Headteacher – The Castle School
Full time, Permanent
Leadership scale 32-37 (£110,892 – £125,345)
Start Date: September 2026
We are seeking an inspirational leader to shape the future direction of The Castle School. You will bring a strong moral purpose, a clear vision for exceptional education, and an unwavering commitment to securing transformational outcomes for all pupils, particularly the most vulnerable.
The school is a founding member of the Blackdown Education Partnership (BEP). We are a Trust of primary and secondary schools across Somerset and Devon. The successful applicant will join a collaborative team of seven secondary headteachers who are united by shared values and who work together to drive improvement across the Trust.
As Headteacher, you will lead a high-performing school with a strong reputation, ambitious culture and a deep commitment to continuous improvement. Alongside leading the school, the role offers opportunities for system leadership across the community and wider South West educational landscape.
The Castle School is embarking on an ambitious Cradle to Career project in partnership with other local schools and external agents. We are looking for someone to continue this important part of our work.
Please take time to read the whole application pack and any relevant information on the school’s website. We strongly encourage prospective candidates to visit The Castle School before submitting an application, although we recognise this may not be possible for everyone. James Lamb, the current Headteacher is available to show prospective candidates around the school by appointment.
To arrange a visit, please contact Ania Sennah. We also welcome prospective candidates to book a virtual meeting or phone call with Chris Ellison, Director of Secondary Education. Please see the recruitment pack for contact details.
CVs are not accepted, please complete the application form in full. If you can meet the requirements of this role, we would love to hear from you. All applications should be made by completing the online application form via E-teach setting out how you meet the person specification for the role. For full details of the role, please see the job description and person specification.
Closing date: Monday 20th April 2026
Interviews: Wednesday 29th April 2026 – The Castle School
Thursday 30th April 2026 – BEP Trust Offices, Orchard Grove Primary School
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 under the Exceptions Order 1975 (as amended in 2013 and 2020). This means that both spent and unspent convictions and cautions may need to be disclosed. However, certain convictions and cautions are considered ‘protected’ under filtering rules and do not need to be disclosed. Guidance on what should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-guidance-on-the-rehabilitation-of-offenders-act-1974
Blackdown Education Partnership is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We particularly welcome applications from underrepresented groups including ethnicity, gender, transgender, age, disability, sexuality or religion.
The successful candidate will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure via the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS). As part of our due diligence process when shortlisting, we may carry out an online search of publicly available material to identify any incidents or issues which we might want to explore with the applicant at interview.
References: References will be taken up on short-listed candidates that will include questions about past disciplinary actions or allegations in relation to behaviour with children, previous employers may be approached for information to verify particular experiences or qualifications before interview.
Data Protection Act: Information held by Blackdown Education Partnership complies with and is stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. If your application is successful, the information you have provided in the ‘Personal Details’ section will be used for payroll purposes and may be disclosed to the Inland Revenue. It will be disclosed within the school for security and administration.
BEP Privacy Statement–Recruitment: Please see our website for further information.