SUCCESSFULLY APPOINTED: Headteacher - St Catherine's Catholic Primary School

SUCCESSFULLY APPOINTED: Headteacher - St Catherine's Catholic Primary School - Wiltshire

£Competitive to attract the right applicant + Relocation support - Catholic - Head/Principal
Ref: 120 Date Posted: Wednesday 20 Jul 2022

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

St Catherine’s is one form entry primary serving an urban area of Swindon with 210 pupils on roll across the school and nursery, and one of two Catholic primary schools serving the same parish. The proportion of children from ethnic minorities is above average and the school serves a significant number of Polish families. Staff and Governors have a deep dedication to the St Catherine’s, evidenced by the numbers of staff with long associations with the school but also by how proud they are of the school’s history of faithful service to Catholic education in Swindon.

The Christian values which have been carefully articulated within the school community are palpable. There is a strong atmosphere of authentic pastoral care and professional devotion towards achieving everything that is best for each child.

Governors and staff have worked tirelessly to maintain high levels of care and purpose, having successfully led the school community to overcome the twin challenges of COVID and the sudden death of their Executive Headteacher.  Now, with a new leadership structure in place, Governors are looking forward to a bright future, with the appointment of a substantive Headteacher to lead St Catherine’s as it enters a new chapter in the rich life of the school.

If you are ambitious and enthusiastic, with previous leadership experience as a Head, Deputy or Assistant Head, then we would love to hear from you. 

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

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

For further details or 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.

St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure.  References will be sought prior to interview and a reference will always be taken up from the most senior person in your place of most recent employment.

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

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The Rt Rev Keith Sinclair - Anglican Bishop of Birkenhead

"I cannot imagine a better service to fulfil the requirement of helping a Catholic school find a Head. I was impressed with the number and high quality of candidates sourced by Emmaus Leadership."

Marjorie Bannister, Chair - St Michael's Catholic College, London

"I have personal experience of the quality of service Emmaus provides, when I successfully applied for a Headship position through them. I always felt I could call up, get the ‘inside take’ on the school and ask any questions in complete confidence. The support and expert advice I received made the application process far less daunting and I would thoroughly recommend Emmaus to any Church School looking to appoint a key Leadership position."

Dan Pickard, Headteacher, The Bishop’s CE Primary School - Thetford

"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 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

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

"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

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

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