Commercial Services Group Blue tapered spiral Creating Impact
Home School Services

Assistant Headteacher - Maternity Cover - Maternity

Halfway Houses Primary School, Sheerness

  • Ref:KCC886-5220-105L
  • Posted:17/07/2026
  • Pay:L4-8
  • Start Date:Flexible
  • App Close Date:14/08/2026 at 18:00
  • Interviews:TBC

Advert

The Island Learning Trust is seeking to appoint a passionate, experienced and inspirational Assistant Headteacher to join the dedicated team at Halfway Houses Primary School on a maternity cover basis.
We are looking for a leader with integrity, compassion and self-awareness who shares our commitment to ensuring every member of our school community is supported "to be the best they can be." This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and experienced leader to make a meaningful impact within a thriving school and Trust.
 
The successful candidate will be a strong and effective leader who champions children, values positive relationships and is committed to achieving the very best outcomes for all pupils. They will have a proven track record of supporting and developing teachers to accelerate learning, deliver a high-quality curriculum and improve pupil outcomes. The ability to demonstrate whole-school impact, build strong partnerships with families and balance nurture with high expectations is essential.
We are seeking a reflective practitioner who is committed to continuous professional development and passionate about making a difference to the lives of children and families. Applicants should have a minimum of two years' experience in an Assistant Headteacher role or equivalent senior leadership position.
 
The start date is flexible; however, we would ideally like the successful candidate to be in post before the October 2026 half-term.
 
The Role
This is a non-class-based position, although some teaching responsibilities will be included across the school. These duties will enable the successful candidate to model high-quality teaching, share effective "Quality First Teaching" strategies and support the smooth day-to-day operation of the school.
As we continue to strengthen and develop our teaching and learning provision, there may be opportunities for additional teaching commitments in the future, in response to the evolving needs of the school.
What We Offer
The successful candidate will join a well-established team of dedicated professionals who are passionate about pupils' learning, wellbeing and success. As part of The Island Learning Trust, you will benefit from:
  • A warm, welcoming and vibrant school community.
  • Enthusiastic pupils who are eager to learn.
  • A supportive and collaborative staff team.
  • High-quality CPD, coaching and mentoring opportunities.
  • The opportunity to work within a growing and ambitious Trust.
  • A culture that values wellbeing, professional growth and teamwork.
We are incredibly proud of our schools and strongly encourage prospective applicants to visit us. Our Head of School, Mr Allen, would be delighted to meet you, answer any questions and show you around our wonderful school.
To arrange a visit, please call 01795 606458 (Option 2) or email recruitment@tiltrust.org.
 
We look forward to hearing from you.
Please note: The Island Learning Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy early should a suitable candidate be appointed prior to the advertised closing date.
 
Safeguarding Statement
The Island Learning Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful applicant will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and all relevant pre-employment safeguarding checks.

Information about the school

Halfway Houses Primary School

Halfway Houses Primary School is a vibrant and ambitious school, proud to have been judged Ofsted Good in 2024. Outcomes at Key Stage 2 are consistently above national averages in reading, writing and maths, reflecting our commitment to ensuring every child thrives. We are fortunate to have a strong, experienced team of teachers and support staff, united by a culture of collaboration and a belief that all children can achieve highly. Our positive community relationships and excellent parent partnerships strengthen the work we do every day. As part of our trust, we benefit from strong support from the central team, enhancing both our operational capacity and the professional development of our staff. Our school environment is spacious and well resourced, with extensive grounds, large classrooms, a generous hall space, and multiple additional learning areas, including sensory rooms. Recent investment has further enhanced our provision, including a new all weather pitch, new pupil laptops, and the launch of Opal Play, which will significantly enrich our play offer and support children’s development beyond the classroom. At the heart of our vision is a commitment to ensuring that all children achieve and become the very best they can be, regardless of their background. We want every child to feel known, valued and supported to flourish. Employees of the trust also benefit from the Westfield Health Employee Assistance Programme, which includes access to wellbeing support as well as retail, gym and discounts on travel.

TILT is a local, high performing Trust that is invested in raising aspirations for children and families in Swale. The Island Learning Trust promotes and achieves excellence. It recognises the importance of outstanding teaching and learning by actively encouraging creativity and innovation, whilst having consistent standards of behaviour and attendance. Treating everyone as equal, whilst celebrating diversity, is a non-negotiable; protecting all through safeguarding, health and safety and welfare is paramount. The Trust's core mission is to drive transformation in eductional standards for all pupils; accelerating progress, raising standards of education achieved and the aspirations of the children and families we serve, developing high performing, outstanding schools for the future.

Staff have a responsibility to be positive in their relationships with pupils and supportive of each other. We have a responsibilty to ensure every moment a child is in our school will be spent productively. Through thorough use of evidence we will enable all children to make excellent progress. Our motto is "to be the best we can be"; We maintain a relentless focus on raising standards of achievement so that all pupils have opportunites to achieve their full potential.

We expect all staff to maintain the highest professional standards at all times. We put children first. Staff are prepared to go the extra mile to provide the best possible education for their pupils. Our aim should always be to provide for the pupils of our school what we would want for our own children. In order to do this we maintain a rigorous focus on: accelerating and improving attainment and progress, improving the quality of teaching and learning so that it is at least strongly good, effective leadership and accountability structures and ensuring consistent application of agreed systems and processes throughout all TILT schools.

The Island Learning Trust was established on 1st November 2016. The MAT was comprised of Minster Primary and Halfway Houses Primary, both schools are on the Isle of Sheppey, an area of high deprivation and socio economic challenges. These two founding schools are both Ofsted rated good schools. The outcomes at Minster Primary are outstanding. Sunny Bank Primary School in Sittingbourne joined TILT in February 2020 under a sponsorship arrangement and significant all round improvement has been made with the support of the MAT.

Job Contact Information

  • Name:Hayley Chambers
  • Address:Danley Road, Minster On Sea, Sheerness, Kent, ME12 3AP
  • Telephone: (01795) 662875
  • Email: hhoffice@tiltrust.org

Documents

Below are documents that have been added to this vacancy.

Apply for this Role Today

Apply Now

Before applying for this vacancy please ensure you have read all the relevant information and documents provided by the school. If you are ready to apply for this vacancy please click the "Apply Now" button

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our students. You are advised that this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and therefore this post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Please be aware that schools are also required to undertake online recruitment checks on shortlisted candidates under changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education.