Deputy Headteacher

Deputy Headteacher – Curriculum & Organisation

Purpose of the Role

To provide strategic leadership of the curriculum and the organisational structures of the College, ensuring that the timetable, staffing and curriculum pathways enable high-quality teaching and strong student outcomes.

The role involves leading curriculum and organisational systems across a large, two-site College, requiring a high level of strategic thinking, precision and organisational expertise.

Key Responsibilities

Curriculum Leadership:

• Lead the design and development of the curriculum across Key Stages 3-5.
• Ensure curriculum pathways are ambitious, coherent and inclusive.
• Oversee the options process and subject provision.

Timetable and Organisation:

• Lead the construction and management of the timetable across both sites.
• Ensure effective deployment of teaching staff.
• Oversee curriculum modelling and planning.

Staffing and Cover:

• Lead staffing allocation to support curriculum delivery.
• Oversee cover arrangements to ensure continuity of learning.
• Work closely with the Business Manager on staffing and operational planning Strategic

Leadership:

• Contribute to whole-College improvement planning.
• Work collaboratively with Deputies responsible for Outcomes and Culture.
• Ensure curriculum structures support strong academic performance.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Professional Background

Essential:

• Qualified Teacher Status.
• Substantial and successful experience of senior leadership (Assistant Headteacher or above).
• Evidence of sustained impact on whole-school improvement.
• Proven experience of leading or significantly contributing to curriculum development.

Desirable:

• Experience of working in a large or complex school setting.
• Experience of working across multiple sites.
• NPQH or equivalent leadership qualification.

Strategic Leadership & Thinking

Essential:

• Ability to think strategically about curriculum design, structure and delivery.
• Strong understanding of the relationship between curriculum, timetable, staffing and outcomes.
• Ability to translate strategic vision into effective operational systems.
• Experience of contributing to whole-school strategic planning.
• Ability to prioritise effectively in a complex and fast-moving environment.

Curriculum Leadership (11–18)

Essential:

• Strong understanding of curriculum design, sequencing and progression.
• Experience of leading or shaping curriculum at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage .4
• Awareness of Key Stage 5 provision, including Level 2 and Level 3 pathways.
• Understanding of progression from Key Stage 4 into Sixth Form.
• Ability to ensure curriculum intent is translated effectively into practice.

Desirable:

• Direct experience of leading or overseeing Key Stage 5 provision.

Organisational Expertise (Timetable & Systems)

Essential:

• Experience of managing complex organisational systems within a school.
• Understanding of how timetable, staffing and curriculum interact.
• Ability to design and implement effective staffing models.
• High level of organisational skill and attention to detail.

Desirable:

• Direct experience of constructing or leading a school timetable.
• Experience of using timetabling software.

Operational Leadership & Judgement

Essential:

• Ability to manage competing priorities and make sound decisions under pressure.
• Experience of maintaining effective systems in the face of change (e.g. staffing changes, absence, disruption).
• Ability to maintain clarity of staff deployment and curriculum delivery at all times.
• Strong understanding of how to protect curriculum delivery and minimise disruption.

Leadership of People

Essential:

Ability to lead, support and challenge colleagues effectively.

• Experience of line managing middle and/or senior leaders.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to build trust, credibility and professional relationships.
• Experience of working collaboratively within a senior leadership team.

Scale & Complexity

Essential:

• Experience of working in a large or complex educational setting.
• Ability to operate effectively across multiple priorities and systems.
• Evidence of maintaining oversight and clarity in complex environments.

Personal Qualities

Essential:

• High levels of integrity, professionalism and resilience.
• Calmness and clarity under pressure.
• Strong organisational discipline.
• Relentless attention to detail.
• Commitment to high standards and continuous improvement.

Commitment to Catholic Ethos

Essential:

• The postholder must be a practising Catholic in full communion with the Catholic Church.
• A clear commitment to supporting and promoting the Catholic ethos and mission of the College.
• The ability to contribute meaningfully to the spiritual and faith life of the College.

*What is a practising Catholic?

To objectively define what a ‘practising Catholic’ is when assessing applicants for membership of the governing authority of a Catholic school or to key posts within

the school, it is necessary to understand that there are general obligations as well as essential components that constitute ‘practice’ of the faith in the teaching of

the Catholic Church.

The Church’s general obligations for its members require that they strive to live lives of holiness proclaimed in by being faithful to the teaching of the Gospel, by

trying to uphold the values of the Beatitudes, by assisting in the Church’s mission to make Christ known to all peoples, by upholding privately and publicly the

Church’s moral and social teaching, by endeavouring to follow an informed conscience and by making every effort to keep the precepts of the Church. This is

the ‘practice’ of the Catholic faith in its widest and all encompassing sense. At the heart of these general obligations though, there are essential components for “full

communion” with the Catholic Church. These are sacramental initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist) and the bonds of profession of faith, the

sacraments and ecclesiastical governance. The preservation of this full communion is not limited to purely religious activity but is to be an integral part of

the whole pattern of behaviour of a member of the Church. It is what essentially constitutes being a committed and ‘practising Catholic’.

Therefore, for appointment as a member of the governing authority of a Catholic school or to key posts within the school, a ‘practising Catholic’ is to be defined as someone who has been sacramentally initiated into the Catholic Church and who adheres to those substantive life choices which do not impair them from receiving the sacraments of the Church and which will not be in any way detrimental or prejudicial to the religious ethos and character of the school. Inspired by the Gospel and sustained by God’s grace, a ‘practising Catholic’ will give sincere external expression to their interior faith through specific religious, moral and ethical behaviour which is in accordance with the teaching of Christ and the Catholic Church.