Assistant Headteacher

Thank you for your interest in the position of Assistant Headteacher at Abersychan School. We are seeking to appoint an outstanding strategic leader who demonstrates a proven track record of success and a strong understanding of safeguarding. As an Assistant Headteacher, you will have the opportunity to lead school improvement at an exciting time in the school’s improvement journey, working closely with the Headteacher, who was appointed in January 2024. You will have a passion for education and an unwavering commitment to providing an outstanding provision. You will take pride in every aspect of your role, resulting in a level of focus, precision and rigour that will lead to sustained impact on both student progress and wellbeing.

Abersychan School was judged as requiring significant improvement by Estyn during its inspection in May 2025.

The recommendations were:

R1. Address the safeguarding issue identified during the inspection.

R2. Strengthen the impact of leadership, in particular by ensuring that processes for self-evaluation and improvement planning are consistently rigorous and robust.

R3. Improve the effectiveness of teaching so that pupils make consistently strong progress.

R4. Improve attendance, in particular that of pupils eligible for free school meals.

R5. Strengthen the provision for the progressive development of pupils’ skills across the curriculum.

If inspected by Estyn a year earlier, the school would have been placed in special measures. Upon my appointment, behaviour was poor, teaching was unsatisfactory, the staffing structure and the curriculum model were not fit for purpose nor financially viable. The school now has highly effective teaching and wellbeing teams, led by coherent and cohesive middle and senior leaders, whilst maintaining a balanced budget. The LA and EAS share my absolute confidence that the school would not be in a category had we been inspected at this time, due to the rapid improvement journey undertaken. We have made strong progress against each recommendation, including recommendation 1, which was addressed immediately. The school looks forward to being removed from the category of requiring significant improvement in the autumn term, as we continue to secure the best possible outcomes for our children.

The specific areas of responsibility for the newly appointed Assistant Headteacher will lie within wellbeing, with a specific role in safeguarding. The successful candidate will become the school’s Designated Safeguarding Person and will therefore require strong knowledge and meaningful experience in this area of education. There will be a requirement to be flexible with respect to working hours. For example, the Designated Safeguarding Person will occasionally be required to stay at school late in the evening following a disclosure made by a student.

The right candidate will be willing to adapt their role over time according to the school’s priorities, for personal professional development and succession planning. You will be joining a committed leadership team who have agreed the following values and who critically hold each other to account by these values:

• Our own lessons and our own students’ provision always come first.
• We are a standards driven school and always assess the impact on outcomes if considering taking students out of lessons.
• We invest in colleagues and students; we are ambitious for all.
• We lead by example with a positive “can do” attitude, whilst promoting healthy debate.
• We embody a culture of reflection, continuous improvement and professionalism.
• We demonstrate care for the wellbeing of all colleagues and students.
• We are reliable – always on time, no missed meetings, attend all duties, reply to all emails and follow all actions through.
• We lead by example in strong communication with all stakeholders.
• We address issues immediately – do not dilute the message.
• We are highly visible and supportive – walk there if possible, rather than phone or email.
• We ensure high value for money for students in financial investment.

Abersychan School is an 11-16 comprehensive school which meets the needs of children of all abilities. We want every person to fulfil their potential. We are a school that is committed to ensuring that all our young people are happy, successful and ready for their lives beyond school. Our expectations and standards are high. We have a committed and caring staff who are dedicated to ensuring that each child achieves their personal best. The school currently has 723 students, 48 teachers and 46 members of support staff. The school serves an area of socio-economic disadvantage and 30% of students are entitled to free school meals.

The school’s aims are delivered through a strong pastoral system, a commitment to providing high quality learning experiences and an extensive range of sporting, cultural, musical and extra-curricular activities. Students are happy, hard-working and positive about the school. They genuinely are an asset to our community and are incredibly friendly. We have fantastic parents and governors who are very supportive in helping us ensure that each student receives the very best education. The school was widely commended for making significant improvements to behaviour management and we are currently focussed on securing the highest standards through an outstanding provision.

We are looking for an exceptional person who has the energy, drive, resilience and commitment to join us at this crucial time in our improvement journey. If you are excited by the prospect of playing a hugely significant role in realising the school’s ambitions, have an unrelenting belief that all students can achieve, regardless of background and ability, then we would love to hear from you! In return, I personally guarantee you the very best level of support.

Please do not hesitate to contact me via email, should you wish to receive further information regarding this role or book a visit to the school on one of the dates below. The application form is to be completed via the Local Authority’s platform which has been linked to the job advertisement on eteach.

Visits:                   8.30am Thursday 30th April, 8.30am Friday 1st May or 12pm Friday 1st May

Closing Date:       11:59pm Sunday 10th May

Interview:              14th May and 15th May

Start Date:              1st September

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. A comprehensive screening process will be undertaken on all successful applicants, which will include an Enhanced check with the Disclosure and Barring Service.  

Registration with the Education Workforce Council is required for this post.

Torfaen County Borough Council strives to be a fair, supportive and effective employer. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. The Council expects all employees, paid or unpaid, to share this commitment. We value the range of experiences that a diverse workforce brings and therefore we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and under-represented groups. 

Welsh Language Skills are desirable for this post but not essential. You are welcome to submit your application in English or in Welsh. Each application will be treated equally.   

We are a registered Disability Confident Leader and are committed to the employment and career development of disabled people. Our Guaranteed Interview scheme guarantees that people with disabilities will be invited to interview, so long as they meet the essential requirements for the role. If you have a health condition, are neurodivergent, or use British sign language, and need to discuss reasonable adjustments, please contact the recruiting manager. We can only work with you to arrange adjustments if we are made aware of your requirements prior to your application submission, test or interview.