Roe Valley Integrated Primary School
PRINCIPAL’S JOB DESCRIPTION
The Principal is responsible to The Board of Governors
1 Integrated Education
In conjunction with the Vice-Principal, Governors, staff, parents and the wider community, the
Principal will ensure that the principles and practice of integrated education are delivered and
developed in all areas of provision.
2 Educative leadership within the school’s education community
The Principal will establish and maintain a school where learning by all members of the school
community is a highly valued activity.
3 School culture
The Principal will develop a school culture where learning is paramount, and all individuals are
encouraged, respected and challenged intellectually, physically and socially.
4 Management and administration
The Principal will, in association with the Vice-Principal and Board of Governors, be responsible for
formulating and developing the aims of the school and for devising policies for their implementation.
The Principal will attend all Board meetings, unless prevented from doing so by illness or other
unavoidable cause. Attendance at sub-committee meetings may also be required, as considered
appropriate.
The Principal will be responsible for the internal organisation and management of the school. Using
a consultative approach where appropriate, the Principal shall organise such meetings as are needed
for decision making and information provision purposes.
The Principal will ensure that the meetings are minuted and that outcomes are actioned and/or
referred to the Board of Governors, as appropriate.
The Principal will be responsible for deploying and managing all teaching and non-teaching staff and
allocating particular duties to them as are consistent with their terms and conditions of
employment.
The Principal will be required to be cognisant of legislative developments pertaining to all aspects of
the school’s work, communicating these to Governors, staff and parents and actioning as
appropriate.
The Principal will also be responsible for an equitable provision of cover for absent staff.
5 Human Resources
The Principal will
• Identify all recruitment and promotional needs within the school for teaching and non-teaching
staff.
• Manage all staff, and ensure that proper standards of professional performance and conduct are
maintained, taking any necessary measures in accordance with school policy.
• Maintain an understanding of evolving trends in education, keeping abreast of school leadership
and curriculum development issues and participating in principal development activities.
• Be responsible for performance review schemes including those of non-teaching staff.
6 Personal professional development
In accordance with the School Development Plan and the Staff Development Policy, the Principal will
identify developmental needs, including his/her own needs.
7 Curriculum
The Principal will:
• Organise and implement the curriculum in accordance with the Curriculum Policy agreed with the
Board of Governors. He/ she will take into account the needs, aptitudes and stages of all the pupils,
the financial resources available and the School Development Plan, to ensure that the curriculum is
effectively delivered within the terms of statutory requirements;
• Ensure high quality teaching and learning experiences for all pupils, so that they may realise their
full potential and achieve suitably high standards in academic, sporting or creative pursuits;
• Monitor, evaluate and keep under review curricular policies and develop effective assessment
measures.
• Ensure that assessment data is recorded, collated and analysed, to enable benchmarking, target
setting and evaluation to take place.
• Maintain and promote the inclusive nature of the school, responding to the needs of all pupils and
encouraging excellence at all levels of ability.
8 Pastoral Care
The Principal will maintain, promote and further develop the school’s child-centred policy for
pastoral care, as agreed with the Board of Governors.
The Principal will ensure adherence to Child Protection legislation at all times.
9 Discipline
The Principal will be responsible for ensuring that the school policy on discipline is consistently
implemented with a view to maintaining good order and promoting respect for self and others
within the school community.
The Principal will encourage good behaviour and ensure that expected standards are known and
adhered to throughout the school.
The Principal will be responsible for bringing cases which warrant consideration to the attention of
the Board of Governors.
10 Finance
The Principal will be responsible for allocating, controlling and accounting for those financial and
material resources which are deemed by the Board to be under the Principal’s control. This includes
the supervision of the work of the office staff and budget holders within the school and liaison with
the Governors, the school accountant, auditors and other external agencies, as appropriate.
The Principal will be responsible for overseeing all the administrative processes which impinge on
the monitoring and control of the school’s delegated budget.
The Principal will exercise an equivalent level of control and accountability in respect of all nondelegated monies, i.e. additional grants and funding.
11 School Premises
The Principal will ensure that the buildings and school grounds are secure, and will carry out periodic
inspections with designated Governors.
The Principal will report maintenance requirements as appropriate, in accordance with his/her remit
agreed by the Governors.
The Principal shall be responsible for the day to day liaison with architects, builders, planners and DE
officials in any maintenance issues and in any building programme undertaken for the school.
The Principal will oversee the work of the caretakers, cleaning staff, and lunchtime supervisors.
12 Health and Safety
The Principal, in conjunction with Governors, will comply with legislation relating to the health and
safety of pupils, staff and visitors.
13 School Meals
The Principal will be responsible for overseeing the catering staff and service appointed by the Board
of Governors and will be responsible for such arrangements as are required for the effective
supervision of pupils during the lunch period.
14 Communication
The Principal will be responsible for the school communication networks and will:
• Act as a facilitator, interpreter and network manager to ensure that the communication system
allows members of the school community to know what is happening.
• Ensure that parents are informed regularly about the curriculum, their children’s progress and
other matters relating to the life of the school and its aims.
• Ensure effective communication with staff, pupils, parents, Board of Governors and external
agencies.
• Promote the school within the local community and celebrate its successes.
• Develop and maintain effective links with the local community and further afield.
15 Representation
The Principal will exercise a leadership role in managing relationships and in representing the school.
The Principal will represent and act for the school as the school-community educational leader on
public and professional occasions and provide feedback as appropriate.
16 Equal Opportunities
The Principal will adhere to the school Equal Opportunities policy as agreed with the Board of
Governors.
The Principal may be expected to carry out other reasonable duties, as the occasion requires.
This job description may need to be reviewed, in consultation with the Principal and Board of
Governors, to meet the changing needs of the school and statutory requirements.