Head of Girls’ Education, Ethos and Belonging
Auckland Park Preparatory School (APPS) is a girls’ preparatory school with a proud 105- year history. We are a Christian school with a diverse community of pupils and families.
We are committed to ensuring that every APPS girl is known, safe, included, accepted, challenged and confident, with meaningful opportunities to participate and flourish in school life.
APPS is looking for an experienced educational leader to join our leadership team in a newly defined role with a broad strategic remit. This is an opportunity to shape how APPS thinks about and delivers girls’ education, belonging, ethos, conduct and wellbeing across the school.
Role Purpose:
The Head of Girls’ Education, Ethos and Belonging will provide strategic leadership in ensuring that APPS is deliberate about what it means to educate girls well: academically, socially, emotionally, morally and relationally within a community, country and world characterised by difference.
The role will ensure that the school’s ethos, values, religious centring and culture are appropriately and consistently reflected in the experience of girls, staff and families. This includes ensuring that our systems, behaviours, curriculum and practices deliberately support belonging, wellbeing, participation and personal growth.
The Head will lead and implement the school’s Culture and Belonging Strategy encompassing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Transformation and Justice across the pupil, staff and parent portfolios.
Key Areas of Responsibility:
- The role requires a strong understanding of how difference, inclusion and belonging intersect with behaviour, wellbeing and fulfilment.
The Head of Girls’ Education, Ethos and Belonging will provide strategic leadership in:
- Values, ethos and culture
- Belonging, inclusion and transformation
- Conduct and behaviour
- Pastoral care and wellbeing
- Pupil leadership, character and service
- Data and curriculum evaluation
- Policy, systems and governance
- Community and family engagement
Required Competencies:
Educational Leadership:
- At least five years’ experience in school leadership and/or senior management.
- Demonstrable experience, interest in and understanding of girls’ education in a primary school.
- Strong understanding of child development, wellbeing and the whole child.
- Able to teach while remaining connected to classroom practice and the broader educational experience of girls.
Inclusion, Transformation and Belonging:
- Strong understanding of diversity, inclusion, belonging, transformation, justice and related areas in the context of education.
- Confident in encouraging and facilitating discussions on race, culture, religion and other aspects of identity.
- Understanding of transformation in the South African educational, private school and national context.
- Able to manage competing priorities and change in complex environments.
Strategic and Analytical Thinking:
- Systems-level understanding of the whole school and how different areas connect.
- Comfortable working with data and identifying patterns.
- Able to translate the school’s strategic objectives into behaviours, practical systems, goals, targets and implementation plans.
Policy, Governance and Judgement:
- Sound understanding of education legislation, safeguarding and children’s rights.
- Experience in developing and implementing appropriate policies and systems.
- Understands risk, compliance and professional boundaries.
- Knows when specialist advice is required.
Pastoral Expertise:
- Strong understanding of friendship, relationships, behaviour and wellbeing.
- Experience in pastoral care, safeguarding and restorative practice.
- Able to maintain high expectations while building trust and positive relationships.
- Skilled at building a sustainable culture of belonging.
Communication and Relationships:
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Able to build strong relationships with girls, parents, staff and the Board of Governors.
- Confident handling difficult or sensitive conversations.
- Can influence and collaborate without relying solely on positional authority.
- Works effectively across departments and contributes to a distributed leadership model.
Personal Values and Professional Ethos:
- Strong commitment to supporting and developing the ethos and values of APPS.
- Models the school’s values and associated behaviours in relationships, decisions and everyday practice.
- Committed to creating an environment in which every girl can develop confidence, resilience, agency and a strong sense of belonging.
- Curious, reflective and committed to ongoing professional learning.
- Keeps up to date with developments in education, girls’ education, wellbeing, inclusion and child development.
Application:
Interested candidates are invited to submit:
- A current CV.
- The contact details of at least three professional referees.
- A brief motivation outlining their interest in the role and how they would contribute to the APPS community.
Applications should be submitted to applications@apps.co.za by 18 October 2026, using the subject line: Head of Girls’ Education, Ethos and Belonging.
Auckland Park Preparatory School is committed to safeguarding and the wellbeing of all children. All appointments will be subject to verification of qualifications, appropriate screening and satisfactory reference checks. APPS reserves the right not to proceed with the appointment. The school encourages applicants from all backgrounds to apply, including candidates living with disability. Applications are welcomed from South African citizens or persons with valid work permits. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
ISASA