Job Description: Primary Assistant Principal for Culture and Safeguarding
Reports to: Primary Headteacher
Start date: April 2023
Contract: Permanent
Salary: L7-L11 Ark Leadership scale £55,801- £61,197
Closing date: Friday 9th December 2022
Exciting opportunity to join an exceptional school in north London.
Ark John Keats is looking to appoint a Primary Assistant Principal to lead on culture and safeguarding. At AJK we believe that a school culture of respect and kindness, combined with proactive work with families, leads to positive relationships which unlock our pupils’ learning capabilities. We are looking for a senior leader to hold the post of designated safeguarding lead and to take strategic leadership within the behaviour, safeguarding and the cultural and enrichment aspects of our primary phase.
Ark John Keats was founded in 2013 with one class of reception children. We are now a fully-fledged all-through school, running from nursery to year 13, with over 1800 children. Our school is oversubscribed, with a waiting list for every year group. Our community is composed of supportive and committed families who buy into our vision and work with us to ensure their children achieve all they are capable of in the future.
We know that a knowledge-based curriculum is the most efficient and effective way to enable our children to be knowledgeable, articulate, curious, and able to access the next stage of their development. We aspire for all our children to have the academic knowledge necessary to enable them to progress to university, for pupils to have a love of learning and curiosity about the world, and for them to be polite, well-mannered young people who take responsibility for their choices and drive their own destinies.
Ark John Keats is part of Ark Schools, a hugely successful network serving pupils from deprived communities. Our network shares a belief in our six pillars:
High expectations: Every adult who works at AJK believes in the limitless potential of all children.
Excellent teaching: Subject specialists plan lessons which make pupils work hard and think deeply about the subject, fostering their curiosity and love of learning.
Exemplary behaviour: The AJK community is one of politeness, gratitude and service, where pupils take responsibility for their choices and want to behave impeccably.
Depth for breadth: An academic curriculum, rich in powerful knowledge, opens up opportunities for our children for the rest of their lives.
Knowing every child: A culture of respect and kindness, combined with proactive work with families, leads to positive relationships which unlock learning capabilities.
Always learning: Our culture of continuous improvement is supported by a research-driven programme of development and a spirit of collaboration.
At Ark John Keats, we believe in rigour – our curriculum is full of challenge, and we know that our children are intellectually resilient and capable of learning lots in every subject no matter what their starting point.
We believe in exemplary behaviour – we have sky high standards and support all children to reach these, by focusing on developing pupils’ self-regulation, explicitly teaching pupils how to behave, and by working closely with families.
We believe in the limitless potential of all children – if children work hard, there are no limits to what they can achieve.
At Ark John Keats, you will be joining a committed team of professionals. You will have ten days of CPD over the course of the year. We have a no-email policy after 6pm or at weekends to safeguard work/life balance for our team, and a free gratitude breakfast for all staff on Fridays to share our appreciation for each other.
We are looking for someone who aligns with our approach to curriculum and teaching. The successful candidate will work closely with other teachers and leaders in the AJK English team, as well as across the Ark network to develop a truly all-through curriculum.
Our location
Travelling by rail from central London: Our nearest overground station, Turkey Street, is a 10 minute walk from the school and stops at Seven Sisters, Stoke Newington and Hackney Downs on the way to Liverpool Street. National Rail services are also a 10 minute walk and stop at Tottenham Hale and Hackney Downs before finishing at Liverpool Street.
Travelling by car: We are easily reached by car, with most of North East London accessible within 30 minutes. There is free on site parking for staff.
To apply please submit your application by Friday 9th December. For an informal, confidential discussion with the principal, please contact the Primary Office Manager, Maria Thornton, to organise via m.thornton@arkjohnkeatsacademy.org.
Applicant Information Pack.docx