Assistant Headteacher - SEND and Inclusion

                                                         St Philip’s CE Primary School

                                          Job Advert: SENDCO and Assistant Headteacher

                                         SCHOOL:   St Philip’s CE Primary School, Litherland    

                    JOB TITLE: Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for SEND and Inclusion

St Philip’s CE Primary is a successful and thriving school, where children are at the heart of everything we do. We are passionate about ensuring every child feels valued, supported and able to thrive.   

We are driven by our mission statement of, ‘’What God has created, we nurture and celebrate in His love.‘

We are seeking a dedicated individual to join our school’s senior leadership team from September 2025. The role combines SENDCO with an Assistant Head role that reflects the high priority given to inclusion and SEND across our school, whilst also strengthening our leadership team. The successful candidate will be passionate about inclusion and SEND. They will have the highest aspirations for ALL children. They will be ambitious to further develop inclusive practice across our school, ready to make a world of difference to our children’s lives and shape the future of St Philip’s Church of England Primary School.

There is a teaching element to the role, with the responsibility for a class. We would like someone who is ideally comfortable to work in either KS1 or KS2 but will place teachers based on strengths and needs of the children. The successful candidate will be an experienced school leader who is committed to continuous school improvement.

We are looking for a candidate that is:-

• A forward-thinking leader who is ambitious for all children and dedicated to providing them with the fullest possible educational experience
• Committed to building warm, positive and inclusive relationships with all staff, pupils and parents
• A strategic thinker, able to lead, inspire and motivate both staff and pupils
• Able to demonstrate excellent interpersonal, organisational and communication skills
• Committed to making a difference to the lives and achievements of all pupils at St Philip’s.
• Experienced in developing secure positive relationships and classroom culture
• Experienced in implementing an innovative and creative curriculum
• Experienced in line management, enabling each member to feel included and to achieve the best possible outcomes
• Experienced in successfully leading an area of whole school practice, and impacting positively on learning for pupils
• An advocate for our school values and children’s rights
• An outstanding role model for our school family with an understanding of the challenges and rewards of teaching.
• Secure in understanding of best practice in safeguarding leadership, policy and practices
• A highly motivated individual that will bring energy, drive and ambition to the role
• Is an outstanding teacher

• Is an inspirational, committed and innovative leader of learning
• Has a successful track record in working with children with a wide range of educational needs

What the school offers its staff:

At St Philip’s Church of England Primary School, we can offer:

• A caring school family with a warm, nurturing ethos rooted in Gospel Values
• Enthusiastic, kind and curious children who love learning
• A team of hardworking, friendly staff committed in providing high quality education and experiences for all children
•  A genuine opportunity to shape and lead inclusion, with professional freedom and creativity
• The opportunity to make a difference the lives of the children in our school
• A commitment to supporting and enhancing your professional development
• A successful, nurturing and forward-thinking school community
• A vibrant school environment where inclusion is not just a value—it’s a way of life

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE JOB:

In addition to the requirements of Assistant Headteacher, with class teaching responsibility, the post holder’s key accountability will be in ensuring inclusive practice is developed to promote the highest standards of attainment throughout the school.  The governors will appoint a person who will lead by example, providing inspiration and motivation and embodying, for the pupils, staff, governors and parents, the vision, purpose and leadership of this Church school.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The SENDCO will have responsibility for a full-time class-teaching role with allocated SEND time.

The school SENDCO will co-ordinate, with the support of the Headteacher and within the context of the school’s aims and policies, the development and implementation of the SEND policy in order to raise achievement and improve the quality of education provided for those children with SEND.

They will:

• devise and promote plans to ensure the needs of pupils with SEND are met and that they are reflected in the school improvement plan
• liaise with staff, parents and external agencies and other schools to co-ordinate their contribution, provide maximum support and ensure continuity of educational provision for pupils with SEND
• write and submit applications for EHC plans to support those pupils will SEND and to secure funding for those pupils who require it
• regularly monitor progress against targets for pupils with SEND from teachers’ plans, evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning by work analysis and use these analyses to guide future improvements
• analyse and interpret relevant school, local and national information relating to pupils with SEND and advise the Headteacher on the level of resources required to maximise achievement
• develop, with the support of the Headteacher and colleagues, effective ways of overcoming barriers to learning and sustaining effective teaching through the analysis and assessment of pupils’ needs, by monitoring the quality of teaching and standards of pupils’ achievements, and by setting targets for improvement.
• organise, monitor and evaluate the range of intervention strategies employed throughout the school ensuring that resources are targeted correctly towards those pupils requiring additional support
• in partnership with the Leadership Team, ensure the progress of all pupils is monitored and that there are common and uniform methods of assessment, recording and reporting throughout the school to assess and record pupil's progress and attainments in accordance with school policy.
• monitor teaching and learning activities in order to meet the needs of pupils with SEND through:
  • monitoring of teaching quality and pupil achievement.
  • target setting, including IEPs and provision maps.
  • developing a recording system for progress.
  • support staff involved in working with pupils with SEND by ensuring all those involved have the information necessary to secure improvements in teaching and learning and sustain staff motivation.
• ensuring all members of staff recognise and fulfil their statutory responsibilities to pupils with SEND.
• identify staff training needs and contribute to the professional development of staff, including whole-school CPD provision
• providing regular information to the Headteacher, leadership team and governing body on the effectiveness of SEND provision
• identifying resources needed to meet the needs of pupils with SEND and advise the Headteacher of priorities for expenditure.
• advise Headteacher and governing body on the efficient and effective deployment of staff.
• maintain and develop a range of resources, co-ordinate their deployment and monitor their effectiveness in meeting the objectives of school and SEND policies.

The above duties are not exhaustive and the post holder may be required to undertake tasks, roles and responsibilities as may be reasonably assigned to them by the Headteacher.                          

This job description may be amended at any time after discussion between the Teacher and the Headteacher but also may be reviewed annually at the Performance Management meetings.

DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE TO:

Senior Leadership Team, the Headteacher and through her, to the Governors.

Further details about the role:

The role is for 2 days per week as an Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for SEND and Inclusion and 3 days as a class teacher.

If you would like to support children who are happy and eager to learn, and inspire a supportive and enthusiastic team of staff, we would like to hear from you. Visits to the school are welcome and encouraged; if you have any questions, or would like to arrange a visit, please contact us on:                  0151 928 1483