Leonard’s Primary School

St Leonard's Primary School; Stafford; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Leonard's Primary School is seeking an outstanding Early Years Leader to guide our Nursery and Reception during a maternity cover. This is a full-time post with leadership responsibilities and weekly release time to support the role.

Salary £38,400 - £52,835 per annum. The position is required from 22 February 2027. Visits to the school are encouraged as part of the recruitment process to meet the team and see our thriving settings.

Qualifications

• Be an outstanding classroom practitioner with Early Years experience.
• Have subject leadership experience and show impact.
• Strong understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework.
• Commit to raising standards and closing achievement gaps.
• Be prepared to participate in all aspects of school life.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Early Years provision across Nursery and Reception.
• Provide leadership and oversight during the maternity cover period.
• Develop and support teaching practice with weekly release time.
• Contribute to school development and improvement alongside the wider team.

Skills

Outstanding classroom practitioner

Early Years experience

Subject leadership

EYFS understanding

Job description

Early Years Leader Job Advert (Maternity)

M3-UPS3 per annum (Subject to Teachers Terms and Conditions)

Full time, Maternity cover contract

Required from 22nd February 2027

Salary £38,400 - £52,835

At St. Leonard's, our values of Care, Pride, Teamwork and Respect underpin everything we do. Guided by our vision, "Where everyone is valued and together we reach for the stars," we are committed to providing the very best opportunities for our children, families and staff.

St. Leonard's Primary School is seeking to appoint an outstanding, ambitious and highly motivated teacher to lead our Early Years provision during a maternity cover period. This is an exciting opportunity to provide leadership and oversight across our Nursery and Reception classes while contributing to the continued development of our thriving school. The successful candidate will receive weekly release time to support the wider responsibilities of the role.

St. Leonard’s Primary School is a popular, growing school that currently has over 240 children on roll and a 26 place Governor run Nursery. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to play a key role in the next chapter of St. Leonard's development, contributing to our continued growth and success. We currently have two mixed Nursery and Reception classes and have a committed team of teaching and support staff who work alongside our Early Years lead.

We are a very hardworking and committed team of professionals who strive for excellence within our teaching practice. Our team works together to provide a welcoming, safe and successful school with creative, motivated and happy learners at the heart of it. We are looking for an outstanding teacher to join our team, help move the school forward in its continuing development and sustain the very high standards that are consistently being achieved.

The successful candidate will:

• Be an outstanding classroom practitioner who is inspirational, enthusiastic and passionate. Early Years classroom experience is essential.
• Have subject leadership experience and be able to evidence the impact of their leadership.
• Have a strong understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and understand how to translate this into effective practice.
• Be committed to raising standards of progress and attainment and closing gaps in learning.
• Be able to work effectively, flexibly and supportively as part of a team.
• Have high expectations of themselves and all pupils, demonstrating a commitment to achieving the highest standards of teaching, learning and behaviour.
• Be prepared to participate in all aspects of St. Leonard’s school life.

St. Leonard’s offers:

• A caring and inclusive school community where relationships matter.
• Enthusiastic, well-behaved pupils who are eager to learn.
• A dedicated and supportive staff team committed to working together.
• Strong support from governors and senior leaders.
• Opportunities for professional development and leadership growth.

Visits to the school are encouraged as part of the recruitment process.

These can be arranged with the school office for the following sessions:

Wednesday 11th November 4pm

Tuesday 17th November 4pm

Closing Date: Monday 23rd November at 9:00am

Interviews will be held shortly afterwards.

This School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

This position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service which will require you to disclose details of all unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.

Please note that if you are shortlisted for the role, we may conduct an online search as part of our due diligence on the shortlisted candidates. This may help identify any incidents or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online, which may indicate that you are unsuitable to work with children, and that we may want to explore with you at interview.