Job Title: Headteacher
Location: Rural Canterbury
Salary: £41,500
Contract Type: 35.5 hours – 25 hours in school, 10 hours can be from home.
(Full-Time, although shorter working days and flexible working patterns.)
About The School
This is a unique, highly specialised independent SEND school catering to a maximum of 8 pupils aged 11-19 with complex Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Set entirely within a therapeutic, outdoor environment, we believe that nature is the ultimate classroom. Traditional classrooms are replaced with stables, outdoor workshops and wildlife gardens. Activities shall be combined with education and tailored to functional skills and a horse/animal care qualification, incorporating the national curriculum of Maths, English and ICT.
The Role
As Headteacher, you will work with the Chair for the strategic leadership, operational management, and educational direction of this small school community. This is a rare, hands-on leadership opportunity where you will not be hidden behind a desk. You will be visibly leading from the front—often in wellies—shaping a high-containment, high-care environment where both staff and students thrive.
Key Responsibilities
Vision & Strategic Leadership
- Drive the ethos: Champion and evolve our unique outdoor, nature-based educational model.
- Lead development: Formulate and implement a strategic School Improvement Plan tailored to small-scale, high-impact SEND provisions.
- Cultivate culture: Maintain a restorative, trauma-informed environment that prioritises emotional safety and relational connection.
Teaching, Learning & Curriculum
- Bespoke pathways: Oversee the delivery of highly individualised, flexible curricula combining functional academic progress with therapeutic outdoor activities.
- Progress tracking: Implement robust frameworks to measure holistic progress, tracking emotional, social development alongside academic milestones.
- Quality assurance: Mentor staff to ensure teaching practices meet the unique sensory and communication profiles of SEMH/ASD learners.
Safeguarding & Student Welfare
- DSL responsibility: Act as the Designated Safeguarding Lead (or oversee the DSL team), maintaining an uncompromised culture of vigilance, safety, and regulatory compliance.
- De-escalation mastery: Ensure positive behavioural support plans focus on proactive regulation, co-regulation, and non-restrictive physical intervention strategies.
- Multidisciplinary collaboration: Work closely with speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and families to ensure Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs) are seamlessly embedded.
Operational, Financial & Staff Management
- Team empowerment: Recruit, retain, and inspire a close-knit team of teachers, teaching assistants, and outdoor instructors, heavily prioritising staff well-being and supervision.
- Regulatory compliance: Lead the school confidently through inspections (e.g., Ofsted), ensuring all independent school standards and SEND regulations are fully met.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Experience
- Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or equivalent recognised teaching qualification.
- NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship) is desirable, but substantial senior leadership experience in a SEND setting will be highly valued.
- Proven track record of senior or middle leadership (Headteacher, Deputy Head, or Head of Provision) within an SEMH, ASD, or alternative provision setting.
- Extensive experience managing complex safeguarding cases and navigating local authority EHCP processes.
Knowledge & Skills
- Deep understanding of trauma-informed practice, attachment theory, and Nurture principles.
- Expert knowledge of the sensory and communication barriers associated with ASD and SEMH.
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to build immediate trust with highly anxious or school-phobic young people.
- Practical understanding of health and safety regulations unique to outdoor learning environments.
Personal Attributes
- Resilient optimism: A calm, grounded presence capable of maintaining stability during challenging behavioural incidents.
- Creative adaptability: The flexibility required to run a school where the weather, environment, and student presentation change daily.
- Nature-loving spirit: Genuine enthusiasm for being outdoors in all UK seasons, matching the energy of our unique setting.
What We Offer
- The opportunity to lead without the constraints of a mainstream, data-obsessed environment.
- A genuinely supportive Chair passionate about staff and pupil well-being
- Small class sizes with exceptionally high staff-to-pupil ratios.
- Continuous professional development in outdoor education, therapeutic interventions, and SEND leadership.