Deputy Head of Lower and Middle School The details of this role are as follows: Working hours: 2 days a week plus Inset days. Contract Type: Part Time Salary: £15,534 (fte £38,834) Start date: September 2025 Probationary period: 1 year Information about the role Set in the beautiful grounds of Kidbrooke Mansion in the gateway to the Ashdown Forest, 30 miles south of London, Michael Hall School is the oldest Steiner Waldorf school in the UK. The School has a thriving community of parents, teachers and students, centred around this distinctive and much honoured approach to education. We are looking for a passionate and driven Deputy Head of School to nurture the spiritual and anthroposophical life of the school, in collaboration with the College of Teachers. You will represent the school to the wider community by articulating and demonstrating the vision and mission of Waldorf education. Under the overall direction of the Educational Leadership Team, you will play a major role: · in formulating the aims and objectives of the school and establishing the policies through which they are to be achieved · for the standards and curriculum of all pupils, including monitoring progress towards achievement · in the efficient and effective management of staff and resources As Deputy Head of School, you will take on the responsibilities of the Head of School as agreed and appropriate in the absence of the Head of School. Required Behaviours and Responsibilities The key requirements and accountabilities of the role will be: Shaping The Future • Support the Educational Leadership Team and Board of Trustees in establishing an ambitious vision and ethos for the future of the school • Play a major role in the school improvement and school self-evaluation planning process, through agreed priorities • Hold and articulate clear values and moral purpose, focused on providing a modern, world class education for every student • Demonstrate optimistic personal behaviour, positive relationships and attitudes towards students and staff, Trustees and parents • Contribute to the development, implementation and monitoring of a range of policy and procedural developments, where appropriate • Lead by example to motivate and work with others, with integrity, creativity, resilience and clarity · Promote a culture of inclusion within the school community where all views are valued and taken into account Leading Teaching and Learning • Support all students by upholding Waldorf pedagogy • Ensure that the curriculum, its resourcing and delivery meet today’s students • Be an excellent role model, exemplifying a high standard of teaching and promoting high expectations for all members of the school community • Assist with the development and delivery of training and support for staff in the areas of teaching and learning • Assist with the development and review of agreed aspects of the curriculum including planning, recording, reporting, assessment for learning and the development of a creative and appropriate curriculum for all students • Support for Head of School with the processes involved in monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching and learning taking place throughout the school to ensure a consistently high quality of education • Ensure the systematic teaching of basic skills and the recording of impact are consistently high across your specified faculty • Ensure robust evaluation of school performance, progress data and actions to secure improvements, comparable to appropriate national and Waldorf standards • Ensure, through leading by example, the active involvement of students and staff in their own learning Managing the organisation • To contribute to: · maintaining and developing the ethos, values and overall purposes of the school · implementing the Board of Trustees’ policies on equal opportunity issues for all staff and students in relation to sex, gender, race, disability, special needs and other protected characteristics · the efficient organisation, management and supervision of school routines · regular reviews of the school’s systems to ensure statutory requirements are being met · ensuring the effective dissemination of information and the maintenance of agreed systems for internal communication • To ensure a consistent approach to standards of behaviour, attendance and punctuality are implemented across the school • To support your Head of School with the smooth running of your faculty • To support the transition process when pupils move on to the next phase of the School or to another setting • To be a proactive and effective member of the Middle Leadership Team Curriculum Development • To contribute to: · the development, organisation and implementation of the school’s curriculum. · ensuring that information on pupil progress is used to improve teaching and learning, to inform and motivate students, to inform parents, to provide necessary references for other educational institutions and employers and to aid the Educational Leadership Team and Trustees in their management of the school. · monitoring the completion of records on pupils and reports, ensuring that deadlines are met. · ensuring that the individual student’s continuity of learning and effective progression of achievement are provided. Student Care • To contribute to: · the active promotion of all aspects of student safeguarding, including physical safety, wellbeing and safety on trips · the provision of an environment of social and spiritual awareness · the effective induction of students · the promotion among students of standards of behaviour and proper regard for authority and the encouragement of good behaviour · the development of a culture of independent learning · the handling of individual student cases, where additional support is needed Development of self and others • Represent the needs and achievements of your faculty within the wider school • Support the development of collaborative approaches to learning within the school, Waldorf UK and beyond • Participate in the selection and appointment of teaching and support staff as appropriate • Support the induction of staff new to the school and those being trained within the school as appropriate • Be an excellent role model for both staff and students in terms of being reflective and demonstrating a desire to improve and learn • Support for an appropriate programme of professional development for staff, in line with the school development plan and appraisal cycle