Headteacher – Holyrood Academy
Full time, Permanent
Leadership scale 33-39 (£113,646 - £131, 578)
Start Date: January 2027 or sooner if possible
Trailblazer wanted
This is a unique opportunity to be both a school and community leader. Holyrood Academy is a nationally acclaimed and innovative school which is transforming the life chances of children across the town of Chard. We are currently developing an on-site nursery and primary phase which would make Holyrood our first all-through school. This will support the school in delivering its vision for providing for every stage of a child's education. Through its outreach programme, Holyrood supports families from birth through to University and is a founding member of the Chard Community Hub which has been designated as a Best Start in Life centre for Early Years support.
This headship offers a rare and exciting opportunity to shape the future of a school and its community. Holyrood Academy is known for its strong community identity and outward facing approach, re-imagining what education can look like when relationships with families and place truly matter. As a lead school in the Cradle-to-Career Accelerator programme, and with proposals to become a 2–18 provision, Holyrood is not simply responding to change but actively shaping it for the children and young people it serves.
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 an increasingly 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.
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 Holyrood Academy before submitting an application, although we recognise this may not be possible for everyone. Dave MacCormick, the current Headteacher is available to show prospective candidates around the school by appointment.
To arrange a visit, please contact Linda Driscoll (Headteacher’s PA). 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: Midday Tuesday 12th May 2026
Interviews Monday 18th or Tuesday 19th May 2026 – Holyrood Academy
Wednesday 20th May 2026 - BEP Trust Offices, Orchard Grove Primary School
Safeguarding Statement:
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.