Head of School Review & Assurance

Reports to: Director of Standards & Performance

Location: 2 to 3 days per week in schools/head office in White City, with 2 to 3 days remote working from home

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am – 5.30pm) (part-time available)

Closing date: Monday 24t^h April at 10am

Start date: 1^st September 2023 (or earlier by negotiation)

Salary: Highly competitive package, negotiable depending on experience

Interviews: To be arranged as suitable

About the role:

This is an exciting new senior role within Ark Schools, to build on and lead our review cycle across schools. Our internal reviews and monitoring process has become a core part of our approach to school improvement, and we receive positive feedback from our school Principals about the quality, precision and supportive nature of our approach.

This is a great opportunity to directly spotlight school improvement priorities as well as provide insights into the design, implementation, and impact of our wider work. We are looking for someone who has previous experience of direct school improvement at a senior level, ideally through headship or senior leadership, as well as deep knowledge of the Ofsted framework, likely as an Ofsted Inspector or His Majesty’s Inspector, with a working knowledge of both primary and secondary phases of education.

The Head of School Review & Assurance is integral to our approach to ensure all of our schools provide an exceptional education to the pupils we serve. Your success will be measured through the quality of the school improvement insights drawn and shared with schools, alongside the validation of the accuracy of our knowledge of our schools through inspection and published outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead school assurance visits, and establish and maintain a strong team of reviewers, ensuring aligned expectations and approach for school monitoring so that all schools encounter a common experience
• On visits to schools, provide support and challenge to leaders, highlighting strengths and describing areas for further development, aligned to the Ark education model
• Lead network wide training to leaders at all levels of school in key and identified areas for improvement, where appropriate
• Produce a half termly insight report into the patterns, strengths and areas for further development that are observed across our schools, including implications for our central team priorities and activities
• Provide support to the Director of Standards & Performance to ensure that schools are prepared for inspection and that we hold an accurate view of the performance of our schools against DfE benchmarks, Ofsted and our wider education standards
• Lead on providing ‘Ofsted readiness’ training and support to schools as required
• Work with the Director of Standards & Performance in ensuring that the approach to school monitoring and review genuinely supports school improvement and continues to be a highly regarded and positive part of our education model

Key Requirements:

• Experience of Headship or senior leadership in an improved or outstanding school
• Deep knowledge of the current Ofsted Framework, as a serving OI or HMI, across phases
• Qualified to teach and work in the UK
• Deep knowledge of the wider school performance framework at a national level
• Effective communicator with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build positive relationships.
• Able to uphold Ark values through their work, demonstrating compassion, kindness and bravery in our work to drive school improvement
• Flexible, highly organised and able to multi-task and prioritise work to meet deadlines in a dynamic environment

View the full job description and person specification here

About Ark

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 30,000 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

You’ll be joining a group of like-minded, ambitious individuals who work collaboratively and are all committed to our core mission, that every child has the potential to succeed. Having just celebrated our 20th anniversary, we are shaping our goals for the next 20 and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

Benefits

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service and full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• Hybrid working, with currently two days a week in our state-of-the-art office in West London working alongside colleagues
• Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit
• A flexible approach to working with understanding and consideration for work life balance and personal commitments
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to TPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

How to Apply:

Apply with a CV and cover letter on our online recruitment portal. Applications to be submitted by Monday 24^th April at 10am but please note: we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response.

This ATS application form should take no longer 20 minutes to complete. At any time, you can pause, save, and log back in. If you have any difficulty with meeting the deadline for application, please contact recruitment@arkonline.org

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.  

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.