Building a confident school leadership team through specialist education HR support

Background

Brightside Nursery and Infant School is a maintained community school in Sheffield, supporting approximately 210 children aged three to seven. Its vision is simple and ambitious, “A bright start, a brighter future.” In June 2024, Ofsted judged the school Outstanding in all areas.

As a small school, Brightside does not have its own HR team. Its governing board subscribes to Capita Entrust for specialist HR advice, employment contracts and related documentation. This gives governors access to education HR expertise while allowing them to remain focused on the school, its pupils and its responsibilities as an employer.

Challenge

In 2026, the governing board needed to make two senior leadership appointments within the same year, first a Headteacher and then a Deputy Headteacher. Most of the governors, including the relatively new Chair, had not led a school leadership appointment before.

The board needed to run a lawful and robust safer recruitment process that complied with the School Staffing Regulations, Keeping Children Safe in Education and the Governance Handbook. It also needed to maintain the high standards expected of an Outstanding school.

The challenge extended beyond compliance. The board needed an advert, job description, person specification and assessment process that reflected the specific needs of a nursery and infant school. Governors also required a fair and consistent method for shortlisting candidates, including an internal applicant, and specialist support to evaluate teaching, leadership and safeguarding capabilities.

Brightside needed an experienced education HR partner, rather than a general recruitment provider.

Solution

Capita Entrust provided a structured route from the initial advert through to appointment, supporting the Chair and panel throughout both recruitment campaigns. The governing board retained responsibility for making each appointment, while Capita Entrust provided the professional advice, documentation and process needed to support informed and defensible decisions. 

For each campaign, Capita Entrust:

• advised the Chair and panel on the recruitment timetable, statutory requirements and required notifications
• created the recruitment pack and person specification
• provided red, amber and green shortlisting grids, allowing governors to assess every application against the published criteria
• guided the board through shortlisting, candidate invitations, references and safer recruitment checks
• supported the design of the assessment centre and hosted it at Capita’s offices.

Learn Sheffield worked alongside Capita Entrust during the assessment centre stage. This helped ensure that teaching, leadership and safeguarding activities were appropriate for an Outstanding nursery and infant school.

When the appointment of the new Headteacher created a Deputy Headteacher vacancy, the board used the same proven model. This provided continuity, reduced the need to create another process from the beginning and gave governors a consistent framework for making their decision. 

Outcomes

Brightside successfully filled both senior leadership positions through rigorous, structured recruitment processes. The appointments completed the school’s senior team, helping to protect its Outstanding provision and support its commitment to giving every child the best possible start.

The governing board also gained:

• a consistent shortlisting method that governors could understand and support
• confidence that safer recruitment requirements were incorporated from the outset
• fair and equal treatment of internal and external applicants
• specialist assessment centre expertise that the school could not have provided independently
• continuity after the appointments, with contracts and employment documentation managed by the same Capita Entrust team. 

“Capita Entrust gave us the confidence and specialist expertise to make two critical leadership appointments through a fair, rigorous process. We now have a strong senior team in place, helping us protect the outstanding education our children receive and giving the governing board confidence for the future.”

David Brough, Chair of Governors, Brightside Nursery Infant School Chair, Brightside Nursery Infant School

Brightside plans to continue using Capita Entrust for HR advice and employment documentation. It would also return to the same recruitment model for future leadership appointments.