Head of School

Primary Purpose of Job

The core purpose of this role is to provide professional, highly effective leadership and management that will achieve outstanding results in all aspects of School life. 

The Head of School promotes an inspiring vision and clear direction that is shared by all members of the School and the Senior Leadership Team. Ultimately, the Head of School is responsible for ensuring that the curriculum, teaching and assessment practices inspire high levels of engagement, achievement and progress for pupils of all abilities

This will involve accepting delegated responsibility for aspects of these key areas: 

• Inspirational & Strategic Leadership. 

• Promote Kerridale’s 3-fold vision; 1) To be an International School of First Choice in Rivers State; 2) To Provide genuine international education without the associated cost; 3) To raise children with local, national and global awareness, while still being proud of Nigeria. 
• Promote an inspiring vision dedicated to high standards that is shared by all members of the School.
• Initiate, prioritize and lead KPS School improvement activities through effective strategic leadership and planning which supports the vision, mission and values of KPS.
• Display a high level of professional competence in all areas of responsibility. 
• Communicate a clear view of the School’s aims so that all staff know what is required of them and are competent and committed to achieving the school’s goals.
• Distribute leadership effectively to achieve high standards of learning and personal development by creating an ethos of collective responsibility and mutual support.
• Inspire and empower middle leaders, teachers and support staff by clearly defining all roles and aligning these roles with school priorities
• Working with the Head of School to lead, motivate, support, challenge and develop all staff to secure continual improvement; including her/his own continuing professional development. 
• Acting as a “sounding board” and “critical friend” to the Head of School, always-demonstrating high standards of personal integrity, loyalty, discretion and professionalism and publicly supporting all decisions of the Head of School and Governing Body. 
• Support the school in ensuring all programs introduced in the school is successful.
• Ensure the school’s policies, procedures, values and ethos are adhered to.
• Work effectively with school governance teams; such as Leadership Team, and Parents Associations, etc), to ensure informed and responsive decision making, which help to direct change and effective management of school resources.
• Ensure that the levels of students’ attainment and the quality of teaching successfully align with the Schools’ promise to parents.
• Clearly and comfortably delegates work, trusting and empowering others to perform.
• Provides regular feedback and motivation to others to successfully achieve their targets.
• Encourage others to contribute, creating a spirit of teamwork and opportunities of cooperation and collaboration between across the school.
• Contribute time and expertise to the professional development of Kerridale teachers and leaders

• Staff Evaluation and Improvement Planning

• Be receptive and respond to external evaluation of the school and manage the process professionally and very efficiently with your colleagues.

• Work collaboratively with external bodies and the Senior Leadership Team to achieve outstanding results on school accreditations, inspections and evaluations.
• Monitor teachers’ plans, evaluate students’ classroom experiences, books, track students’ attainment and evaluate progress towards meeting agreed targets.
• Monitor the performance of all teaching and staff in the School
• Ensure that all improvement activities are focused on creating impact and raising quality in the School.
• Monitor and manage change quickly, flexibly and successfully.
• Prioritize and act upon a manageable number of key initiatives and involve stakeholders in the process.
• Maintain an overview of all curriculum review and development activities; ensuring that teachers maintain current in their knowledge of the curriculum and best teaching practices

• Teaching and learning. 

• Providing an example of excellence as the leading classroom practitioner and inspiring and motivating other staff. 
• Working with the Deputy Head of School and Non-Academic Head to secure and sustain high expectations and excellent practice in teaching and learning throughout the school, monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and standards of pupil’s achievement, and use benchmarks and set targets for improvement. 

• Efficient and effective Management of Resources

• Work closely with the SLT to ensure that all policies, procedures and routines across the school are effective and efficient.
• Ensure that all Kerridale School staff are well qualified and experienced, trained to do their roles and are deployed effectively to support the school
• Ensure accountability of the school’s actions and outcomes with regards to compliance and health and safety issues.
• Comply with all regulations and guidelines issued by the local authorities and regulators.
• Monitor and evaluate the school’s performance on Pupils’ attainment and progress, pupils’ personal and social development, teaching and assessment, curriculum that meets the needs of students, health and safety, and student support services.
• Work collaboratively with the Senior Leadership Team  to achieve enrolment targets and business objectives.
• Ensure that all schools policies, procedures and routines are effective, efficient and reviewed bi-annually with appropriate staff members.
• Comply with all Kerridale’s policies and guidelines and submit high quality reports in a timely manner.
• Work collaboratively with the Senior Leadership Team to ensure proper identification and access to appropriate professional development activities for all members of staff.
• Ensure that teaching and learning is monitored closely and consistently across the school and identify areas of development.
• Promote peer modeling, team teaching and coaching within and across grade levels.
• Ensure that all School staff are appraised annually providing recognition for areas of strength and recommendations for areas of development and growth.
• Work closely Facilities personal and Health and Safety to address any health and safety issues and ongoing maintenance requests.

• Parent, Pupils, PTA and Community Relationships

• Be responsible for the safety and well-being of all Pupils through positive recognition and high expectations for behaviour and conduct.
• Monitor and promote outstanding attendance and punctuality across the School.
• Inform the Head of School of any serious Pupil incidents or parent concerns and work collaboratively with the SLT to resolve issues in a timely and respectful manner.
• Build and maintain relationships with School parents and the community by establishing regular and appropriate communications with all members of the school community, both internally and externally.
• Market the Kerridale School to the local and wider community with the aim of recruiting new pupils and retaining existing students to achieve a full school roll.
• Engage School parents as active partners in their children’s learning in a variety of ways.
• Encourage positive and regular participation of Kerridale School parents at school events.
• Consult the parent community about the work of the Primary School on a regular basis and ensure that parents views are received respectfully and help guide the school’s development.
• Ensure that parents receive regular reports of their children’s progress and attainment that include next steps for learning where applicable. 
• Focus on identifying and meeting community (staff, parents, students) needs by taking their interests and complaints seriously.
• Consider the implications of decisions on the community (staff, parents, students, Kerridale) and act accordingly.
• Ensure a proactive approach in delivering operational excellence focused on extra-ordinary service across all aspects of school life.
• Connect school events to local community events / International days and events so that pupils and parents have the opportunity to participate in the broader local and International events and learning opportunities.

• Meet with old and new parents as the need arises.

Organise Meetings with parents as the need arises.