• Lead the day-to-day operation of the school, ensuring high standards of teaching, learning and assessment while delivering an ambitious, personalised education that enables every pupil to achieve their full potential.
• Drive continuous school improvement, using data, self-evaluation and quality assurance processes to monitor performance, raise standards and secure positive outcomes for all pupils.
• Champion therapeutic, trauma-informed and inclusive practice, creating a nurturing environment that supports emotional wellbeing, resilience, self-regulation and individual needs.
• Promote effective collaboration between education, therapy and support teams, ensuring a holistic approach to pupil development and achievement.
• Maintain a strong safeguarding culture, ensuring compliance with KCSIE and safeguarding legislation, supporting Designated Safeguarding Leaders and embedding best practice across the school.
• Lead on pupil welfare, behaviour, attendance and wellbeing, ensuring pupils feel safe, valued and supported to succeed both academically and personally.
• Inspire, develop and support team members, fostering a culture of accountability, professional development, wellbeing and high performance, while supporting recruitment, retention and succession planning.
• Build positive relationships with families, local authorities, commissioners and external professionals, acting as a visible ambassador for the school while ensuring safe, efficient and compliant operational leadership, including inspection and audit readiness.

Requirements

To be a successful Head of School you’ll need:

• Qualified Teacher (QTS) with proven leadership experience in a school or specialist education setting, with a strong track record of driving teaching, learning and whole-school improvement.
• Extensive knowledge of SEND, SEMH and autism-informed practice, with experience supporting pupils with behavioural, emotional and communication needs in an inclusive, person-centred environment.
• Strong people leader with the ability to motivate, develop and inspire high-performing teams while fostering a positive school culture.
• Experienced in school improvement and quality assurance, using data, self-evaluation and operational leadership skills to deliver measurable outcomes and maintain high standards.
• Collaborative and relationship-focused professional with a thorough understanding of safeguarding and KCSIE requirements, able to work effectively with families, local authorities, commissioners, external professionals and senior leaders to achieve strategic priorities.

Benefits

In return for your time, you’ll get:

• Holidays – You’ll get generous annual leave entitlement with a great work life balance.
• Pension scheme – A generous pension scheme.
• Learning & Development Opportunities – We provide comprehensive learning opportunities for team members to develop themselves.
• Discounts – You’ll have access to brilliant discounts through the Blue Light Card and our own employee benefits platform.
• Wellbeing Support – Your wellbeing is always our priority. You’ll have access to mental health and wellbeing support. On top of this, our therapies team offers a monthly confidential check in clinic, and group reflective practice sessions.
• Cycle2Work - The cycle to work scheme enables you to buy a bicycle at a discounted rate.
• DBS – As this role required you to have an enhanced DBS carried out, we will cover this cost.
• After 12 months service - You’ll also be eligible for our Medicash scheme which covers a wide range of medical, health and wellbeing expenses (Including immediate access to a GP!). You’ll get life assurance paid at x2 your annual salary, and even more high street discounts.

Recruitment Process

Please note that as part of our safer recruitment processes, successful applicants will be subject to pre-employment checks including an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) check, and online and social media checks, and reference validation.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Phoenix Learning and Care, we pride ourselves on our diverse workforce, and ensuring we have an inclusive environment for all our team members. We remain committed to ensuring our teams can bring their true selves to work without risk or fear of discrimination.