Job Description

Location: Hastings

Salary: L3 – L7 £47,235 – £52,232 plus potential relocation package of up to £3,000

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full-time

Start date: January 2024 or sooner if possible

Closing date: 9am Friday 13^th October 2023

Interviews: Thursday 19th October 2023 (subject to change)

About the role:

Do you want to be valued and to make a difference to others every day? Are you committed to improving the lives of children who live in Hastings? If so, then working with us as an Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion and Pastoral Care, responsible for SEND, behaviour and safeguarding at Ark Blacklands Primary Academy may be for you.

Ark Blacklands is an over-subscribed, successful primary school, graded as Outstanding by Ofsted.  We are looking for an exceptional, compassionate, and supportive leader. You will be enthusiastic, conscientious, and self-motivated and bring strategic clarity to the Inclusion work in our Academy. The successful candidate will join a passionate, experienced, and highly skilled leadership team who have an outstanding record of accomplishing high standards of education for pupils from diverse backgrounds with a broad range of need.

As the Assistant Head, you will work within the Senior Leadership team to lead and support our established and successful inclusion team to meet the SEND, pastoral and child-protection needs of pupils, so that they are able to develop to their full potential.  The inclusion team, who you will line manage includes: a Pastoral Manager; four Learning & Engagement Mentors; a Speech & Language TA; five Inclusion Support Assistants, an Inclusion Support Officer and 3 DDSLs. With your leadership, this team will help you achieve your ambitions and strategic goals. You will work daily with pupils, staff, parents and external agencies with understanding and compassion, recognising and addressing barriers to learning.

You will have excellent leadership qualities and possess the energy and enthusiasm which is necessary to maintain and build on the existing outstanding practice in the school, achieving the best possible outcomes for all our pupils.

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious and dynamic individual, who will help to shape the future of the Academy and work within the thriving Ark Network.

Applications are invited from proactive and strategic thinkers who wish to develop their career within a supportive and professional senior leadership team.

Ideal candidates will:

•  Be a qualified teacher with the knowledge and experience of teaching pupils with special educational and behavioural needs.
•  Have a proven record of successful leadership at senior or middle level.
•  Have experience of leading and managing staff in developing and implementing effective provision for vulnerable pupils.
•  Be a rigorous and committed professional who is ambitious for the school and its pupils.
•  Remain resilient through challenges.
•  Have a good knowledge of Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance.
•  Have the interpersonal skills necessary to inspire and lead others.
•  Have the capacity to develop and promote our vision for inclusion.

View the full job description and person specification here. 

About our school:

Ark Blacklands Primary Academy is an Outstanding primary school located near the 109-acre Alexandra Park. We recently celebrated having among the best SATs results in the area.

We are a large and popular school with a new intake each year of 3 forms: 90 pupils in each year group, from reception through to year 6. Despite this, our staff work exceptionally hard to get to know each pupil and provide them with the very best care.

Ark Blacklands Primary Academy is part of the Ark network. The school works closely with its sister primary schools, Ark Castledown Primary Academy and Ark Little Ridge Primary Academy. All three are highly successful schools where Leadership & Management has been judged to be outstanding and academic outcomes are impressive. As part of the Ark schools’ network, we are committed to making sure that every child has access to a great education and real choices in life. We know that great schools need great staff, which is why we offer you the very best training and support at every stage of your career.

This is an exciting opportunity to help lead a large primary school with outstanding outcomes.  The successful candidate will have the full support of Ark, including support and guidance from our team of Network Leads for Safeguarding, SEND and Pastoral.  This support from the Ark Trust will help ensure that Ark Blacklands Primary Academy makes a lasting contribution to its community, supporting local children to fulfil their ambitions.

Find out more by visiting www.arkblacklandsprimary.org/.

We offer:

•  A school and Academy Trust which is truly values driven.
• A wonderful, talented staff team to work alongside.
•  Incredible children: we are proud of our unique and diverse school community.
• A carefully designed and supportive induction plan to ensure you have everything you need to start your new role confidently and smoothly.
• Ark network training days – we have ten days in total across the year for you to receive training as well as train your staff – twice the usual number of days offered.
•  Access to health packages, discounts at major retailers, travel loans and other benefits, through the Ark Rewards scheme.
• Opportunity to apply for international exchanges and other scholarship prospects.
• Support from experienced external professionals such as psychotherapists from healthyminds@work
• Ability to influence particular Network-wide issues through our Network Groups and Inclusion Lead meetings.
• Career development opportunities – being part of a group of schools means that there is always room to grow and new opportunities to explore.
• On-hand expertise from our dedicated Central education and operations teams who are ready to support you and your school
• Regional Inclusion Meetings –which enable Inclusion Leads, SENCos and Pastoral Leads to work collaboratively on Regional and Network priorities.

Find out more about the benefits by visiting https://arkonline.org/why-work-with-us

How to apply:

Please select the role you are applying for on www.arkblacklandsprimary.org/vacancies and submit your application by the deadline.

Interested in this exciting opportunity? Please contact Natalie Rankin, Principal 

n.******@ar******************.org











 to arrange an informal chat or a visit to the school.

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.  

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment – this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link. 

How to Apply

Job Categories: Equal Opportunities. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 40,000 - 60,000.

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