Head of English & Associate Assistant Headteacher

Posted on 22 January 2026
Applications close on 09 February 2026

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All Locations:

Shaftesbury

Salary Details:

£58,569 - £64,691

Vacancy Type:

Permanent

Function:

Teaching

Employer:

Sherborne Area Schools Trust

Job Working Pattern:

Full time

Closing time of advert

Not Specified

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Head of English & Associate Assistant Headteacher

About the role

Salary: Leadership Pay Range: L6 – L10: £58,569 - £64,691 per annum (subject to experience)

Contract: Full-Time, Permanent

We are seeking an ambitious, exceptional and inspiring Head of English to lead a high-profile department and to shape Literacy across the school as an Associate Assistant Headteacher. You will require energy, enthusiasm and a confidence in driving substantial and sustained improvement in English and Literacy.

As Head of English, you will:

Lead, inspire, and develop a committed team of English teachers.
Shape a rigorous, engaging, and ambitious English curriculum and be invigorated to prepare for the new Curriculum Review
Drive excellent outcomes for all students through high-quality teaching, assessment, and intervention.
Be a visible, supportive, and hands-on leader within the department.
Be an outstanding practitioner in the classroom, (you will be expected to teach English Language and Literature at Key Stage 3, 4 and 5.)

As Associate Assistant Headteacher (Literacy), you will:

Lead the school’s whole-school Literacy Strategy, including whole-school development of Oracy, Reading and Writing.
Ensure consistency and impact of this across subjects
Work with middle and senior leaders to embed strong reading, writing, and oracy practices.
Influence T&L beyond English, while keeping your subject leadership at the core of the role.
Contribute strategically to the school improvement plan through a clearly defined leadership portfolio.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to combine subject excellence with genuine whole-school influence for outstanding practitioners who wish to step into senior leadership, whilst keeping English at the centre of their role. English sits at the heart of our curriculum, and Literacy is a strategic priority for the school. This high-impact role has been designed to strengthen Literacy.

This is a full-time, permanent post commencing as soon as possible and is a great opportunity to join a fantastic school community with a very dedicated and hardworking staff team. Within the English Dept you will lead English Language, and Literature, Film/Media Studies and you will be part of the Senior Leadership Team, working with a Headteacher, a SENDCo, Deputy Headteacher, a DSL and two Assistant Headteachers.

The English Team at Shaftesbury School: The team at Shaftesbury School are advocates for Poetry and the school has taken part in and won many Poetry by Heart competitions. We subscribe to Voice 21 on Oracy and use the Accelerated Reader programme to bring home the love of reading for enjoyment. Our wonderfully resourced Library and the brilliant staff in their work closely with the team, bringing together a wonderfully resourced department. Our Inclusion team supports Literacy and works closely with the English Team by undertaking handwriting interventions with small groups of students.

As a school, we use a Teaching & Learning toolkit, which is research-driven and evidence informed. We call upon Rosenshein’s principles and Sherrington’s Walkthrus, ensuring our students have an equitable curriculum and diet of educational experiences.

We are looking for someone who is organised, committed and able to motivate our young people, whilst also leading a dedicated and strong team of English teachers. We want someone who will go the extra mile. In return, you will join a school and a Trust that is full of activity, opportunity and optimism. The school has a centralised behaviour management system, supporting staff workload. We have bespoke Internal Alternative Provision on site for students who struggle with the mainstream lesson setting. The school has a thriving 6th Form and fantastic facilities, including a Techno Gym Suite (staff use free of charge), AstroTurf, Multi-Use Games Area, a full-scale climbing and bouldering wall, wonderful grass pitches that drain well, tennis courts, five ICT suites, a 6th Form/Staff Café, a fully resourced Library, free staff refreshments every day, a multi-faceted Steps to Support programme for our young people, a staff well-being charter and staff counselling.

For more information about our wonderful school, please click here to view our careers page.

To find out more about the benefits of working for SAST, click here

Further Information

Should you wish to arrange a visit to view our school, please do not hesitate to contact Channon Bruton, Office Manager on [email protected] and she will be happy to arrange this for you.

SAST will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. In line with KCSIE guidance, this will be part of safer recruitment checks, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not be on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.

Safeguarding responsibilities associated with this role may include engagement in regulatory activity, such as administering first aid or supporting an upset child. It will have contact with young people on a day-to-day basis. SAST is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will have to meet the person specification, and the post is subject to safeguarding checks, including an enhanced DBS check and Children’s Barred List check. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020.

SAST recognises the benefit of having a diverse workforce and is committed to building a workforce which reflects diversity from the communities it serves. SAST values the contributions from all staff from a wide range of different backgrounds and actively seeks to promote an environment that is free from discrimination and harassment and at the same time supports fair promotion and cultural acceptance. Under the provision of the Equality Act 2010 SAST welcomes applications from everyone and operates a recruitment process which is fair and does not discriminate against or disadvantage anyone because of their age, disability, gender reassignment status, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race or nationality, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

This role is UK- based and your right to work will need to be established as part of the appointment process.

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