What skills and experience we're looking for
We are seeking to appoint a talented individual to join us as an Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for SEND at Helena Romanes School. We are an inclusive school where every student is valued and has the opportunity to shine. Helena Romanes School is a mixed state, all through school, catering for students from ages 4 through to 18. This role involves overseeing SEND provision across all phases of the school, ensuring students with SEND have a seamless transition from primary to secondary to Sixth Form. This role is a unique opportunity for a leader who is passionate about, and committed to, cultivating an excellent educational provision for every child.
This position would be most suitable for a candidate who is already a SENCO, looking to expand the reach of their influence and take on a new leadership challenge. We welcome applications from candidates who have either primary or secondary experience. The precise teaching load associated with this role will be agreed with the successful candidate. However, it is envisaged that they will deliver interventions to support pupils in the primary and secondary phase such as reading, numeracy, literacy or Functional Skills.
What the school offers its staff
Benefits from working at Helena Romanes School include:
● The school is a popular and successful all through comprehensive situated in the beautiful North Essex countryside with good communications to London and the South East and is approximately 7 miles from Stansted Airport.
● The school is currently located adjacent to the town’s leisure centre and we have ample on-site parking.
● We are proud to offer our staff a 50% discount on wraparound care for their children in the primary school, helping to support work-life balance. This benefit provides significant savings on before and after school care for children, ensuring that our team can feel confident and supported both at work and at home.
This is an exciting time to join the school:
● The Department for Education is currently building us a state-of-the-art, carbon neutral school building, close to our current location in Great Dunmow. There will be a separate primary building and a Secondary/Sixth Form building. The SEND facilities will be impressive, including a suite of SEND rooms and a sensory room.
● In September 2021, the school began its journey as an all-through school, providing education for children aged 4-18. As well as having an established secondary and Sixth Form phase, the primary phase now comprises a reception, Year 1, Year 2 and mixed aged Year 3-5 class. From September 2025, reception will expand to include two reception classes.
● Ofsted visited the school in October 2023 and recognised us to be ‘Good ’in all areas.
● We are a member of the successful Saffron Academy Trust and work closely with a team of talented SENCOs across the trust to share best practice and learning.
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment. Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance. Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant): childcare disqualification Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) medical online and social media prohibition from teaching right to work satisfactory references suitability to work with children You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.