Headteacher - St Anne's Catholic School & Sixth Form College

Headteacher - St Anne's Catholic School & Sixth Form College - Hampshire

L29 – L35 + Relocation support - Catholic - Head/Principal
Ref: 143 Date Posted: Monday 06 Jan 2025

Headteacher

Location: City of Southampton
Contract Type: Full Time
Start Date: September 2025 or earlier by negotiation

St Anne’s is a 11-18 Catholic School founded by the La Sainte Union Sisters, providing an outstanding education for girls (and boys 16-18) covering the Greater Southampton area. St Anne’s was judged to be Outstanding for its second inspection in a row in September 2022. Inspectors highlighted our diversity but also the way we have kept true to our values.

GCSE results regularly place St Anne’s in the top 10% of schools nationally. Our A Level results are similarly impressive making St Anne’s one of the most successful 6th Form Colleges in the Southampton, Portsmouth and Hampshire area.

Now part of Gaudete, the family of schools founded by religious orders, we continue to work closely with the LSU Sisters who founded us. We consequently have deep roots in the communities we serve with a sense of belonging to something bigger than ourselves – the neighbourhoods and society around us, the Catholic community in the city of Southampton, the nation, and the wider world.

While there is a great deal for us to celebrate, our search for a Headteacher also falls at a challenging time for our School. We are currently supporting the police who are investigating the conduct of former members of staff. While our recent Ofsted monitoring visit (June 2024), which was solely focused on safeguarding, has found our processes and culture to be effective – rightly, there are questions being asked about our past. Our next Headteacher will need to continue to work closely with our community to help strengthen trust and relationships.

We are interested in having preliminary, confidential conversations with Catholic school leaders who have the gift for leadership and believe profoundly in the transformative role of Catholic education to improve the lives of others and how to make that a reality.

For an existing Headteacher this could be the next big challenge you seek …or equally the role may appeal to a Deputy Head with still yet untapped potential. Either way, you will be ably supported by a capable SLT and experienced Governors.

In the words of our Head Girls and Student Head of Sixth Form:

“Our school wholeheartedly values compassion, kindness and determination - the qualities we believe our Headteacher should embody, every day. By choosing St Anne’s, you are choosing to be part of a family whose roots stem from a rich history and legacy. Leading our community is a meaningful decision, and we hope you will approach the role with our school motto, Semper fidelis meaning ‘always faithful,’ in mind.”

A requirement of the post is that applicants must be practising Catholics.

Closing:  Mon 17 February at 12 Noon

Shortlisting: Tue 18 February

Interviews: Tue 25 and Wed 26 February

If you are an existing Headteacher or an Aspiring Head looking for a new challenge then please email Liam Dowds, our advising Emmaus consultant in complete confidence, for an Application Pack at ldowds@emmausleadership.me or call him on 01737 652 043 for an exploratory chat. DO NOT APPLY ONLINE.

Our school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and young people and all applicants are expected to share this commitment. All appointments are subject to pre-employment checks, including satisfactory references and an Enhanced DBS check.

 

"I’m delighted with the way it went and the successful outcome (third SLT placement now!) helps confirm to Governors that your approach is right for these levels of appointment. It’s difficult to quantify the costs of recruiting and failing to get the right candidate ourselves - we’d only find out the true cost and also lost opportunities if we tried and failed. Altogether better to invest in getting it right first time, so thank you for all your hard work on this. The other side is the perception we leave with all candidates and I think we’ve worked together to do an excellent job (using your Assessment support). The communication, logistics and the care given I think is really important and Emmaus are a big part of that - you work as an extension of the school. I am fairly sure that all of the candidates will go away having had a great experience and that will help our reputation spread in a positive way."

Dave Cobb - School Business & Development Manager, Saint Cecilia's CE School, London

"I approached Emmaus following our unsuccessful attempts to recruit Deputy DDEs for both Dioceses. They went on to source a far greater number of candidates of high calibre. I highly recommend Emmaus!"

Canon Carolyn Lewis, Director of Education - Diocese of Leicester and Diocese of Derby

"…we also considered other external recruiters, but Emmaus were clear favourites in terms of their recruitment expertise and in-depth knowledge and appreciation of the catholic school’s sector."

Peter Giorgio, Director of Education, Nottingham Diocese

"We considered TES, but the critical factor for us was that Emmaus are not only specialists in recruiting Headteachers, they are Christians focused exclusively on recruiting for Church Schools."

Canon Bob Baker, Chair of Governors,The Bishop’s CE School - Thetford

"We had been cold called by a few other companies but chose Emmaus as it specialised in Church schools. We were impressed by Liam and his team coming to the school and burrowing in to what the school wanted and needed. He asked searching questions and we were satisfied this was the way forward. I had not been a fan of head hunters before, but I have to say this process and its result was a hugely better experience than going out on our own and was totally professional throughout."

Bridget Prentice, Chair of Governors - Trinity School, Lewisham

"Having previously struggled to recruit two Headteachers - for both a Primary and a Secondary school - Emmaus came to the rescue. Their expert advice and deep understanding of recruiting Headship positions in Catholic schools is invaluable, and I have no hesitation in recommending their knowhow and their values."

Fr David Gibbons, Chair of Governors & Parish Priest, Archdiocese of Southwark

"We tried going it alone to find a CEO for our MAT but had only 2 applicants who didn't meet our requirements. We approached Emmaus and from the start their professionalism was reassuring."

Barry Leyland, Chair - Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust

"Thank you for everything you did to successfully support our recruitment of an outstanding Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher. Using Emmaus Leadership to manage the recruitment to the post was much debated and was the subject of intense scrutiny by our Governing Body who were somewhat reluctant to use a leadership recruitment specialist. However, their confidence was reinstated as a result of your professional approach, your insightful knowledge and the resulting candidate pool produced for both appointments. I have no hesitation in recommending Emmaus to other schools."

Annie Sutton - Executive Principal, St Joseph's RC Specialist School and College

"I have no hesitation in commending Emmaus to any school which is seeking to appoint a Christian Head. My only regret is that we did not go to them for the first round of interviews that proved unsuccessful. It is an expensive option, but in the long run they are more than value for money. I am very thankful to God for the ministry of Emmaus, and I warmly commend them to you. In OFSTED terms, they are outstanding."

The Rt Rev Keith Sinclair - Anglican Bishop of Birkenhead

"Could we afford it? My belief, as Chair was that we couldn’t afford not to. We needed strong school leaders to be drawn to apply. Our success was down to using Emmaus and definitely money well spent."

Carry Lynott - Chair of Governors, Our Lady and St Brendan's Catholic Primary School, Bradford

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