Job Description – Head of Primary

Job Description Summary

The Head of Primary is responsible for providing strategic, academic, and operational leadership across the Primary phase, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality British Curriculum and consistently high standards of teaching, learning, assessment, student achievement, behaviour, and wellbeing. The Head of Primary leads curriculum implementation and development, monitors student progress and attainment, evaluates the quality of teaching, and ensures appropriate intervention and support are implemented where required. Through effective leadership, data-informed decision-making, and rigorous quality assurance processes, the Head of Primary establishes a culture of high expectations, accountability, continuous improvement, inclusion, and academic excellence for all students.

As a key member of the School Leadership Team, the Head of Primary works collaboratively with the Headteacher, senior and middle leaders, teachers, teaching assistants, SEN staff, parents, and other stakeholders to achieve the school's strategic priorities and provide an outstanding educational experience for students. The role requires an experienced and reflective leader who demonstrates professionalism, integrity, effective communication, and visible leadership while promoting safeguarding, student welfare, staff development, positive parent partnerships, and the school's vision and values. The Head of Primary is accountable for the performance and effectiveness of the Primary phase and actively contributes to whole-school development, accreditation, inspection readiness, and sustained school improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Primary phase in alignment with the school's vision, mission, values, policies, and strategic improvement priorities.
• Lead the effective implementation, development, review, and evaluation of the Primary British Curriculum, ensuring appropriate progression, continuity, challenge, and curriculum coverage across all year groups.
• Maintain consistently high expectations for the quality of teaching, learning, assessment, student behaviour, attendance, achievement, and professional practice throughout the Primary phase.
• Monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching through lesson observations, learning walks, book scrutiny, planning reviews, student feedback, assessment data, and other quality assurance processes.
• Analyse student attainment and progress data regularly to identify trends, achievement gaps, underperformance, and areas requiring targeted academic intervention.
• Ensure appropriate intervention and improvement action plans are developed, implemented, monitored, and evaluated for students who are not meeting expected levels of progress.
• Lead Primary Heads of Department, subject leaders, teachers, teaching assistants, and relevant support staff, ensuring clear expectations, accountability, and effective communication.
• Conduct regular departmental and phase meetings to review curriculum delivery, student performance, teaching quality, operational priorities, and progress against improvement targets.
• Support the recruitment, induction, mentoring, coaching, development, and performance management of Primary staff.
• Identify professional development needs and coordinate targeted training, coaching, workshops, and professional learning opportunities to strengthen teaching practice and leadership capacity.
• Ensure schemes of work, curriculum maps, medium- and short-term planning, assessment materials, resources, and learning activities meet school and curriculum expectations.
• Oversee formative and summative assessment practices and ensure assessments are appropriate, consistent, reliable, moderated, and effectively used to inform teaching and intervention.
• Monitor the accuracy, quality, and timely completion of student reports, assessment records, progress data, portfolios, and other required academic documentation.
• Establish clear expectations for effective communication with parents and ensure teachers respond professionally and within established school timelines to parent communications and portal messages.
• Develop positive partnerships with parents by addressing concerns appropriately, communicating student progress, and supporting constructive home-school relationships.
• Ensure Primary teachers maintain accurate and up-to-date information on the school's designated academic and parent communication platforms, including announcements, assessments, grades, attendance information, and required learning updates.
• Promote inclusive educational practices and work collaboratively with SEN and Learning Support teams to ensure appropriate differentiation, accommodations, interventions, and Individual Education Plans are implemented and monitored.
• Maintain high standards of student behaviour and ensure behaviour management procedures are consistently implemented across the Primary phase.
• Promote student voice, leadership, independence, responsibility, wellbeing, and positive participation in school life.
• Ensure safeguarding and child protection procedures are understood and consistently implemented by all staff within the Primary phase, immediately escalating concerns in accordance with school procedures.
• Maintain a safe, supportive, inclusive, and respectful learning environment that prioritises students' physical, emotional, social, and academic wellbeing.
• Coordinate and oversee Primary assemblies, educational trips, workshops, competitions, celebrations, curriculum enrichment activities, parent events, and other school initiatives.
• Actively participate in and support school events and activities taking place during and outside normal working hours when required, including evenings and weekends.
• Ensure effective staff deployment, supervision arrangements, duty schedules, cover requirements, and day-to-day operational organisation within the Primary phase.
• Contribute to whole-school self-evaluation, strategic planning, policy development, school improvement planning, and organisational decision-making as a member of the School Leadership Team.
• Lead and contribute to preparation for Ministry of Education requirements, external inspections, accreditation processes, quality assurance reviews, and other regulatory or external evaluations relevant to the Primary phase.
• Maintain appropriate evidence and documentation demonstrating curriculum implementation, student achievement, leadership impact, staff development, quality assurance, and continuous improvement.
• Monitor progress against Primary improvement priorities and provide regular reports, evidence, recommendations, and updates to the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team.
• Model the highest standards of professional conduct, confidentiality, integrity, attendance, punctuality, communication, teamwork, and accountability at all times.
• Undertake any additional leadership, academic, supervisory, or operational responsibilities reasonably assigned by the Headteacher in accordance with the needs and strategic priorities of the school.