Director of Education

The Director of Education is a lead professional and a significant role model with a wide sphere of influence within the Excelsior Multi Academy Trust (MAT). Our Director of Education will always demonstrate Excelsior’s vision and values whilst respecting cultural diversity within contemporary Britain. These values and ambitions displayed will also help to determine the achievement of academies and their pupils, as well as ensuring high expectations and aspirations are there for all – staff, students, governors, and communities.

The Director of Education is accountable for ensuring the educational success of the primary academies within the overall framework of the MAT’s approach to school improvement as well as the individual academies’ strategic plans. They are responsible for providing support and challenge to each academy’s Headteacher/Head of School and the School Improvement Committee across all aspects of their work. They should create a culture of constant improvement and be an aspirational leader, committed to the highest achievement for all across the MAT. The Director of Education will have line management responsibilities for Headteachers, working closely with the Regional Governing Bodies and attending Regional School Governing Body meetings. We are particularly interested in candidates that are either a serving Ofsted Inspector or HMI (His Majesty’s Inspector), as the role includes the leadership of Monitoring and Evaluation across the Trust.

Role Accountability

• All schools good or better
• Outcomes for children at least in line with national averages
• School leadership is highly effective

1. Strategic Leadership

• To lead by example, provide dynamic, consistent, and motivational leadership, ensuring the successful delivery of the vision, ethos, aims and objectives of the academies and of Excelsior.
• To gain commitment to the need for improvement, creating a culture of high expectation, high support, and low threat.
• To carry out Headteacher appraisal in line with the Excelsior Professional Growth Policy.
• To work with each Headteacher and the School Improvement Committee, and under the guidance of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) develop the shared vision and strategic plan for the academies, which is responsive to the communities they serve.
• To establish collaborative and open relationships with all stakeholders and particularly the school improvement committee.
• To secure the commitment of parents and the wider community to the vision and direction of the academies and the Trust in conjunction with the Headteacher/Head of School at each academy.
• To present a cutting‑edge approach to Executive Leadership through self‑development including engagement in podcast and wider reading with a focus on organisational excellence.

2. High quality Learning and Teaching

• To ensure academies engage the learner through creating effective, interesting, and innovative teaching and learning with well‑qualified and creative teachers and support staff in partnership with relevant Senior Leadership Team members/Teacher Coaches.
• To secure and sustain effective, high‑quality teaching and learning by ensuring each Headteacher has in place sound strategies to improve the quality of teaching across the school and can effectively monitor pupil achievement and identify effective interventions to close the attainment gap.
• To identify and act on areas of improvement in relation to the curriculum and assessment through robust and effective monitoring and evaluation.
• To ensure that a high‑quality educational experience is available for all children (whole person as well as academic).
• To promote excellence in spiritual, moral, social, and cultural education and development for all children.
• To ensure that effective and appropriate pastoral support is available to children in the academies.
• To develop an inclusive and supportive approach so that each academy is a place where all children and the wider school community feel welcome.
• To secure approaches to behaviour that are based on positive strategies.

3. Systems and process

• To ensure academy priorities are consistently and effectively implemented and the impact monitored for pupil progression, attainment, and achievement.
• To secure robust academy self‑evaluation and quality assurance procedures are in place.
• To work with the Headteacher and Excelsior colleagues to recruit and retain develop staff of the highest quality.
• To develop a culture of personal responsibility that recognises both excellence and supports appropriate strategies to deal with under performance in accordance with Trust Professional Growth and Capability policies and procedures.
• To ensure that each academy Headteacher have in place for all staff clearly defined responsibilities and accountabilities.

4. The self‑improving school system

• To treat everyone within each academy fairly and equitably demonstrating our core values such as respect, forgiveness, justice, and humility.
• To motivate and enable all staff to carry out their respective roles to the highest standard, through high‑quality continuing professional development based on assessment of needs and identified through the appraisal process.
• To develop leadership capacity at all levels, through coaching and other appropriate means.
• To support each academy to establish strong middle leadership roles within a distributed leadership structure.
• To ensure staff across Excelsior academies have opportunities for career development and develop processes to grow our own talent.
• To keep abreast of educational developments and best management practice to introduce appropriate innovation.
• To contribute to collaborative work across academies and support other staff in participating in Trust work, developing strong, positive relationships with colleagues in the MAT.
• To contribute to the development of Trust strategies and policies and promote the academies and the Trust in a local and national context and participate in Trust wide activities to share best practice.

Any other duties as directed by the Chief Executive Officer commensurate with the role and grade.