DescriptionEmployerLocation
Lead School Improvement Adviser for the Curriculum
Operational area: Kingston and Richmond
Primary place of work: Moor Lane, KT9
Work Setting: Hybrid Working
Appointment type: Permanent
Business area: Education
Full time/Part time: Part-time
Salary from: £68,784 (SCP53)
Salary to: £72,399 (SCP56)
Hours: 28.8
Estimated Interview date/s: 15/05/2026
Closing Date: 10/05/2026
About the service
Education Services across Kingston and Richmond supports over 55,000 pupils and 111 state maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools. Education Services include school improvement, early years, pupil support, attendance, special educational needs and admissions. This post sits within the School Improvement Team. The team have a strong reputation and provide high quality support, which is why 91% of the 111 state maintained schools in the two boroughs buy into this service. The School Improvement Teamʼs main office is located in central Kingston, and our team divides their time between working here, in our schools and working from home.
About the role
The main role of Lead School Improvement Adviser (LSIA) for Curriculum Development is to plan and lead support for schools in this area. Alongside this, LSIAs provide some support, advice and challenge to school leaders on wider school improvement priorities, taking particular responsibility for the risk assessment of an allocated group of schools as their Link Adviser. The LSIA will keep up to date with legislation, statutory frameworks, current research and national policy related to curriculum development. They will disseminate key information to schools and work closely with other members of the School Improvement Team, to drive improvement from a position of understanding, research and knowledge of good practice. They will have a comprehensive overview of the quality of inclusive curriculum, pedagogy and assessment across KS1 and KS2, and the associated monitoring and improvement of this provision. This will include planning and delivering bespoke support and training - to support and empower senior school leaders and foundation subject curriculum leaders - and identifying effective practice to share with other schools. The post holder will plan and lead a range of networks for curriculum and assessment, including joint oversight of the foundation subject networks & Racial Justice network, supporting and guiding the facilitators, and presenting at School Improvement Forums and Conferences.
The LSIA will lead on the use of assessment in schools, for example: assessment for learning strategies; on-going formative assessment, which effectively informs teaching and assessment of the wider and core curriculum. The post holder will plan and lead the termly Assessment Leaders network and maintain regular communications with school leaders, disseminating key information. Wider school improvement priorities will include organising visits to schools that ʻstand outʼ; action-based research projects with schools; planning and participating in school reviews.
About you: our role specification
Qualifications
1. Educated to a degree level with qualified teacher status.
2. Proven evidence of recent continuing professional development.
Skills and experience
3. A proven track record as a successful senior or middle leader within a school or school improvement organisation, with experience of effective curriculum development for core and foundation subjects.
4. Significant recent experience of teaching the KS1 and KS2 national curriculum in England
5. Deep knowledge of research and understanding of curriculum design, delivery and evaluation with evidence of how this has been used to inform and improve practice.
6. Experience of designing & delivering an inclusive curriculum to secure outcomes for all learners.
7. Strong understanding of prevailing Ofsted frameworks for the inspection of schools, KS1 and KS2 national curriculum requirements, statutory legislation and national policies that affect schools.
8. Experience of building effective partnerships, maintaining relationships and co-producing solutions to challenges across a diverse set of stakeholders. Particularly with headteachers of allocated schools, and also represent the Local Authority on the SACRE (Standing Advisory Council for RE) for each borough.
9. Proven ability to support and coach other professionals to facilitate change and improvement.
10. Excellent skills in designing and delivering innovative training for a variety of stakeholders, using blended approaches, face-to-face and online training platforms.
11. Experience of planning and leading school based action research projects.
12. Experience of keeping records and producing accurate reports, presentations, and written updates to a range of stakeholders - governors, headteachers, etc) in a timely manner.
13. Ability to effectively use school performance data and evidence to accurately identify trends, create meaningful insight, recommendations and to inform own decision making.
14. Experience of addressing specific equality or diversity issues with colleagues/service users and taking action to solve them.
Personal attributes
15. A passion for Achieving for Childrenʼs vision, mission and values (trust, empower. respect) to support children and young people to live safe, happy, healthy and successful lives.
16. Strong organisational abilities including: time management, creative-thinking, problem-solving and multitasking; working flexibly and independently with limited management oversight.
17. Personal determination, drive, energy and ambition to achieve challenging objectives, celebrate success and deliver good outcomes for children and schools using a strength based approach.
18. Good communication and interpersonal skills that are open, honest, persuasive and pragmatic.
The post holder will be expected to undertake other duties commensurate with the grade of the post, including deputising or working flexibly across the week to meet the business demands. This job profile is provided for guidance only.
Safeguarding Statement
Achieving for Children is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We particularly welcome applications from under represented groups including ethnicity, gender, transgender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)