Assistant Headteacher & DSL

Description

The Assistant Headteacher will support the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher in:

• Communicating the school’s vision compellingly and supporting the headteacher’s strategic leadership
• The day-to-day management of the school
• Formulating the aims and objectives of the school
• Establishing policies for achieving these aims and objectives
• Managing staff and resources to that end
• Monitoring progress towards meeting the school’s aims and objectives

The Assistant Headteacher will also have a timetabled teaching commitment, complying with the Teachers’ Standards and modelling best practice for others. They may also be required to undertake any of the duties delegated by the Headteacher.

Key Responsibilities

School culture and behaviour

• Create a culture where pupils experience a positive and enriching school life
• Uphold educational standards in order to prepare pupils from all backgrounds for their next phase of education and life
• Ensure a culture of staff professionalism
• Encourage high standards of behaviour from pupils, built on rules and routines that are understood by staff and pupils and clearly demonstrated by all adults in school
• Use consistent and fair approaches to managing behaviour, in line with the school’s behaviour policy
• Encourage high levels of pupil attendance and help to uphold a school culture of safety, enjoyment, and engagement with learning to support attendance

Teaching, curriculum and assessment

• Establish and sustain high-quality teaching across subjects and phases, based on evidence
• Ensure the teaching of a broad, structured and coherent curriculum
Establish curriculum leadership, including subject leaders with relevant expertise and access to professional networks and communities
• Use valid, reliable and proportionate approaches to assessing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the curriculum
• Ensure the use of evidence-informed approaches to reading so all pupils are taught to read.

Additional and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

• Promote a culture and practices that allow all pupils to access the curriculum
• Have ambitious expectations for all pupils with SEND
• Make sure the school works effectively with parents, carers and professionals to identify additional needs, and provide support and adaptation where appropriate
• Make sure the school fulfils statutory duties regarding the SEND Code of Practice.

Organisational management and school improvement

• Establish and oversee systems, processes and policies so the school can operate effectively and efficiently
• Ensure staff and pupils’ safety and welfare through effective approaches to safeguarding, as part of duty of care
• Ensure rigorous approaches to identifying, managing and mitigating risk
• Ensure effective use of budgets and resources
• Identify problems and barriers to school effectiveness, and develop strategies for school improvement that are realistic, timely and suited to the school’s context
• Make sure school improvement strategies are effectively implemented

Staff management and professional development

• Performance-manage designated staff, including carrying out appraisals and holding staff to account for their performance
• Manage staff well, with due attention to workload
• Ensure staff have access to appropriate, high-quality professional development opportunities
• Keep up to date with developments in education
• Seek training and continuing professional development to meet their own needs

Governance, accountability and working in partnership

• Work with the governing board as appropriate

• Make sure the school effectively and efficiently operates within the required regulatory frameworks and meets all statutory duties

• Work successfully with other schools and organisations
Maintain working relationships with fellow professionals and colleagues to improve educational outcomes for all pupils.

Other areas of responsibility:

Assistant headteachers may be required to lead on a particular area of school leadership, as outlined below. This list is not exhaustive and may be subject to change:

Designated Safeguarding Lead

The assistant headteacher will:

• Maintain and review annually the Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy for the school.
• Be the key advisor to staff regarding safeguarding, including online safety, supporting in recognising and acting on concerns.
• Keep detailed, confidential records of all concerns, decisions, actions and referrals.
• Monitor patterns in safeguarding referrals and risk indicators. Where required report trends and compliance to the School SLT, the Education Director and Governors.
• Lead safeguarding audits and school self-evaluation, feeding into the school’s action plan.
• Manage safeguarding referrals appropriately to external stakeholders including: Children’s Social Care, PREVENT and the Police.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with key staff from Children’s Social Care, the Police, CAMH’s and the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).
• Deliver, record and monitor annual safeguarding training for all school staff, including updates to key pieces of legislation such as Keeping Children Safe in Education.
• Actively participate in Safeguarding strategy meetings and Child Protection conferences, which are held locally and nationally.
• Promote a school-wide trauma-informed, emotionally safe environment, especially tailored to SEMH learners.
• Advise on behaviour interventions and attendance strategies.

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)
Pastoral
Lead on the whole-school assessment strategy

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Qualifications & Training:

• Qualified teacher status [essential requirement under SEND Code of Conduct if duties include SENCO responsibilities]
• Degree
• Professional development in preparation for a leadership role
• Additional qualifications in trauma informed practice, behaviour management, or therapeutic interventions
• DSL and Safeguarding Level 3 trained and updated safeguarding training at least every two years [essential for those undertaking DSL responsibilities]

Experience:

• Senior leadership experience or equivalent, ideally with a background in safeguarding, social work, education leadership, or SEMH contexts.
• Experience managing inclusion, behaviour, or attendance in special education contexts.
• Experience of working with or preparing for Ofsted or other inspection frameworks.
• Teaching experience
• Involvement in school self-evaluation and development planning
• Line management experience
• Demonstrable experience of successful line management and staff development
• National Award for SEN Co-ordination, or a willingness to complete it within 3 years of appointment [essential requirement under the SEND Code of Practice]

Skills & Knowledge:

• Understanding of high-quality teaching, and the ability to model this for others and support others to improve
• Understanding of school finances
• Thorough knowledge of statutory frameworks such as Keeping Children Safe in Education.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to communicate a vision and inspire others

Benefits

• A competitive salary between £51,807 and £54,417, reviewed annually
• Enrolment into the Esland education pension scheme, which is double matched up to 20%, meaning at total pension contribution of up to 30%
• Company sick pay
• Life insurance to the value of 4 times your basic salary
• Comprehensive, paid induction training and ongoing training within the role
• Fantastic opportunities for career development, we promoted over 100 colleagues last year
• Cycle to work scheme
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) including our Online GP 24/7, 365 days a year
• Access to our Green Hybrid and EV car scheme
• A £500 bonus via our 'Refer a Friend’ scheme
• Monthly recognition awards
• Access to big-brand deals and discounts via our employee benefits scheme E-Together
• The opportunity to make a real difference to a child's life!

With over 35 years of residential childcare experience, the Esland group now has more than 65 residential children’s and assessment homes, and five schools, that are spread across the Kent, Hertfordshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Wiltshire, Bedfordshire, Nottinghamshire, West Midlands and Northamptonshire regions of England.

This also includes our Esland online school accessible to children throughout the UK which helps to deliver education to children missing education by utilising our specialised Turning the Curve education programme.

With over 800 team members and over 200 young people supported we strive to help our children achieve their very best outcomes, through our bespoke residential care, education, therapeutic and activity-led wraparound services.