Headteacher - Full-time

St Margaret's-at-Cliffe Primary School, Dover

• Ref:KCC886-2532-153L
• Posted:18/06/2026
• Pay:£61,534 (L8)
• Start Date:January 2027
• App Close Date:28/08/2026 at 12:00
• Interviews:23rd and 24th September

Advert

At St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe Primary School, our children are at the heart of everything we do, and they are excited to welcome a new Headteacher who will listen to their ideas, celebrate their achievements and help them continue to grow as confident, curious learners.

If you are a warm and inspiring leader who believes every child should feel known, valued and encouraged to achieve their full potential, we would love you to explore this opportunity.

Our Governors are seeking a new Headteacher to lead our friendly, much-loved village school in the beautiful coastal community of St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe. We are fortunate to be surrounded by stunning scenery while remaining within easy reach of Dover and Deal, with excellent transport links including a mainline railway station and convenient access to the M2, M20 and A256.

What our children are hoping for:

• Someone who believes in them, listens to them and helps them to dream big.
• A leader who brings positivity, kindness and fresh ideas to make their school even better.
• Someone who celebrates their successes, supports them through challenges and helps them feel proud of who they are

What we are looking for in our next Headteacher:

• An inspirational and passionate leader with a clear strategic vision for the future of our school.
• Someone who can build upon and further strengthen the strong foundations already in place.
• A leader who demonstrates integrity, creativity, resilience and clarity of purpose.
• Someone who can bring staff, families and the wider community together around our shared values and aspirations.
• An excellent people leader who is committed to developing, supporting and empowering staff.
• A leader who can manage school finances effectively, strategically and sustainably.

What we can offer you:

• The opportunity to lead a wonderful school where children are enthusiastic, well-behaved and eager to learn.
• A dedicated and friendly staff team who care deeply about providing the very best opportunities for every child.
• A supportive, committed and collaborative Governing Body.
• High-quality professional development through the Samphire Learning Hub, local headteacher networks and ongoing CPD opportunities agreed through regular professional review meetings.
• The opportunity to bring your ideas, energy and vision to a school community that genuinely values its Headteacher and is excited about the future.

If you are excited by the prospect of leading a school where children are at the heart of every decision, we would be delighted to hear from you.

We warmly encourage you to visit St. Margaret’s-at-Cliffe school, so you can see what a wonderful place it is for yourself.  Visits to the school are welcome by arrangement with the school office for early July.  Please contact the school office on the number above to arrange.

Information about the school

St Margaret's-at-Cliffe is a co-educational Community Primary School, catering for 4 to 11 year old pupils, set in a village environment between Dover and Deal, off the A258. With capacity for 210+ children, we attract families from within our village and other nearby villages, as well as the local towns of Deal and Dover. We have no official catchment area and children may attend from anywhere in the area.

The school building was purpose-built in 1970 replacing a Church of England (controlled school) established in 1847 and located elsewhere in the village. The school no longer has any religious affiliation, but still develops strong ties with the local church and the village community as a whole. We have extensive grounds that we make good use of for outdoor play and learning, a large field suitable for a variety of activities including football, cricket, athletics and our annual sports day and forest school which takes place in our environmental area. The school has the added advantage of being situated close to the sea and we incorporate the village and our local environment into a number of different outdoor learning activities to enrich the curriculum such as art, geography, history as well as litter picking and conservation.

We run a number of after-school clubs for example; Games, ICT, Gardening, Choir, Computing, Art and Car club (we race at Goodwood!) and other activities organised by staff and parents, as well as providing wrap around care both before and after school for those parents who need to take advantage of this. In addition, there are opportunities to learn various musical instruments and there are various fund-raising events held throughout the year which enable us to provide vital extras. Year 5 have the opportunity to take part in an annual residential visit to Bewl Water and, having established links with France, an annual residential visit is organised for Year 6. French listening and speaking is experienced from the Reception Class.

We are committed to delivering inspirational teaching that develops confident, resilient, life-long learners who reach their full potential and make maximum progress. We strive to develop pupils who are well prepared to derive maximum benefit from their secondary education and who are ultimately fit for a life of work, leisure, family and community responsibilities. Our pupils achieve well and make good progress – academically and socially – during their time with us.

Job Contact Information

• Name:Mrs Lorraine Windsor - Business Manager
• Address:Sea Street, St Margaret's-At-Cliffe, Dover, Kent, CT15 6SS
• Telephone: 01304 852639
• Email: officemanager@st-margarets-dover.kent.sch.uk

Fax: 01304 853671

Documents

Below are documents that have been added to this vacancy.

• Job Description
• About the School
• Child Protection Policy
• Person Specification
• Chair of Governors Letter