Head of Education

Job title: Head of Education

Reporting to: School Director

Location: Mulberry Bush School, Standlake, Witney, Oxfordshire.

Salary: £61,944 - £75,360

Job type: Permanent, full-time.

Hours: Normal Hours of Work 8:30am – 4.30pm, Monday to Friday

About the role 

As Head of Education, you’ll play a vital role in shaping the extraordinary Mulberry Bush School. Working as part of our School Leadership Team, you’ll provide strategic direction and compassionate leadership across our education department, ensuring every child receives the best possible start in life. You’ll guide and support a dedicated team of teachers and practitioners, creating a curriculum and environment that nurtures both learning and emotional growth.

From inspiring high-quality teaching and therapeutic practice to maintaining strong safeguarding standards and preparing for Ofsted inspections, your work will help children discover their confidence, curiosity, and sense of self. Reporting directly to the Head of Specialist Therapeutic Services and working closely with colleagues across Care and Therapies, you’ll be part of a community that truly changes lives. Join us and be part of an extraordinary story.

We’ll look to you to

• Provide strategic leadership as part of the School Leadership Team, guiding the continued development of our residential, therapeutic special school.


• Lead the Education department, setting high standards for learning, teaching, and emotional development that reflect The Mulberry Bush’s unique therapeutic approach.


• Shape and deliver a clear vision for education, ensuring planning, self-evaluation, and school improvement align with the school’s strategy and values.


• Oversee curriculum design and delivery, ensuring it meets the diverse needs of pupils and promotes both academic progress and personal growth.


• Maintain oversight of teaching quality and pupil outcomes, ensuring the highest educational standards are met across all subjects and age groups.


• Champion safeguarding and wellbeing as part of the safeguarding team, acting as Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and promoting a culture of safety and care.


• Lead, supervise, and develop staff across the Education team, providing mentoring, professional development, and recruitment support to nurture a strong, skilled workforce.


• Build strong internal and external partnerships, collaborating across Mulberry Bush services and with schools, local authorities, Ofsted, and other key stakeholders.


• Oversee and manage educational budgets effectively, including Pupil Premium and Sports Premium funding, ensuring resources are used for maximum impact.


• Play an active role in the referral process, helping assess placements and maintaining the right balance of needs across the school.


• Contribute to the wider life of The Mulberry Bush community, supporting shared learning, reflective practice, and collaborative improvement across the charity.

We’ll care for you too

You’re not just part of a team, you’re part of our family. Support echoes through every part of our community, and your colleagues are always here to lend a hand or share a smile. We also offer the following benefits to make your journey with us even more rewarding:

• Teacher’s Pension scheme


• Access to Simply Health cash plan


• A comprehensive range of informal and formal wellbeing support


• Monthly supervision and peer support networks


• Opportunities to develop your own interests and skills through CPD


• Enhanced parental leave benefits.


• Subsidised meals.

About you

You’ll bring a blend of experience, sound judgement and emotional intelligence to this vital role. Calm under pressure and confident working both independently and collaboratively, you’ll be someone who leads with empathy, integrity and resilience. You’ll have the ability to inspire and motivate others towards a shared vision, while allowing time for reflection and learning within your team. Above all, you’ll combine professional skill with warmth, humour and a deep commitment to helping every child flourish.

Key requirements:

• At least five years’ teaching experience, including work across a minimum of two key stages.


• Proven cross-school leadership with a demonstrable impact on teaching, learning and outcomes.


• Experience teaching in the primary phase and supporting pupils with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.


• Understanding of the statutory requirements of the primary curriculum and the Ofsted inspection framework.


• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or equivalent.


• Evidence of continued professional development and commitment to lifelong learning.


• Ability to identify and manage risk strategically, while maintaining a reflective and supportive leadership approach.


• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to engage and collaborate across teams, schools and external partners.


• Motivated to work within a therapeutic community, with a willingness to learn and grow within this environment.

Desirable:

• Experience across more than two key stages, including KS3 or above, or in specialist provision such as special schools or nurture settings.


• DSL qualification or safeguarding leadership experience, and/or a leadership NPQ (e.g. SENCO, Head Teacher, or Leading Learning)

About the Mulberry Bush

At The Mulberry Bush, we believe that with support and opportunities, children can overcome challenges and shape their future. We see their untold stories, possibilities, dreams, and untapped potential – and we believe in their ability to rewrite their destiny. All while having lots of fun along the way.

The Mulberry Bush is a therapeutic community, registered as a children’s home and a non-maintained residential special school. We are dedicated to transforming the lives of those affected by childhood trauma. Since 1948, we’ve been helping children and those around them through specialist therapeutic services and fulfilling activities.

Over the years, we have established an outstanding reputation for transforming the lives of all those affected by childhood trauma. We believe we offer something special – and we’d love you to be part of it.

Our most recent Ofsted report for Education was in September 2024 and rated the school as ‘outstanding’ in quality of education, behaviour & attitudes, personal development and leadership & management.

If you believe that you have the experience and expertise required to succeed in this role please click here to download an application form. Once you have completed the application form please upload by clicking Apply for this Job*.

*Note - Download a copy of the application form and complete at your leisure. To apply for the position return to this advert and 'Apply for This Role'. When uploading your application it will ask you to upload a resume please upload your application form instead of a resume.

If you have any questions about the role or the work we do, please email the HR team at [email protected]

A copy of the Head of Education Job Description can be found here.

Selection process

• Closing date for application forms – Wednesday 19th November 2025.


• Attend an education visitor afternoon - Tuesday 25th November 2025 (afternoon). An opportunity to spend sometime within the education department. 


• Interviews (including a presentation) - Thursday 4th December 2025.


• Expected start date - Wednesday 8th April 2026.

The Mulberry Bush is an equal-opportunity employer. It is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable people and expects all staff and students to share this commitment.

Applicants must have the appropriate right to work in the UK. For applicants requiring visas, we can only accept those with visas which allow you to work in the UK indefinitely (we do not have the ability to offer sponsorship).

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore candidates must be prepared to undertake a DBS criminal background check.