Headteacher

Headteacher

Start date: 1st September 2026

Contract: Permanent Fulltime 100% FTE

Post Grade: Band 3, Leadership Scale, Outer London

Pay range L15 - L24 £77,209 - £94,322 pa, dependent on experience

This is a wonderful opportunity for a new Headteacher to lead St. John’s School into the next phase of our educational and spiritual development; our vision and values truly reflect where we are and the direction we want to take, with our school rule of Love One Another visibly present in our daily lives.  St. John’s is a friendly, diverse school with a visible Christian distinctiveness and our ethos, driven by love, is key to all we do and achieve.

We are an oversubscribed, stand-alone, two-form entry school situated in the quiet suburb of Shirley, Croydon, close to the boundary of Bromley, with high aspirations for our staff and children.  Our classrooms are well-resourced, our buildings maintained to a high standard and we enjoy spacious grounds.  We have a committed and supportive school community, excellent teams of teaching and support staff, an encouraging and ambitious governing body and a thriving school association; all rooted in school life. 

We value and invest in CPD with successful bespoke in-house programmes and are leaders in the educational field, sharing our successes with other schools.  Our high-quality leadership and teaching, together with a positive ethos, strong family values and our children making good progress, has resulted in a popular and successful school.

Our children have a wide range of abilities, with additional needs throughout the school supported by our embedded SEND strategy and policy.

We are looking for a highly motivated, effective and dynamic Headteacher with the right skills and personality to provide strong, inspiring and visible leadership of the strategic and day-to-day management of the school. 

We are proud of where our current Headteacher has taken us and whilst it may appear there are big shoes to fill, it turns out they’re actually only size 5 (and usually leopard print)! As a school we are clear about the challenges ahead and need a leader who, with our support and love, can grow with us to deliver a clear strategy to respond to the white paper and continue to build the loving ethos of our community.

Shortlisted candidates will have senior leadership experience in a primary school, preferably in a faith school, together with a good theoretical and practical knowledge and understanding of developing children to flourish here and into their future. Experience and/or a clear understanding of Ofsted and SIAMS would be expected of candidates.

St. John’s offers you

• collaborative and dedicated colleagues  

• highly motivated and happy children who strive to achieve their best

• an ambitious and supportive governing body

• a friendly and thriving school community

• a well-resourced and innovative learning environment in our spacious well-maintained buildings and grounds

• high quality opportunities for professional development

• collaborative working with local primary schools

• good nearby public transport links and free off-street parking

• Teachers’ Pension Scheme

• Paid leave taken during the school holiday periods in line with the STPCD and with no fixed number of annual leave days

• access to a free Employee Assistance Programme

We would love to hear from you if you…

• can role model our vision and values with a kind heart to provide clear leadership to our school, using strategic and problem-solving skills

• have a safeguarding-first approach

• are a creative and inspirational leader who has outstanding practice

• have a proactive inclusive approach and are innovative and passionate about learning and teaching, committed to raising standards and will strive to help all children to achieve their best in a kind school environment

• are an excellent communicator and have strong interpersonal skills which provide clarity and foster effective relationships with colleagues and children

• are looking to work closely with a governing body in a welcoming church school to develop and progress your leadership career.

Please refer to the Headteacher Information Pack for more details.

School visit

You are strongly encouraged to take the opportunity to visit our school for a tour of the site and spend time with our current Headteacher, Deputy HT or a Governor before applying. Please contact our School Business Manager Lila Powell to book your visit via email (recruitment@st-johns.croydon.sch.uk).

Please see our Headteacher Information Pack for details of how to apply for this vacancy.

We do not accept/read CVs.

The closing date for applications is Monday 20th April 2026, at 9am. Interviews are scheduled for 2 days, 27th & 28th April 2026. 

All applicants will be contacted.

Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment

Our robust selection process is based on good practice, ensuring equality of opportunity for all applicants whilst deterring and rejecting those who may be unsuitable to work with children.

It is expected that candidates should be aware and understand their duties and responsibilities in relation to child protection and safeguarding children.

We identify and reject any applicants who are unsuitable to work with children, and respond to any concerns about the suitability of applicants during the recruitment process.

Reference requests, Online Searches and other safeguarding procedures will be carried out for shortlisted applicants prior to interview.  Please see ‘If you are shortlisted’ section in our information pack.

Equal Opportunities

This school is committed to equality and diversity in employment practice and service delivery.

We guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate whose application meets the minimum essential criteria for the post and will consider reasonable adjustments to our recruitment and selection processes, where appropriate. 

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities and are respectful of all individuals’ race, age, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, caring responsibilities, disabilities and cultural background.

Data

In line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) and the expected provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) the school is responsible for holding and protecting personal data.  The school is required to share some data with the Local Authority and the DFE. For further information on who we share data with please see our website for our Privacy Notices.