Introduction from Trustees

Dear Candidate,

We are writing to thank you for your interest in the vacancy for a Headteacher at Whitley Academy. We sincerely hope that this letter, together with any additional supporting documentation and opportunities to visit the school will inspire and encourage you to want to work with us. This unique and exciting opportunity has become available due to the rapid growth of our Trust and the recent resignation of the previous Headteacher.

Whitley Academy converted to become a single academy in 2011 and Finham Park Multi Academy Trust was formed in 2015. The family of schools within our Trust currently comprises Finham Park School; Finham Park 2, our Free School; Finham Primary School, Lyng Hall School, Lillington Primary School and Whitley Academy. The Trust’s vision is summarised below:

“Schools in the Finham Park MAT will set out to pioneer, innovate and deliver a “World Class” education for all children from the age of 0-19 where the artificial barriers of stage and age are removed. Our education will aim to exceed the highest national and international benchmarks for academic achievement, whilst ensuring young people develop a passion for learning in all its contexts and are ready to take their place as active members of our global community.”

Whitley Academy joined the Trust in January 2021. Despite the pressures of a global pandemic, much has already been done to improve the school, including a significant curriculum and staffing restructure to realise a balanced budget position. We are hopeful that the next Headteacher will lead our school towards our stated ambition of being a “World Class” school – somewhere that our pupils experience an education that rivals the very best around the globe and reflecting our desire to be a leading organisation on the national and international stage. To this end we are not a community that rests on its laurels; rather we are constantly striving to improve the experience we offer our pupils and, whilst proud of our track record and history, recognise that there is much still to do.

We want to appoint an inspirational headteacher for Whitley Academy – a leader with charisma, expertise, and the skills to motivate both adults and young people to achieve the very best for themselves and their school community.

We feel we can offer many things to a successful applicant. These would include the support of an experienced governing body; the collegiate support of other headteachers from both primary and secondary phases; the guidance of our Executive Headteacher, Mark Bailie (also a National Leader of Education and Ofsted Inspector) and a MAT Central Support Service (Finance, Human Resources, Estates, IT and School Improvement departments) that allows our Headteachers to focus on the most important things – opportunities for students! Whitley is fortunate in possessing an excellent team of specialist teachers and support staff together with opportunities to develop the links and networks that a school like Whitley Academy needs not just to be successful in its own right, but also to support and learn from other partner organisations – In our view, this is an exceptional opportunity for the right person to develop our school and develop themselves as a school leader.

Thank you for your interest. We hope to receive an application from you in due course if you feel Whitley Academy may be an interesting place to work.

Mr Peter Burns MBE - Chair of Finham Park Multi Academy Trust

Mr David Kershaw CBE - Chair of Whitley Academy Local Governing Body