Assistant Head - SEN - Maternity Cover
Watling View School, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 2NU14 days remaining to apply
Start date details
April 2026
Closing date
29 January 2026 at 11am
Date listed
15 January 2026
Job details
Job role
- Assistant headteacher
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Part time
Contract type
- Fixed term
Full-time equivalent salary
- L7
Additional allowances
L7
Assistant Head - SEN - Maternity Cover job summary
Assistant Headteacher - Maternity Cover
Contract Term: Maternity
Start Date: April 2026
Contract Type: 0.6
Salary: L7
Watling View is seeking to appoint an Assistant Headteacher to cover maternity leave. The successful candidate will be someone who will inspire, enthuse and motivate our pupils and staff to help the school achieve its vision.
This position will be part of the school’s Senior Leadership Team and play a key role in the within the areas of responsibility linked to this position (exact areas to be discussed with the successful candidate). The successful candidate will be an excellent teacher who can ensure the development and progress of pupils at Watling View.
The successful candidate will be
Experienced in supporting young people with SEND
Someone who has demonstrated successful leadership within an area of school development
A leader who can communicate with key stakeholders about the areas they lead on.
Able to take personal and professional responsibility to lead and develop this area.
Able to articulate and implement a clear vision for the education of pupils at Watling View
Able to work as part of the Senior Leadership Team to help drive forward school improvement
Able to demonstrate successful school leadership that has brought about improved outcomes for pupils
Committed to upholding the vision and values of Watling View and passionate about the education and safeguarding of young people with SEND
Application:
Closing Date: 12.00pm on Thursday 29th January 2026
Interview Dates: Thursday 5th February 2026
Visits to the school prior to application are highly recommended. Please call Jo Roberts 01727 850560 #6 to arrange an appointment. You can visit our website www.watlingview.herts.sch.uk.
This position is for maternity cover only. The position will terminate when the existing post holder returns to work after their maternity leave.
Please contact the school office for further information and to talk to the Head Teacher. Applications can be made online at www.mynewterm.com or www.teachinherts.com. Please do not send CV’s as they will not be considered.
Job Description
Main Purposes
To promote the vision, mission and aims of Watling View by working with the Headteacher and other members of the Senior Leadership Team to provide strategic leadership and direction in a department and other areas of school improvement ensuring high quality education for pupils at Watling View.
As a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT):
To provide professional leadership to secure sustained improvements in the school’s performance in partnership with staff, pupils, parents, governors, the LA and the community.
To provide an environment for teaching and learning that empowers both pupils and staff to achieve their fullest potential.
Raise standards in teaching and learning across the school.
Lead on the development of whole school policy and improvement priorities as determined by the Headteacher and Leadership Team.
To undertake any professional duty of the Headteacher which may be delegated, in accordance with the pay and conditions document.
To undertake in the absence of the Head and to the extent required by the Governing Body, the professional duties of the Headteacher including the deployment of staff to ensure their effective contribution to pupil learning.
To lead on identified areas of whole school improvement.
To lead and manage a department and staff developing a framework of mentoring, coaching and peer support.
To lead, manage, and develop the provision for pupils in a department including but not limited to aspects of curriculum and assessment including transition arrangements.
To lead and manage an area of the curriculum.
Contribute to the whole school improvement plan and school evaluation procedures, including implementing a department development plan to secure continuous school improvement.
To be responsible for the effective use and monitoring of particular budgets as directed by the Headteacher
To liaise and report to Governors on specific areas of development
Monitor evaluate and review the effectiveness of the school policies and procedures
Qualities and knowledge
Hold and articulate clear values and moral purpose, focused on providing a world-class education for the pupils you educate and support at Watling View.
Demonstrate professional personal behaviour, positive relationships and attitudes towards the pupils and staff of Watling View, and towards parents, governors and members of the local community.
Lead by example - with integrity, creativity, resilience, and clarity - drawing on your own scholarship, expertise and skills, and that of those around you.
Sustain wide, current knowledge and understanding of education and school systems locally, nationally and globally, and pursue continuous professional development.
Work with political and financial astuteness, within a clear set of principles centred on the school’s vision, ably translating local and national policy into the school’s context.
Communicate the school’s vision and support the strategic leadership, empowering all pupils and staff to excel.
Pupils and staff
Demand ambitious standards for all pupils, overcoming disadvantage and advancing equality, instilling a strong sense of accountability in staff for the impact of their work on pupils’ outcomes.
Ensure holistic pupil development across the department through successful multi-disciplinary working.
Secure excellent teaching through an analytical understanding of how pupils learn and of the core features of successful classroom practice and curriculum design, leading to rich curriculum opportunities and pupils’ well-being.
Establish an educational culture of ‘open classrooms’ as a basis for sharing best practice within and between schools, drawing on and conducting relevant research and robust data analysis.
Create an ethos within which all staff are motivated and supported to develop their own skills and subject knowledge, and to support each other.
Identify emerging talents, coaching current and aspiring leaders in a climate where excellence is the standard, leading to clear succession planning.
Hold staff to account for their professional conduct and practice addressing under-performance, supporting staff to improve and valuing excellent practice.
To lead and manage teachers, teaching assistants and mid-day meal supervisors throughout the department, including contributing to the appraisal cycle.
Provide a safe, calm and well-ordered environment for all pupils and staff, focused on safeguarding pupils and developing their exemplary behaviour in school and in the wider society.
Distribute leadership throughout the organisation, forging teams of colleagues who have distinct roles and responsibilities and hold each other to account for their decision making.
To participate in staff recruitment and selection processes and the management of human resource / employment issues arising including staff well-being
Teaching Commitment
To have a teaching timetable providing a model of excellent practice including the planning and assessment of learning activities
Staff are expected to comply with any reasonable request from the Headteacher to undertake work of a similar level that is not specified within this job description. This job description is current at the date shown, but it will be reviewed regularly, to reflect changes in the job commensurate with the job title, purpose and grade and in response to school improvement priorities.
The appointment is subject to the current conditions of employment in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions as they relate to Assistant Headteachers.
The Governing Body are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.
Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.
Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children
You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
Applying for the job
This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About Watling View School
- School type
- Special school, ages 2 to 19
- School size
- 111 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 2 to 19
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- Watling View School website
Watling View School is a maintained special school in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The school caters for up to 92 pupils, from 2-19 years, with a wide range of complex and profound learning difficulties. These include severe autism, complex medical conditions, physical and mobility difficulties, as well as severe developmental delay.
We are passionate about our vision, which guides us in all that we do for our pupils. "Watling View - Be kind, Be responsible, Be the Best You Can"
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