Assistant Principal - (DSL)

Lift New Rickstones, Witham, Essex, CM8 2SD

14 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  January 2027

• Closing date

  23 October 2026 at 12:16pm

• Date listed

  9 October 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Assistant headteacher
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Fixed term
• Full time equivalent salary: £69596.00 - £76772.00 per annum

Assistant Principal - (DSL) job summary

We are seeking an exceptional Assistant Principal - Inclusion & Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) to join our Senior Leadership Team and take strategic responsibility for inclusion across the school.

You will provide strong leadership of SEND and inclusive practice, ensuring that all students, particularly those with SEND and other additional needs, are able to access an excellent education and achieve strong outcomes. You will lead the development and implementation of the school's inclusion strategy, working closely with leaders, teachers, pastoral staff, families and external agencies to ensure provision is ambitious, effective and responsive to students' needs.

The role will also provide senior leadership for safeguarding and child protection across the school, promoting a strong safeguarding culture and undertaking the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the school's strategic approach to inclusion, with particular responsibility for SEND and inclusive practice across curriculum, teaching, behaviour and pastoral provision.
• Lead the development, implementation and evaluation of the school's SEND and inclusion strategy, ensuring provision supports strong outcomes for students with additional needs.
• Ensure students with SEND receive high-quality, appropriately targeted support and that reasonable adjustments are effectively implemented across the school.
• Work with teachers and leaders to strengthen inclusive classroom practice and maintain consistently high expectations for students with SEND.
• Use student data and other evidence to evaluate the impact of SEND and inclusion provision and identify priorities for improvement.
• Ensure the school meets its statutory responsibilities relating to SEND and inclusion.
• Develop effective relationships with parents, carers, external professionals and agencies to support students with additional needs.
• Provide senior leadership for safeguarding and child protection across the school and undertake the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• Promote a strong culture of safeguarding, ensuring staff understand their responsibilities and concerns are identified, reported and responded to appropriately.
• Work closely with senior leaders, pastoral teams, families and external agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of students.

What we are looking for

• A strong classroom practitioner with a proven track record of achieving excellent progress and outcomes for all students.
• Successful experience as a middle leader, with a track record of initiating and delivering school improvement.
• Successful experience of leading SEND, inclusion or a closely related whole-school priority, with evidence of improving provision and outcomes for students with additional needs.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of effective inclusive practice and schools' statutory responsibilities in relation to SEND.
• The ability to provide strategic leadership for inclusion and influence teaching, curriculum, behaviour and pastoral practice across the school.
• Experience of working effectively with parents, carers, external professionals and agencies to support students with additional needs.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to develop others, collaborate effectively and build positive relationships across the school community.
• A degree, PGCE and Qualified Teacher Status.
• DSL training and experience of undertaking a DSL or Deputy DSL role is highly desirable.
• A SENCo qualification or relevant SEND leadership qualification is desirable.

About Lift New Rickstones

Lift New Rickstones is graded 'Good' (November 2023) and has a state of the art building offering fantastic facilities for both students and staff. Over the last 8 years the school has seen a huge increase in student numbers, with the number of students on roll more than doubling. The school is a popular choice in the local area, is oversubscribed, and has added another new building to meet this demand.

Lift New Rickstones is a great place to work with a friendly and supportive team. Staff numbers have also increased and the school is proud to boast high retention rates. Development is a priority with an extensive and successful CPD (Continuing Professional Development) programme to further develop our excellent staff. You will also have access to both local and trust-wide networks within this role.

Every member of the team is a vital part of our committed and ambitious team and we have been very successful at developing teachers and leaders with progression both within, and beyond the school.

Our "Curriculum Drivers" guide everything we do, encouraging students to be safe, happy, proud and reach their full potential.

• Ambition : sits at the heart of our curriculum. We are committed to high expectations for all and to providing the right scaffolding and support so that every student, whatever their starting point, can achieve their very best.
• Character : underpins our pastoral care, our TPP approach and our behaviour systems. It is about more than rules and routines; it is about developing resilience, responsibility and integrity, helping students to learn from mistakes and grow into confident, respectful young people.
• Opportunity : ensures that all students benefit from rich personal development and enrichment, both within and beyond the classroom. We want every young person to recognise the possibilities open to them and to leave us equipped with the knowledge, experiences and confidence to take their next steps.

If this advert, our website and the job description sound of interest to you, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Who is Lift Schools?

Lift Schools is made up of 62 primary, secondary and special schools, educating more than 35,000 pupils across the country. We believe education can transform lives - and we want every child in our schools to achieve their full potential.

How we support you

We want you to feel supported, valued and able to grow throughout your career with Lift Schools. From high-quality professional development and career progression to wellbeing support and opportunities to connect and collaborate across our network, we invest in you so you can do your best work.

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Lift Schools are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our people and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair and consistent recruitment process which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.

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.

About Lift New Rickstones

• Organisation type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• Size: 1221 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• Website: Lift New Rickstones website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/new-rickstones-academy

Lift New Rickstones, located in Witham, Essex, is a vibrant secondary school with a thriving sixth form. We are proud to be part of Lift Schools, a family of 57 schools united by the mission to provide an excellent education to every child, in every classroom, every day.

At Lift New Rickstones, we prepare students for an ever changing world by equipping them with the skills, resilience, and ambition to embrace future opportunities. We believe that who you become is just as important as what you achieve, and our goal is to ensure every young person is supported, challenged, and inspired to thrive both academically and personally.

Our values underpin everything we do:

Ambition – the drive to learn, improve, and succeed.
Character – confidence, resilience, kindness, and integrity.
Opportunity – experiences that broaden horizons and open new paths.
We offer an ambitious and inclusive curriculum from Year 7 through to Year 13, delivered through high-quality teaching and exceptional pastoral care. Beyond the classroom, our students benefit from a wide range of extracurricular opportunities, including sport, the arts, leadership programmes, and trips that create lasting memories and broaden perspectives.

We are proud of our strong partnerships with parents, the local community, and further education providers, which help us ensure our students leave Lift New Rickstones prepared, confident, and proud of who they are. Everything we do is designed to make sure our students are safe, happy, and ready to succeed in the 21st century.

Who is Lift Schools?

Lift Schools is made up of 57 primary, secondary and special schools, educating more than 33,000 pupils across the country. We believe education can transform lives – and we want every child in our schools to achieve their full potential.

Our mission:

We will provide an excellent education to every child, in every classroom, every day.
With excellent leadership and teaching in every school, we will help children go on to lead successful and happy lives.
We will work with others beyond our network to benefit more children and communities.

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