School/MAT Leader Recruitment

 
What do governing bodies do first?

As soon as the outgoing School Leader’s written resignation has been received, Chairs of Governors, CEOs or Recruitment Panel Chairs for Church schools and academies should ensure that the DBE is notified by contacting:

Education Services Assistant Emma Waters 07769 372852 emma.waters@salisbury.anglican.org

The Board of Education’s work with you should begin as soon as possible by email/phone.

• We provide free (‘gifted’) support for the recruiting panel in an advisory capacity for all church school leadership vacancies. This includes CEOs, Acting/Interim Headteachers and Executive Leaders. We have significant and relevant resources for recruiting panels to draw upon from the very beginning of the process.
• We will liaise with the school’s recruitment team/governing body and relevant Local Authority or Multi Academy Trust to ensure that all church schools receive full support through this important process.

You will be assigned one of our experienced and trained DBE Consultants. They will support by email and phone but also in person by attending your:

1. Preliminary Meeting - to advise into decisions relating to the salary range, type of leadership role (HT/Head of School/Executive or Interim HT). Support for the creation of the advertisement (including job description/person specification, church school leadership/Christian vision information and dates for the process. The consultant will share SDBE template resources to support the recruitment panel in personalising the materials to showcase your unique vision and school community. Usually 2-3hrs.
2. Shortlisting Meeting - to agree the candidates to bring to interview, in line with the Person Specification and Job Description, and to support the planning for the interview process. Usually 3hrs.
3. The interview itself - usually a day.

The SDBE’s recommended order of events/ suggested timeline and some key resources can be found in the link here:

Governing Bodies of church schools who are not academies, should also contact the Local Authority (LA) who will allocate an adviser to work alongside the Diocesan Board of Education Consultant. The LA may also provide support for advertising and collection of references as part of their HR service.

It is essential that schools strive to live out their Christian vision through the recruitment process, as well as following the Local Authority/MAT’s recruitment policy or procedure in order that the process is fair and transparent for all candidates.

The school should have a policy and procedure for recruitment and selection, which has been adopted to conform to HR advice for Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedures for Teaching and Support Staff in Schools. In any event, it is vital that measures described in the appropriate policy are applied thoroughly whenever someone is recruited to work in a school. The Local Authority will not accept liability for any actions, claims, costs or expenses arising out of a school’s decision to vary from policy/recommended processes.

For the current Government Advice for Governors and Trustees on recruiting a school leader, click here.