Principal

Lead a thriving school in Witham, Essex!

New Rickstones Academy, a dynamic 11-18 secondary school nestled in charming Witham, Essex, seeks a passionate Principal to build upon its legacy of excellence.  With 1,155 students and a growing community, New Rickstones boasts state-of-the-art facilities, recently expanded to accommodate its success.

Why New Rickstones?

• A Legacy of Excellence: Renowned for its positive reputation and consistently rated "good" by Ofsted, New Rickstones Academy provides a nurturing environment where students can thrive.
• Modern Facilities: Lead a school equipped with cutting-edge resources, recently expanded to cater to our growing student body.
• A Vibrant Community: Become an integral part of the Witham community, a picturesque town offering a delightful blend of urban and rural living.

The school suffered a recent tragedy with the death of our much-loved headteacher Simon Gibbs. We are looking for a strong leader who can carry on his great work, whilst also bringing their own vision to this next chapter for the school. 

New Rickstones Academy is part of Academies Enterprise Trust’s (AET), a network of 57 schools. AET’s whole purpose is to deliver an entitlement to excellence for every child, regardless of where they live, what school they go to, or their family circumstances.

We want to be a network of schools which outperform their context. To do this, we need exceptional leaders.

We have designed a leadership development framework to significantly invest in our principals: providing them with the support of a national network, a region of schools, and a dedicated package for learning and improvement. 

If you want to serve young people, and especially those who experience disadvantage - who aren’t yet getting what they deserve - we’d love to hear from you. 

We will give you the space and agency to champion your own development. If successful, you will receive: 

• An individual development account of up to £100,000 over five years 
• Experiential learning, including study tours
• High support and high challenge from a Regional Education Director 
• One-to-one ‘anytime’, unlimited frequency executive coaching 
• Evidence-informed practice
• A year-long induction programme
• The option of a professional sabbatical after 5 years. 

We’re looking for candidates for New Rickstones who are: 

• Self aware: Those who thrive in a high challenge and high support environment, who want the space and agency to develop their leadership skills
• Network-minded: Those who believe that the job is not done unless all schools in our network and beyond are serving their communities well
• Intellectually curious: Those who have the confidence to work with an evidence-informed approach, with an unrelenting drive to be the best leader they can be. 

Whether you’re an existing or aspiring principal, bring your drive to serve young people, your determination to be the best leader, and your dedication to create lasting change for our community. 

Find out more and register your interest by calling Recruitment on 0203 947 5689 or email: recruitment@academiesenterprisetrust.org by Tuesday 7 May 2024, 9am.

Assessment day date: Wednesday 15 May 2024

Interview date: Friday 17 May 2024

To arrange a school visit or to find out more, call Recruitment on 0203 947 5689 or email: recruitment@academiesenterprisetrust.org 

AET and all of our schools are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a robust, fair and consistent recruitment process which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and there is a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.