Assistant Head Teacher – Inclusion and SENDCo

Job Title:             Assistant Head Teacher – Inclusion and SENDCo

Location:             Arboretum Primary School

Contract Type:   Permanent

Salary:                 Leadership scale points 7 – 11

Hours per week: Part Time (0.8 FTE)

Start Date:         1^st September 2025

Age Range:         2-11 years

NOR:                    625

We are looking to appoint an inspirational, forward-thinking Assistant Head Teacher to join our Leadership Team, leading on Inclusion and acting as SENDCo in our popular, diverse and welcoming Primary School in the heart of Derby.

Arboretum is a proud member of Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (www.ddat.org.uk) and enjoys a positive relationship with a team of professionals providing effective support in school improvement and operations.

Arboretum is a happy place to be.  Our school is full of laughter, care and love; where each child is respected as the unique individual that they are. At Arboretum we underpin all of our work with the school’s values of ‘Ready, Respectful and Safe’. At Arboretum, children are at the heart of our work. Our priority is to deliver high quality teaching and learning whilst at the same time providing rich and enjoyable learning experiences.

We aim to provide a safe, happy and healthy environment in which all children are encouraged to be creative, confident and enquiring individuals. We want our children to be successful, to love learning and to move onto the next stage of their education with the skills, knowledge and understanding that will enable them to thrive. We have high expectations of our children; we will expect and support them to ‘Reach for the Stars’.

Are you already an experienced leader in a primary school, and eager for a new and stimulating challenge? Are you passionate about inclusion, and have the necessary knowledge and understanding to support and champion our most vulnerable children?

We are looking for an excellent practitioner with drive and enthusiasm, who has the knowledge, experience and skills to lead on inclusion, and act as SENDCo for the school.  The successful candidate will need to have an approved SENCo qualification, or be committed to obtaining it within 3 years of taking up the post. The Assistant Head Teacher will work closely with the head teacher and other senior leaders in the school. The school and the Trust are very supportive and provide high quality CPD, and opportunities to work collaboratively with other senior leaders and our School Improvement Advisors across the Trust.

Our new Assistant Head will:

• Have the ability to identify and deliver outstanding teaching; having the confidence to lead and model this.
• Have previous leadership experience within a primary school.
• Be a collaborative and inspirational leader, with a strong ability to motivate and empower staff and children to achieve their full potential.
• Care passionately about children and their development whilst still driving forward pupil progress and achievement.
• Have a tenacious approach to safeguarding; ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our young people.
• Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, able to build on and maintain strong relationships with staff, parents and carers, children, governors and the local and wider community.
• Have knowledge of the curriculum across the primary age range including EYFS.
• Have regard and respect for the experiences, knowledge and cultural diversity that every child brings to school and use this as a foundation for improving standards;
• Offer all children equal access to all aspects of school life; where individual differences are appreciated, celebrated, understood and accepted;
• Encourage children to become good citizens holding British values, by developing caring attitudes, tolerance and respect towards themselves, other children, adults, their school and their community.

In return we can offer you:

• Children who are rewarding to teach, eager to learn and who thrive on success, nurture and positive relationships
• A dedicated and highly motivated staff who have strong relationships with pupils, parents and the local community; who work hard to make Arboretum the success it is
• A friendly, welcoming and supportive community who are immensely proud of their school;
• A commitment to continued professional development;
• A supportive Academy Trust and active Local Academy Committee;
• A friendly working environment which supports and enhances our vision and ethos.
• Employee Assistance Programme

We are a large 625 place primary (which includes 20 children in our 2 year old unit and 60 in our 3 year old nursery), with a rich, ethnic mix of delightful and well-behaved children.  We have a modern school that sits in large attractive grounds.  We pride ourselves on our caring ethos and the value we place in our dedicated and friendly staff teams.  We are a popular school, and have a waiting list for most year groups.

An informal visit to the school is warmly encouraged and recommended.  The Head Teacher is available for visits on Tuesday 28th January at 4:00pm, Tuesday 4th February at 4:00pm, Thursday 6th January at 9:30am, Monday 10th February at 9:30am or Thursday 13th February at 4:00pm.  Please contact the school office on 01332 291140, or email jobs@arboretum.derby.sch.uk if you would like to book onto one of these visits.

For application details, please see attached, or go to Join Our Team on the Main Menu of our website at: www.arboretum.derby.sch.uk   where you will find job details and application forms.

Please complete the DDAT Teacher application form and the Monitoring form (optional), and submit together with a covering letter.

Applications should be emailed to jobs@arboretum.derby.sch.uk .  We will only accept applications made on DDAT application forms.

Closing Date:     12:00 noon Monday 3rd March 2025

Provisional Interviews:  Monday 17th March 2025