Job Description
Principal - Ashdown Garden School
Salary: Up to £72,000 – this may be increased for exceptional candidate.
Relocation allowance will be available if relocation is required.
40 Hours per week, 52 weeks per year
Start date: January 2025 or later in discussion with the appointed candidate. Ashdown Garden School will be a newly opening school, it is proposed that the school will open to children in 2025.
Ashdown Garden School will be a new school provision within the Trust, and its fifth school .
This is a fantastic opportunity to lead and pioneer a brand-new school, within Ruskin Mill Trust and to build on the vision and successes of the Garden Schools, by leading and working collaboratively with the School Leaders, and the wider Ruskin Mill Trust.
Ruskin Mill Trust Garden Schools find their success by bringing together education, medical/therapies and the land. Ashdown Garden School is set within 22 acres of beautiful farmland. The site will include a number of animals, areas for growing and horticulture and workshops for craft. The site is situated within Emerson College, and a key part of this role will include ensuring excellent professional relationships with the leaders and Trustees of the College.
Your personal development will also be a priority, and in addition to your work at the school, you will have a key role to play in the future development of the Trust. There is a well embedded research training culture, and you will have the opportunity to participate in study to Master’s degree level delivered through the Trust’s purpose-built training facility, the Field Centre.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Headteacher/Principal to work with a committed team within Ruskin Mill Trust. You do not need to have worked with PSTE but must support, embrace, articulate and work with the school and Trust’s objectives, vision, values, purpose and methodology. You will be skilled at combining operational leadership with strategic planning and delivery and have the passion and vision to build a highly aspirational team whose core purpose is to improve the education and lives of the students so that they have the potential to shape their own future.
Working at the Trust is incredibly rewarding and in return, we offer competitive salaries and an auto-enrolment pension scheme with salary sacrifice options. In addition, staff receive;
· An in-depth induction programme to enable our new team members to experience the Practical Skills Therapeutic Education (PSTE) curriculum and also opportunities for academic research including our own MSc in Practical Skills Therapeutic Education.
· 33 days holidays (including bank holidays) increasing to 38 days (including bank holidays with length of service)
· Full detail of all our benefits can be viewed on
For an informal discussion with the Co-CEO please contact Annette Webb on 07977187835 to arrange an appointment.
Site tours available at Ashdown Garden School by appointment only as above.
Closing date: 18th November 2024
Interview date: 1st interviews: 29th November 2024 and 2nd interviews 6th December 2024 (in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire)
Ashdown Garden School, located nearby the ancient area of Ashdown Forest, will be a specialist school for SEND children between the ages of 9–16 years, offering a range of practical land and craft learning opportunities. Ashdown Garden School is part of Ruskin Mill Trust.
Ruskin Mill Trust, Schools, offers educational day placements for children and young people with a range of special educational needs and disabilities. Ruskin Mill Trust has four schools, five colleges and three adult provisions. The school and Trust curriculum is based around a method of Practical Skills Therapeutic Education (PSTE). Where the majority of learning takes place through practical activities within exciting and meaningful outdoor learning environments, utilising practical land and craft activities to support the development of work and life skills in children and young people. The Trusts method is carefully braided with the insights of Rudolf Steiner and the requirements of the National Curriculum. The Trust works closely with school leaders to evidence the impact of the method, within regulatory frameworks:
The school is a special place, where pupils learn through the school’s practical skills therapeutic education (PSTE) curriculum. Ofsted stated “The pupils at the school benefit from access to extensive land and resources such as the school’s farm, the walled garden, a forge and the school shop. This learning is at the heart of everything the school do and helps to transform the life chances of the pupils by giving them the skills and confidence to make positive contributions to society. (Ofsted Quote May 2024, Sunfield Garden School)
The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful applicants will be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Level Disclosure as well as a medical check, references, evidence of qualifications, plus verification of the right to work in the UK.