Associate Headteacher

Role: Associate Headteacher

Location: TA3/TA10 (based across 2 sites)

Contract: Full time, permanent 

Salary: £45,000 - £55,000 per annum

Are you an experienced senior leader looking for your next career-defining challenge? We are working in close partnership with a respected, forward thinking independent SEN provision in Somerset to appoint an Associate Headteacher to lead the day-to-day operations and drive continuous school improvement.

As a specialist education recruitment agency, we are proud to support this unique and high-quality setting that provides tailored education for pupils with additional needs, including autism and SEMH. The school, located in a beautiful rural setting just outside of Taunton, operates across two well-resourced sites and delivers a holistic, therapeutic approach to education.

We have an established relationship with this provider and can offer detailed insight into the role, the team and the values that underpin their success.

Role Overview:

As an Associate Headteacher, you will play a pivotal role in leading the school on a day-to-day basis, ensuring high standards of teaching, safeguarding, behaviour and staff development. You will work closely with the Executive Headteacher and wider leadership team to implement the school’s vision and meet the needs of a highly individualised and inclusive education model.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide strong operational leadership and management of staff, pupils and resources
• Drive school improvement strategies aligned with the Independent School Standards and Ofsted framework
• Lead safeguarding, behaviour, attendance and wellbeing policies across the school
• Ensure high-quality teaching and learning through curriculum planning, support and review
• Oversee HR, staff training and appraisal processes in collaboration with senior leaders
• Work closely with parents, carers and external agencies to foster effective partnerships
• Champion inclusive practices that support the individual needs of all pupils 
• Deputise for the Executive Headteacher where required

The Ideal Candidate Will Have:

• A proven track record of impactful school leadership
• In-depth knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice and Independent School Standards 
• Strong leadership experience in safeguarding, curriculum delivery and staff development
• Ability to implement and maintain positive behaviour frameworks across the school
• A working knowledge of Keeping Children Safe in Education
• A passion for inclusion and driving forward meaningful educational outcomes for all learners
• Experience in independent or special school settings is highly desirable

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to step into a strategic school leadership role within a nurturing and ambitious specialist provision. If you’re ready to lead with impact and make a genuine difference to children’s lives, we’d love to speak with you!

Working with Long-term Teachers:

We are an independent agency working with Nurseries, Primary, Secondary and Special Schools. 

LTT was founded with the aim of creating a genuine, transparent and straightforward service to help candidates secure their next role. We place a huge emphasis on delivering an exceptional service where you will be supported, listened to and valued throughout.

Your dedicated consultant will invest time to understand your experience, skill-set and what your ideal role looks like. You will have frequent updates with your progress through compliance, applications for specific roles as well as receiving additional information on roles which we feel may be of interest to you. 

We are proud members of the REC and we have the highest standard of compliance. Working with us means you will get the very best support and guidance through the clearance process from your own specific point of contact from our in-house compliance team.

In addition you will receive: 

• Guarantee Pay Scheme opportunities
• Permanent job roles
• Support and advice during the clearance and onboarding process
• Working to Agency Workers Regulations
• Interview preparation, advice and support
• Statutory employment rights, such as; sick pay, holiday pay, maternity and paternity pay