Description

ISP Head of School Role Profile

Purpose of Role

• Accountable of complying with the Learning quality and Financial sustainability of the school in charge, ensuring alignment with ISP Philosophy and Commitment to society

ISP Principles

Begin with our children and students. Our children and students are at the heart of what we do. Simply, their success is our success. Wellbeing and safety are both essential for learners and learning. Therefore, we are consistent in identifying potential safeguarding and Health & Safety issues and acting and following up on all concerns appropriately.

Treat everyone with care and respect. We look after one another, embrace similarities and differences and promote the well-being of self and others.

Operate effectively. We focus relentlessly on the things that are most important and will make the most difference. We apply school policies and procedures and embody the shared ideas of our community.

Are financially responsible. We make financial choices carefully based on the needs of the children, students and our schools.

Learn continuously. Getting better is what drives us. We positively engage with personal and professional development and school improvement.

ISP Head of School Key Responsibilities

• Wellbeing and safety. You are responsible for the safety and wellbeing for all children and adults in your school. This includes all activities, functions and policies to ensure students and adults are kept safe both physically and mentally, enabling them to learn without barriers. You model and foster an open culture and inclusive atmosphere where everyone looks out for one another and focuses on learning and getting better. You work in partnership with your leadership team and colleagues to learn from their feedback and you collaborate on action plans and improvements. Your school is a welcoming, safe, supportive and inspiring space for everyone to grow and develop.

• Learning and Embedding Quality. You empower your teachers to focus on the quality of learning in your school, working in partnership with them to ensure progress towards the 9 criteria in the Learning Improvement Process. Where applicable, you use the process to support your school’s accreditation(s) and external reviews. You see the quality of learning across all 5 key pillars of the learning offering as integral to the success of your school and its position as a School of Choice within the local community. Teachers’ professional learning and development thrives under your stewardship of the school. You facilitate and engage in a professional and respectful dialogue with teachers, parents and the ISP community about learning and teaching, inspiring a shared commitment to getting better. Your teachers feel confident to have open and honest conversations about the learning of their students, their own learning and how they can get better. You regularly gather, document and analyse evidence of learning from around your school and use this to inform your decision-making process and work with your teachers to identify targets and action steps for improving learning. Parents/carers and students recognise and endorse the school for Amazing Learning.

• Leadership and Development. You lead your school with vision, empathy and integrity. You connect, collaborate and engage with colleagues throughout the school and the wider ISP organisation intentionally and have a clear understanding of what is going on across all functions. You understand your own strengths and areas for development, knowing when to push ahead and when to seek out advice, support or mentorship. You recruit, develop and retain talent. You identify who to bring together to leverage skills and ability and you use this to build and empower high calibre senior and middle leadership teams. You are attuned to the needs of others, helping to discover, nurture and amplify employees’ strengths and inspire your leadership team to do the same.

• Vision and Strategy. You are fully focused on the ISP Vision of Schools of Choice. You use your own insight and knowledge and seek others’ input to understand what this means within your local context. You create and lead on this strategy in partnership with your senior leadership team and ISP. You align with and model the ISP Purpose and Principles, ensuring these are at the heart of your school strategy as well as visible through your daily actions and the actions of your leadership team and colleagues. You make public commitments to learning and getting better through transparency, communication and action.

• Marketing, Admissions and Communication. You are a clear and compelling storyteller, articulating the vision and story of your school and ISP in a way that inspires parents, students and colleagues. You have a clear understanding of your school’s market, new and existing target audiences and understand how best to reach and engage with them, consistently tailoring and personalising your message and differentiators as appropriate. You work closely with ISP regional marketing to optimise the branding of your school and communicate an inspiring vision of the offering to attract the right families and students as well as making current families ambassadors for the school. With the support of ISP regional admissions, you ensure that families have the best and most personalised experience possible during the admissions process, maintaining a high lead to enrolment conversion rate. This all translates into enrolment growth and student retention. You use parent feedback and sentiment to guide future plans and parent engagement.

• Commercial Success and KPIs. You see the school as your business to nurture and grow. You understand your commercial responsibility for the school as Head, co-creating, owning and taking responsibility for your school delivering on its targets and KPIs (financial, learning, people and marketing). You successfully lead your team and organise and manage resources to drive profitability. You specifically monitor and communicate progress towards enrolment growth and income generation KPIs, thereby facilitating the achievement of your school’s financial goals. You identify and implement new and improved ways of doing things that have a demonstrable impact on the school’s success. Through the school’s finance team, you ensure fees are paid promptly and that any debts are managed and recovered appropriately, with sensitivity to individual situations. As well as enrolment growth, you recognise the importance of student retention as a priority and this focus feeds your approach to building parent relationships. You drive the delivery of the parent and employee NPS and engagement surveys, taking actions where improvement is needed and to ensure good becomes even better.

• Partnership with ISP. You are committed to working in partnership with ISP. You understand, value and articulate ISP’s role as a trusted advisor and resource to support you in building and creating your School of Choice. You work collaboratively and effectively with your RMD and the regional functional leads. You and your school team see the school as part of ISP and articulate the wider benefits of being an ISP school to your team. You understand your collective responsibility to the school and ISP, successfully balancing the school’s interests with the ISP vision and strategy and asserting yourself confidently and with consideration and respect for others’ views.

• Partnership with Parents and Carers. You lead the school in the building of effective parent and carer relationships. You understand our students and their families, their expectations and their future requirements and you focus on identifying opportunities to provide value to students and their families beyond their expectations. As well as the formal mechanisms, such as surveys and assessments, you foster a culture of partnership based on effective, regular direct communication and two-way feedback between teachers and parents. Together with your teaching team you help parents and carers understand the school’s shared ideas about learners and learning in ways that help them to engage confidently when talking about what their child is getting better at, what their next steps are, and how they will be supported at home. Accessible and available to parents and carers, you ensure their individual needs are understood and that they feel informed and involved as valued members of the school’s learning community.

Skills, Qualifications and Experience

• Experience as Principal for at least 5 years in more than 800 students’ schools.
• Learning Focus including online platforms
• Financial Understanding and KPI compliance
• PGCE, QTS certification + Master and desirable PHD in Education

ISP Leadership Competencies

You consistently demonstrate and role-model the ISP Leadership Competencies in all that you do.

• Collaboration. Takes an active part in leading their school or region; is cooperative and a genuine team player, developing positive, supportive relationships with colleagues to solve problems and maximise opportunities.

• Learning & Getting Better. Continually demonstrates personal commitment and passion for learning and getting better using evidence and feedback; supporting others in their continual learning, development and growth.

• Innovation Leadership. Is good at creating an environment where ideas for learning initiatives and services are generated and is able to motivate and inspire others through the process of creation through to completion.

• Outcome driven. Can be counted on to find solutions. Is consistently looking to exceed goals and is focused on KPIs.

• Resilience. Can deal with setbacks and challenges calmly and effectively.

• Community Focus. Is committed to meeting and exceeding the needs and expectations of our students and their families.

• Integrity & Ethical Management. Has the ability to work ethically and with integrity; helps others feel valued; upholds and models the ISP Vision, Purpose and Principles.

• Leading & Inspiring Others. Supports, encourages and inspires students, colleagues and teams so that they give their best.

• Understanding People. Is a very good judge of talent, can objectively articulate the strengths and motivations of people inside or outside the organisation.

• Influencing & Communication. Consistently informs, influences and inspires students, parents and colleagues through timely and effective communication.

• Agile. Responds and adapts to changing circumstances; manages and solves problems by providing solutions in a climate of ambiguity.

• Strategic, Commercial & Financial Awareness. Has the ability to apply understanding of the business and industry to improve effectiveness and profitability.

• Planning & Decision Making. Makes decisions on the best course of action and then plans, organises, prioritises and balances resources to achieve the desired outcome.

• Diversity & Equity. Has the sensitivity, awareness and skill to understand the values, behaviours, attitudes and practices across cultures that supports all children and adults to learn and work effectively.

ISP Commitment to Safeguarding Principles

ISP is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All post holders are subject to appropriate vetting procedures and satisfactory Criminal Background Checks or equivalent covering the previous 10 years’ employment history.

ISP Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

ISP is committed to strengthening our inclusive culture by identifying, hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing teammates regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender expression, age, disability status, neurodivergence, socio-economic background or other demographic characteristics. Candidates who share our vision and principles and are interested in contributing to the success of ISP through this role are strongly encouraged to apply.