Kent Leader of Education (KLE) recruitment

Who can apply?

To become a Kent Leader of Education, you and your school need to meet the following criteria.

Criteria for Headteachers

To be eligible to be a Kent Leader of Education, you must:

• have at least three years successful experience as a serving Headteacher
• expect to remain at your current school for at least two years after being selected
• have accountability for one or more school(s) that meet the criteria below
• have the support of your school’s Governing Body
• be able to think strategically, critically and analyse complex situations and issues
• demonstrate sufficient experience of providing effective support to Headteacher(s) or senior member(s) of staff at a school, or schools, other than your own
• have the ability to evaluate and identify what needs to be done to bring about sustainable improvements in outcomes, teaching and capacity
• have excellent written and oral communication skills
• have the ability to inspire, influence and persuade
• be emotionally resilient and persevering
• be able to build trust and mutual respect
• have strong interpersonal skills.

Criteria for the Headteacher’s school

To be considered as a Kent Leader of Education, your current school must:

• have received an Ofsted rating of good or better*
• show consistently high levels of pupil performance or continued improvement over the last 3 years
• be above current minimum standards set by the government
• have experienced senior leaders with capacity to work with other schools.

*In exceptional circumstances, a Headteacher in a school currently designated “Requires Improvement” may be considered if there is robust, compelling evidence demonstrating rapid, improvement in outcomes, teaching and leadership capacity. For example, if the school’s current performance is assessed as Good by the Local Authority and an Ofsted inspection to confirm this is expected.

What a Kent Leader of Education does

The majority of the work of a Kent Leader of Education is one-to-one support of another Headteacher. Typical activities include:

• supporting school improvement
• coaching and mentoring the Headteacher to develop skills, judgement and professional effectiveness
• supporting or arranging coaching or training for staff in the supported school
• facilitating or leading peer reviews.

Each placement is negotiated separately with the commissioning body. Schools that are a priority for support are those where:

• attainment and progress take the school below the floor standards
• the school is considered to be vulnerable and at risk of dropping an Ofsted category
• a new, first-time Headteacher has been appointed
• leadership, including governance, is not demonstrating sufficient impact of driving improvement at a fast-enough rate
• the quality of teaching is not improving rapidly enough to ensure outcomes are improving for all groups equally well.

Applications are now open and will close on Monday 26 April 2021 with selection taking place mid-May.

To apply

Headteachers should read the KLE Protocols and Guidance document and then complete the KLE application form. Email the completed form to info@kah.org.uk by Monday 26 April 2021.

Please ensure that you also ask your referee to return their completed reference form by this date.

Contact Details

Viv Turner, KAH Executive Support Officer
Email: info@kah.org.uk