Deputy Head Teacher (Special Educational Needs)

Job Title: Deputy Headteacher Line Manager

Headteachers Job Function: to deputise for the Headteacher as the senior leader in the schools. To lead teaching and learning by raising and maintaining the highest standards for curriculum and delivery of meaningful outcomes.

What we do:

At Kisimul we’re dedicated to helping the people we support expand their life skills, abilities and experiences as part of our therapeutic community and meaningful life delivery model. Our ethos is to put individual needs, values, aspirations and outcomes at the centre of everything we do providing holistic care and lifelong learning in a nurturing, supportive environment that encourages personal growth and development.

Role overview:

The Deputy Headteacher will provide pivotal support for the operational integrity of the schools. This role will include leadership of the curriculum, teaching quality and aspects of personal development and well-being. You will provide leadership of the school site alongside the Headteacher and in their absence be the designated Headteacher for the school.

The role therefore requires a highly tuned level of professional curiosity and demonstrable knowledge of existing DFE and inspection legislation for education, especially that related to standards for teaching and learning. The schools have provision for neurodivergent children with complex learning needs. Engagement in meaningful education can be challenging, and children have had an uneven experience of inclusion and positive outcomes in education.

The schools benefit from the support of an integrated multi-disciplinary team, so this role role will require co-ordination and communication with a range of education staff, care support teams, therapists, service development practitioners and external stakeholders, to ensure that children are engaged in learning and meeting their potential. You will have in depth knowledge of both formal and semi-formal approaches to learning, be enthused and inspired by SEND pedagogy and relate this love of learning to your colleagues . You will model, mentor and provide training and support for frontline staff, including advise and guidance for those both leading elements of the curriculum and for those new into the sector.

You will also support in assessing new children for our school services. This will involve regular travel offsite (you will receive expenses), both locally for day placement considerations and nationally for those considered for our integrated residential placements. Alongside and in place of an absent Headteacher, as the designated senior leader you will need the knowledge to take operational responsibilities for all aspects of leadership, including pupil welfare, attendance, staff operational oversight and safeguarding.

The experience I bring:

· Demonstrable SEND curriculum knowledge, including legislation, with direct experience of leading T&L oversight in an educational setting, ideally within SEND provision

· Additional qualification and evidence of ongoing CPD in relation to either educational management or SEND

· Understanding of neurodivergent profiles and supporting a trauma informed approach to learning

· Experience of vocational learning models, accredited learning and the ability to design bespoke and innovative educational input

· You will have held a management position in a school or local authority, ideally in specialist SEND provision

· Proven ability to engage with parents and other stakeholders who have often had challenging experiences with education services

· Able to support engagement in learning by using proactive and creative approaches, and developing learning resilience

· Experience of applying analytical outcomes, identifying trends and themes in relation to quality assurance processes and identifying suitable action and development plans to follow

· Ability to communicate effectively with a range of teams, and leading effective meetings

· Experience of writing succinct and summary reports for governance (or other stakeholders)

· Experience of and ability to demonstrate effective mentoring and management of change

· Evidence of using and applying a range of communication and mentoring styles to support the well-being of staff, while also holding them accountable for outcomes and output

· Direct experience of supporting new learners into services, including assessment of needs, transition planning and ensuring effective information sharing with front line supporting staff

· Proven ability to chair effective meetings, encourage reflective practice and enable solution focussed thinking

· Experience of designing and executing action plans and providing clear success criteria

· An motivational team player, who can work with a range of agencies and individuals including provision of coaching and mentoring support for groups or individual staff

Find out more about Meaningful Life Model: https://youtu.be/XWo2VXzeGIg

At Kisimul, we’re committed to creating a workplace that celebrates and welcomes diversity in all its forms. We believe that varied perspectives make us stronger and more innovative. If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply — your unique background, perspective, and potential might be exactly what we’re looking for.