SUCCESSFULLY APPOINTED: Headteacher - Holy Cross Catholic Primary

SUCCESSFULLY APPOINTED: Headteacher - Holy Cross Catholic Primary - Wiltshire

£Competitive to attract the right candidate + Relocation support - Catholic - Head/Principal
Ref: 118 Date Posted: Wednesday 04 Feb 2026

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A PAST VACANCY EMMAUS HAVE APPOINTED TO.

Salary: £Competitive to attract the right applicant + Relocation support
Location: Swindon
Contract Type: Full Time
Contract Term: Permanent
Start Date: Negotiable

Learn, Grow, Love, Live

Holy Cross Catholic Primary (2 FE) began an expansion in 2015 to meet the needs of the growing Catholic community in Swindon, made up of people from all over the world, including families from Ireland, Italy, Poland and more recently Goa in India. Whilst the school is a relatively new establishment in terms of its present site and facilities, it has an illustrious history, evolving from its predecessors - a separate junior and infant school. September 2021 was an important milestone, seeing the first full intake of reception pupils now in Year 6.

The current leadership and management of the school have recently experienced some tough trials, not least two “RI” Ofsted inspections and the impact of the sudden death of the Executive Headteacher whose positive influence was only just beginning to take effect on school improvement.

Nevertheless, the dedication, commitment and real love for the children and school’s potential is clearly to be seen, as they eagerly await the successful appointment of a substantive Headteacher who will lead and shepherd the whole school community with both vigour and a patient realism.

For a Head or Deputy Head within a small or similar school environment, this could be your next challenge… equally, for a capable and experienced middle leader with still yet untapped potential, this might be the right opportunity for you.

If you believe you can provide outstanding pastoral and team leadership, which inspires and motivates others towards excellence and ensures the very best education for all our learners, then we would love to hear from you.

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

For further details and to have an informal discussion, please contact Liam Dowds, our Emmaus Leadership Advising Consultant who is assisting us with this assignment, in complete confidence, on 01737 652 043 or ldowds@emmausleadership.me.

We would encourage you to come and visit us and see us at work.

Our school is an equal opportunities employer and committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. DBS check required.

"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

"We are delighted with the appointment we made and I have reported to the whole community that we could not have been more thorough in the search or more rigorous in the selection process. Thank you Emmaus Leadership."

Jacqui Feely, Chair at All Hallows Catholic College, Macclesfield

"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

"From prospective applicant through to newly appointed CEO at Tenax Schools Trust, I cannot speak highly enough of the services provide by Emmaus.  I recommend Emmaus Leadership without reservation."

Mark Cole, Chief Executive Officer - Tenax Schools Trust

"We came across Emmaus by accident after our own attempts to recruit a Headteacher failed. We would not hesitate to engage them again to find a suitable candidate for a leadership position."

Michael Tennant - Chairman of the Board, St Edward's School

"Emmaus brings a level of professionalism, seen in other industry sectors, to church schools’ recruitment."

The Rt Rev Nick Baines - Anglican Bishop of Leeds

"I would thoroughly recommend Emmaus for any diocese or MAT seeking to appoint at a senior level in Catholic Education. Should we need help in the future...I would be confident in using Emmaus again."

Bishop Alan Williams sm - Diocese of Brentwood

"…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

"I have no hesitation in commending Emmaus to any school that is seeking to appoint a Christian Headteacher. In particular, Emmaus’ ability to promote the school, assess the ethos of the school and communicate this within the networks of those who might be considered as possible candidates was invaluable."

Clive Purser, Chair of Governors, St Andrew's CE High School for Boys, Worthing

"This is the second time our Governing Board has used the services of Emmaus Leadership in the successful appointment of a new headteacher and we have no hesitation in recommending them to others."

Rosemary Johnson, Chair of Governors - Lowton CE High School

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