The Trustees are looking to recruit to the post of
Head Teacher
Samuel Laycock School, OL6 8RF
Salary Range: L23 -L27 (£85,529 - £94,332) Starting point is negotiable and the range will be reviewed with the development of the school’s new 6th form provision
Commencing – September 2025
Samuel Laycock School is a thriving and highly regarded specialist school in Tameside, Greater Manchester, for children and young people with a diverse range of special needs including moderate learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder, severe learning difficulties and complex learning needs. The school has been on a journey of significant improvement in recent years, from Inadequate in June 2021 to Outstanding in October 2024. It is now looking forward to welcoming a new Headteacher to continue the excellent work of everyone involved with the school and to take it to the next level.
There are currently 240 children and young people aged 11-16 on roll. The school has exciting plans for a new 6th form provision to open in September 2025, which in time will have capacity for 200 young people. This is a wonderful opportunity to further enhance the work of the school and there is huge ambition for the impact this will have on the SEND offer for the community.
The school has been working with New Bridge Trust since 2021 and joined in 2022. It has been the commitment and hard work, of the highly motivated and skilled staff team, working collaboratively with Trust colleagues to co-produce the curriculum, ethos and day to day processes which has led to a real and impactful improvement. The school now has a culture of creating outstanding opportunities for all of its students with a focus on aspirational destinations.
New Bridge MAT is a vibrant, aspirational and inclusive multi-academy trust of seven special schools and two specialist post-16 provisions across Oldham, Tameside and Rochdale. As part of the wider New Bridge Group there are also two post-19 provisions. The settings support a wide spectrum of needs from age 4-19 and beyond. The Trust is proud to be national leaders in Special Education and has a culture of creating outstanding opportunities for all.
Staff morale is high and there is a real appetite to push forward for even greater success, providing a fantastic opportunity for the new Headteacher to continue the school’s progress. The new Headteacher must be an inspirational and progressive leader who will harness that energy. You will have the autonomy and ability to make decisions and to be creative while working with a Trust team that will offer support, guidance, challenge, and reassurance to achieve success.
Candidates should be able to demonstrate recent, successful, and sustained impact as a senior leader within a SEND school, or experience of Headship within a mainstream school. You will have a positive attitude which will inspire, enthuse and motivate students, staff and the wider school community. You must be confident, approachable and have the skills to work collaboratively, build effective teams and also to be a present and visible leader who leads by example.
To find out more about this exceptional opportunity please visit or contact Martin Blair at Hays Leadership for a confidential discussion, to arrange a visit to the school or to discuss making an application.
Please do not use online “Apply” options.
Martin Blair
T: 07736791138
E: martin.blair@hays.com
Closing date – 8am on 24th March
Interviews – 3rd and 4th April
Samuel Laycock School and New Bridge Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced disclosure from the DBS.