Assistant Headteacher - Quality & Achievement - August 2027

Horizon English School Town Square is currently recruiting an Assistant Head Teacher - Quality and Achievement for an August 2027 start.

About Horizon Town Square:

Opening in September 2027, Horizon English School Town Square will bring over 35 years of educational excellence from our outstanding Jumeirah campus to the heart of Town Square Dubai.

An all-through British curriculum school for ages 3-18, the new campus will launch with FS1 to Year 8, growing year by year to Year 13.

The school will combine academic excellence, wellbeing and community spirit in a purpose-built, state of the art environment.

As part of the Cognita global family, students will benefit from world-class opportunities in academics, sports, and the arts through Enrich ME, helping every child feel they belong, achieve, and thrive.

PURPOSE

Horizon Secondary will be shaped by the people who join us from the beginning. As a founding Assistant Headteacher, you will work with the Head of Secondary and Senior Leadership Team to establish an ambitious, joyful and inclusive school in which every student counts, contributes and succeeds.

You will lead Quality and Achievement through a clear strategic sequence: an ambitious taught and caught curriculum, consistently strong teaching, purposeful professional development and excellent student outcomes. You will combine high expectations and accountability with warmth, professional trust and the ability to develop others.

During Horizon’s opening and early growth, aspects of the role may operate across Primary and Secondary. You will lead agreed cross-phase or whole-school priorities and establish approaches that meet the immediate needs of the all-through school while remaining scalable for a growing Secondary phase.

This non-teaching position is intended for an experienced Assistant Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher with the capacity to operate across senior leadership. As the school grows, the role will evolve and offers a developmental pathway towards future Deputy Headteacher leadership.

CONFIDENT, CAPABLE AND CONNECTED

Confident: Develop students who communicate effectively, embrace challenge and contribute with confidence.

Capable: Develop students with strong academic foundations, independence, resilience and the knowledge and habits required for future success.

Connected: Develop students who build meaningful relationships and contribute positively to their school, the UAE and the wider world.

SPECIFIC AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Your leadership of Horizon

• Lead with visible personal investment in Horizon’s founding journey and help establish outstanding culture and practice from day one.

• Translate Horizon’s vision into clear expectations for curriculum, teaching, professional learning, enrichment and achievement.

• Work with the Head of Secondary to establish sustainable systems, routines and professional standards as the school grows.

• Lead agreed Primary, Secondary or whole-school priorities during the opening phase and secure coherence across phases.

• Deputise for the Head of Secondary when required and contribute flexibly across the full breadth of senior leadership.

• Students’ achievement and learning skills

• Be accountable for ambitious standards of attainment, progress and learning from students’ individual starting points.

• Analyse achievement across subjects, cohorts and identified groups and ensure leaders respond rapidly to variation and underachievement.

• Ensure assessment evidence informs curriculum refinement, professional development, targeted intervention and appropriate challenge.

• Work with assessment leaders to establish reliable assessment, moderation, standardisation and reporting.

• Support the future use of FFT Aspire, ALPS and appropriate internal and external benchmarking to evaluate standards and future readiness.

• Teaching, professional development and assessment

• Lead the consistent implementation of Teaching for Impactful Learning and Progress (TILP), informed by the Great Teaching Toolkit.

• Ensure teaching aims high, retains joy and curiosity and is adapted skilfully to provide access without reducing challenge.

• Evaluate teaching through professional dialogue, learning visits, work review, student voice and evidence of student learning.

• Design and lead professional development that responds directly to curriculum priorities, teaching evidence and student outcomes.

• Establish a coaching culture in which teachers and leaders receive precise feedback, appropriate support and constructive challenge.

• Evaluate professional development through sustained changes in practice and improvements in learning, not participation alone.

• Taught curriculum and future pathways

• Lead the strategic design, implementation and evaluation of a coherent Years 7 to 13 curriculum.

• Ensure curriculum pathways build backwards from ambitious GCSE, A Level, BTEC International, university and employment outcomes.

• Work with Primary leaders to secure progression in knowledge, vocabulary, pedagogy and assessment, particularly across Years 5 to 8.

• Ensure Key Stage 3 retains breadth, joy, curiosity and authentic subject learning while establishing strong foundations for future qualifications.

• Lead Heads of Department in sequencing essential knowledge, disciplinary skills and assessment objectives.

• Oversee Pearson International pathways, using Pearson UK qualifications where an appropriate international qualification is unavailable.

• Plan progressively for staffing, resources, facilities, timetable requirements and future qualification delivery.

Caught curriculum and enrichment

• Lead a coherent enrichment programme that extends the taught curriculum and reflects Horizon’s identity.

• Establish an inclusive entitlement through ECAs, Enrich ME, trips, visits, competitions, performances, sport and Cognita collaboration.

• Ensure enrichment develops confidence, capability, connection, leadership, creativity, service and wider interests.

• Connect enrichment with curriculum learning, careers, university pathways, UAE culture and the wider world.

• Monitor participation, quality and impact to secure equitable access and meaningful outcomes for different groups.

• Work with pastoral leaders so the taught and caught curriculum combine to strengthen belonging, character and personal development.

• Leadership and school improvement

• Line manage, coach and hold designated Heads of Department and other leaders accountable for sustained improvement.

• Lead relevant aspects of self-evaluation and improvement planning aligned with KHDA expectations and school priorities.

• Use evidence to identify priorities, allocate resources, evaluate impact and report accurately to senior leaders.

• Contribute to recruitment, induction, policy development and the development of future leadership capacity.

• Build effective partnerships with families, Cognita schools, universities, employers and professional organisations.

• Take on additional strategic responsibilities according to school need, personal expertise and the evolving leadership structure.

General Responsibilities

• Model the Horizon values in all language and interactions.

• Demonstrate an active commitment to student and staff wellbeing, parent education and a strong culture of community.

• Comply with and demonstrate an active commitment to safeguarding policies, procedures and the code of conduct.

• Follow all school policies, procedures and handbooks.

• Take a proactive and professional approach to school life and professional development.

• Maintain professional confidentiality and undertake other reasonable duties.

Applications can be submitted via the TES online application form, only fully completed application will be processed. To support your application, please include your current, up-to-date CV.

The school reserves the right to interview and appoint strong candidates before the official closing date, and therefore we would encourage candidates to apply early in the process.

Thank you for your interest in Horizon Town Square School. Due to the large number of applications expected, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Horizon Town Square School and Cognita are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and expects the same from its employees. All new staff will be subject to detailed and enhanced pre-employment clearance, including identity checks, criminal background checks for all countries lived in, qualification checks, employment checks to include an exploration of any gaps in employment, and satisfactory reference checks for all employment in the last 10 years.