Assistant Headteacher

The Job:

We are looking to appoint a dynamic, passionate and inspirational Assistant Headteacher (Inclusion) to join our Senior Leadership Team. You will play a pivotal role in the strategic leadership and management of the SEND provision and Pupil Premium strategy across the school, therefore an excellent knowledge of SEND is essential.

You will lead inclusion and be part of a team that is responsible for ensuring that all pupils regardless of their background or abilities, are able to participate fully in school life and achieve their full potential. You will also be responsible for leading and managing our strategy for pupils moving from KS2 to KS3, and will be responsible for the further development and implementation of our extracurricular programme across the school.

You also should have experience of developing high quality, inclusive teaching and learning alongside a passion for supporting the most vulnerable pupils to achieve excellent outcomes and an outstanding educational experience both inside and outside the classroom.

What does this job do?

To play a crucial role in assisting the Headteacher is continuing to secure an outstanding education for pupils and in creating an environment where there are the highest expectations for all members of the school community.

This role would suit either someone with a National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination or someone who is a great leader with a passion for SEN who is willing to be invested in by us to achieve this qualification.

What are the job requirements?

• An experienced leader with a range of educational experiences in different settings.
• An excellent understanding and experience of SEND
• Excellent knowledge of research, pedagogy, and curricula for supporting pupils with SEND
• Lead the transition of KS2 pupils into the KS3 high school environment.
• Lead the school extracurricular / enrichment activities.
• Understanding the principles of an inclusive education
• To be the designated member of staff for LAC pupils and ensure all their needs are met both pastorally and academically.
• Ability to design, lead and deliver CPD

About Pleckgate High School:

We are a large secondary school, part of the Education Partnership Trust (EPT), situated on the northern outskirts of Blackburn. Our school community is made up of 1350 students and 180 staff with excellent facilities to benefit both the school and local community. Pleckgate High School is a thriving multicultural community that places the best interests of young people at the heart of everything we do.

We are an ambitious school with high expectations for ourselves and our pupils. We are committed to providing excellent teaching and learning and we want all our pupils to be safe, happy and successful. In our Ofsted report in June 2024, our school was described as offering a “harmonious and supportive environment. Pupils learn the importance of being kind and respectful towards others”. Every pupil at Pleckgate is encouraged to have ambitious goals and to work hard. A copy of our full report is available from the school website.

We are proud of our achievements – our ambitious curriculum, our examination success, opportunities for pupils' personal development, our charity work and our community involvement. We are significantly oversubscribed and pupils achieve positive outcomes at Pleckgate.

We are significantly oversubscribed and pupils achieve positive outcomes at Pleckgate. We are proud of how staff support pupils in achieving success both academically and through sport.

As a staff member of Pleckgate High School, you will be able to take advantage of the staff benefits, available through the EPT, which includes access to both the Simply Health and Discount for Teachers schemes. We also have an Associate member of our Senior Leadership Team whose role is to work with our staff on staff wellbeing, working to ensure you have a balanced home and work life-style.

If you have any questions about our school, or the role itself, please don't hesitate to get in touch and please visit our school website http://www.pleckgate.com to get a flavour of what we have to offer.

About the Education Partnership Trust (EPT):

EPT was established in 2012 as a multi-academy trust and is an approved academy sponsor. Our vision is to create outstanding schools which transform learning, lives and communities. We benefit from our diverse and unique range of schools which include secondary mainstream, alternative provision and special and have a proven track record of sustained improvement. Our schools are united by a drive to improve opportunities and outcomes for children and young people within a collaborative learning culture.



Our staff are our most valued asset so we continually invest in our colleagues and we believe that all teaching and support staff posts within our schools are key in terms of supporting pupil achievement and improving their life chances. As such we are keen to recruit dedicated and ambitious professionals who will add value to our schools and trust by helping our young people to succeed. 

Our extensive range of rewards and benefits include:

• Healthcare cash back plan provided free by the trust includes optical, dental, physio, diagnostics, health assessment, NHS prescription charges, hospital cover, discounted gym memberships plus lots more.
• Employee Assistance Programme, including counselling, CBT, and wellbeing initiatives.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Access to government pension schemes.
• Free parking.
• Electric Car Scheme (Salary Sacrifice).
• Training, mentoring and progression opportunities.
• Trust wide intranet to share knowledge and resources. 

We warmly welcome a visit to the school or an informal conversation prior to application. Please contact Mary Wade - mwade@pleckgate.com

Incomplete application forms will not be shortlisted, if you need to discuss a reason for being unable to complete a section, please contact the recruitment team HR@ept-uk.com

Please be advised, as part of due diligence checks, online searches will be carried out on shortlisted candidates.