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Head of Provision
Head of Provision
Location: Wellington Salary: Leadership Scale L15–L21 (dependent on experience) Contract: Temporary to Permanent (end date TBC) Start Date: 1 September 2026
About the Role
Five Education are recruiting an innovative and compassionate Head of Provision for an exciting new Specialist SEMH Alternative Provision, opening in Wellington in September 2026.
This rare opportunity is for someone who can establish a flagship provision, offering 100% one-to-one support to no more than 15 young people with complex Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. Many of these pupils have experienced:
- Tier 4-level emotional distress
- Suicidal ideation & self-harming behaviours
- Multiple care placements
- Disrupted education & developmental delays
- Significant trauma
The mission: Rebuild confidence, forge educational pathways, and demonstrate the belief that transformation is possible despite overwhelming barriers.
This is more than a leadership role—it’s an invitation to reshape specialist education for vulnerable young people and influence SEND practices across the UK as the organisation expands.
The Head of Provision, as strategic, operational, and cultural director, will:
- Lead a multidisciplinary team (therapeutic professionals, educators, and support staff)
- Champion a culture which marries compassion with high academic & personal expectations
- Ensure relational leadership drives trauma-informed, therapeutic approaches
- Strengthen relationships with carers, local authorities & external agencies
- Foster safeguarding standards, attendance targets, and positive behaviour
- Chart continuous improvement while defining the school’s ethos
The Wellington initiative is a flight school for young lives: small cohorts (5 learners initially), tailored learning without the constraints of a mainstream classroom.
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Responsibilities
- Lead day-to-day operations, vision-making, and advancement of innovative SEND provision
- Develop school culture focused on teaching excellence, personal growth, & learning successes
- Manage & inspire a diverse professional team
- Embed therapeutic best practices across the provision
- Foster collaborations with families, therapists, and Educational Psychology Services
- Oversee critical safeguarding, attendance, & behaviour frameworks
- Drive foundational protocols and establish the school’s pioneer status
Requirements
About You
You are a visionary leader driven by a belief that every child can flourish, and motivated by the following qualities:
- Proven senior leadership (Deputy Head, Assistant Head, or SENCO background)
- Fascination for high-impact outcomes, especially among marginalised communities
- Substantial SEMH insight: Previous experience supporting self-harm, suicidal risk, attachment disorders or trauma
- Thrives in unpredictability, responding with calm resilience amid acute crises
- Relationships-first mentality: oppositional to authoritarianism in favour of trust, consistency & hope
- Organisational acumen, coupled with talent for coaching teams & empowering individuals
- Unwavering commitment to vulnerable pupils—making change through partnerships, not scrutiny
- Aspirational mindset—self and others—achieving operational excellence
Professional Background
Essential:
- PGCE (or equivalent)
- QTS (Qualified Teacher Status)
- Senior leadership experience (Deputy Head, Assistant Head, SENCO)
- Unwavering safeguarding competence
- Experience embedding trauma-informed protocols deeply into school policy
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Additional Conditions
- Right to work in the UK (no sponsorship offered)
- Current DBS on the Update Service (Five Education may assist you in processing an updated DBS at an affordable cost that will be reimbursed after 20 days)
Benefits
Why Five Education?
- Shape a groundbreaking educational model from Day One
- Work inside a high-performing network of specialist settings
- Collaborate with frontline therapeutic experts in a dynamic multidisciplinary space
- Ascend regionally as your leadership plays a role in steering new initiatives
Career Trajectory
This role is springboard to senior leadership—as the organisation expands across multiple SEND sites, you’ll mentor and grow into broader responsibilities for a constantly evolving educational team.
Desirable Qualifications
- National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)
- Demonstrated expertise in SEMH instruction & behaviour management
Apply Now
Interested candidates should contact Joseph Chambers at joseph@fiveeducation.co.uk or +0117 422 6167. Informal conversations welcome to discuss fit.
Safeguarding Commitment:
All hires undergo reference checks, TRA checks, and monitoring via a registered DBS—a strict safeguarding policy engrained into every application, interview, and selection phase.
Five Education proudly welcomes and encourages applications from candidates of all backgrounds. If you’re Black, Asian, or a Minority Ethnic (BAME) professional, your experience will enrich our efforts to reduce under-representation among SEND providers across England.
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