Principal Teacher in Dunfermline

Proposed Interview Date: Tuesday 24 November 2026

Closing Date: Monday 16 November 2026

Contract Type: Temporary until 15 August 2027

Salary: PT1 £59,367.00

Working Pattern: 21 Hours per week

Location: St Leonards Primary School

Purpose and Values of Education Directorate

The Education Directorate is committed to Improving Life Chances for All through a wide range of direct services which support our children, young people, families and the wider Fife community. Our approach to improvement is rooted in our core values: Compassion, Ambition, Respect and Equity which reflect the ethos, culture and practice principles of all staff across the directorate. We strive to ensure that our attitudes and behaviour reflect these core values in all our dealings with children, young people, their families, and the wider community in partnership with those who support them.

Supporting Statement

As part of your application, you must provide us with a Supporting Statement which outlines how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy. Without a Supporting Statement, your application will not be progressed. Please upload your Supporting Statement at the section marked ‘upload resumé’. Your Supporting Statement must not be a CV.

Please consider and demonstrate the following when completing your Supporting Statement:

• Ways you have modelled and promoted the GTCS Professional Values (social justice, trust, respect and integrity) and Professional Commitment in your current and previous roles.
• How have you demonstrated your knowledge, skills and understanding when contributing to the leadership of change?
• How you have supported and sustained colleagues in creating a positive environment for all learners?
• Ways in which you have built and developed approaches to increase and promote positive partnerships.
• Ways in which you have used self-evaluation to make changes at classrooms, department or school level.

Job Details

We are looking for a highly-skilled Principal Teacher who is passionate about improving life chances for all through a professional commitment to leading change and improvement that ensures positive outcomes for our children and young people. As a principal teacher in Fife you will be responsible for supporting the senior leadership team by contributing to the strategic vision for the school, working with a wide range of stakeholders to implement and pursue the objectives set in policies, and for contributing to the development of a self-improving system across the education community.

Qualification, Registration and Skill Requirements

You are required to have high levels of interpersonal skills and abilities which will enable you to work as a member of the senior leadership team to lead and manage school improvement, both at strategic and operational levels, to ensure continuous improvement.

You are required to demonstrate a commitment to your own professional learning as a practitioner through career-long professional learning activity and to be able to show how this has impacted on your practice.

Before confirming your appointment, you will be required to obtain Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme membership through Disclosure Scotland and become a member of the relevant PVG scheme.

Full General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) registration is required.

For posts within Primary, you are required to be fully registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) in Primary. For posts within Secondary, you are required to be fully registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) in Secondary for the specific subject.

You are required to model all behaviour expected of a teacher in Scotland in line with the relevant Professional Standards. Full registration is required for all Permanent posts; for temporary class teacher posts, provisional GTCS registration in the relevant sector will be considered.

For further information regarding Fife Council’s essential criteria for GTCS registration please review: Essential Criteria for GTCS Registration.

Further Information

Role Profile - When preparing your supporting statement, review the role profile and think about how you meet the essential criteria.

How We Work Matters - Our employees are expected to display and promote certain behaviours in the workplace.

Employee Benefits - Employees have access to a benefits package that offers discounts on a wide range of products and services.

Alternative Formats - Job information can be made available in alternative formats, to make a request please email: transactions.recruitment@fife.gov.uk.

For Further Information Please Contact: Donna.Parker@fife.gov.uk