Assistant Headteacher of Secondary – Student Development

Safeguarding

At Taaleem, the safety and wellbeing of children are paramount. We maintain high standards for effective child protection practices and expect all staff members to share this commitment. Successful applicants will undergo thorough background checks, which include obtaining quality references, verifying relevant qualifications, conducting identity checks, and performing police screenings, which may extend to international checks.

Job Overview

This position entails providing strategic leadership and accountability for the development of students in Years 7 through 11, ensuring that each student feels recognized, safe, inspired, and equipped for success. You will lead the secondary school's culture, behavioral standards, and personal development strategy, while also enhancing a rigorous and coherent super curriculum along with an extracurricular activities (ECA) program that reflects student feedback, developmental needs, and overall school priorities. You will execute a data-informed wellbeing initiative for students and staff, aligned with KHDA’s Wellbeing Matters framework, ensuring that wellbeing is a key factor in decision-making processes, systems, and day-to-day practices. Direct management of the Heads of Year 7–11 will be part of your responsibilities to ensure high standards, strong pastoral and academic outcomes, and effective parental engagement. Collaborating closely with the Deputy Heads of Secondary, you will focus on ongoing improvement in academic performance, attendance, behavior, and personal development across KS3–4, facilitating a seamless transition to Sixth Form while ensuring students acquire the knowledge, skills, habits, and independence essential for success. You will ensure all systems, documentation, and quality assurance align with best practices observed in outstanding schools, maintaining the innovative, inclusive, and impactful offerings of DBSJP.

Key Relationships

You will collaborate closely with the Deputy Heads of Primary and Secondary, the Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning, the Assistant Headteacher for Sixth Form, the Primary and Secondary SEND Coordinators, the Counselling Team, and the Marketing and Admissions ECA Coordinator.

Strategic Leadership and Whole School Contribution

• Formulate and implement a compelling Student Development strategy that embodies DBSJP’s values and improvement objectives, addressing behavior culture, personal development, wellbeing, enrichment, and leadership from Year 7 to Year 11.
• Become an integral member of the Secondary Leadership Team and the broader campus Leadership Team, participating in policy development, self-evaluation, preparation for inspections, and performance management while serving as a deputy when needed.
• Leverage both internal and external data to identify academic needs at the individual and cohort levels and execute targeted improvement initiatives.
• Cultivate a proactive culture of high expectations, equity, inclusion, and academic ambition in partnership with curriculum and pastoral teams.
• Demonstrate leadership behaviors that advance the school's vision for excellence, wellbeing, and academic ambition.
• Collaborate with Heads of Department and Heads of Year to synchronize academic and pastoral interventions to maximize student outcomes.
• Work alongside the Head of Sixth Form to guarantee a smooth transition into KS5, concentrating on readiness, guidance, and pathways for student leadership.

Academic Progress and Outcomes

• Oversee initiatives aimed at eliminating barriers to learning and improving student progress throughout secondary education.
• Coordinate and ensure the quality of student support plans (academic and pastoral), emphasizing measurable academic enhancements.
• Lead the design and execution of academic mentoring frameworks, including check-ins for Middle Leaders, targeted interventions, and success-coaching models.
• Monitor progress data for designated student cohorts.

Apply via the WhatSchool platform.