Co‑Headteacher
Welburn Hall School, York, North Yorkshire, YO62 7HQ19 days remaining to apply
Start date details
September 2026
Closing date
12 April 2026 at 11:59pm
Date listed
24 March 2026
Job details
Job role
- Headteacher
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Key stage
- Key stage 1, Key stage 2, Key stage 3, Key stage 4, Key stage 5
Working pattern
- Part time: 0.4 - 0.6 FTE by negotiation
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- L22-L29
What skills and experience we're looking for
Our Opportunity:We are looking for an experienced and visionary senior leader to join our busy and thriving 8-19 special school and to provide joint strategic leadership during a very exciting period of growth and strategic development. Our main building, the historic house, has been extensively refurbished and, while originally intended for residential places, is now used for an additional 4 classrooms. This has allowed us to increase our student numbers to 135+, but also leaves space in the East Wing and grounds (including 2 bungalows) to develop our contribution to Alternative Provision, to extend our regional support for SEND needs and to generate potential income to contribute to our financial stability.
Our current headteacher job-share has been in place for two years and the Governors are pleased with the success of this arrangement and its benefits to the school. The present Co head is leaving after 11 years to explore how her considerable and nationally recognised skills, knowledge and experience of SEND can be used on a wider canvas. We are looking for someone with proven collaborative skills, who can take up a 0.4-0.6 share of the headteacher role and to co-lead the school successfully within the changing landscape of the new national strategy for SEND, extending our relationships with mainstream schools and further developing our role as a centre of excellence in SEND provision and practice.
About You:
You will be an outstanding teacher with substantial senior leader experience and a proven track record of whole school change management. Ideally you will currently work in a special school but relevant experience in other settings will be considered, providing you have a sound understanding of special education.
You will be working closely alongside the incumbent Co-Headteacher, co-leading the school and managing the staff. Ideally you will already have experience in school improvement and development planning, with a strong ability to inspire and co-lead your team.
Our wonderful children need someone who will be dedicated to ensuring that they reach their full academic potential, someone with a strongly positive mindset and most of all, a great sense of humour!
What the school offers its staff
In return we can promise you:
- A unique, caring and ambitious school, where pupils are understood, respected and supported as individuals, and where relationships and wellbeing sit at the heart of our practice.
- A strong, stable and forward‑thinking leadership team, recently restructured to enhance capacity, succession planning and the development of emerging leaders.
- A highly skilled, dedicated and nurturing staff teamwho are committed to providing high‑quality specialist education for pupils with autism, complex needs and a wide range of SEND.
- A growing school with clear strategic direction, including curriculum review, development of outreach and alternative provision, strengthening SEND practice, and expanding early years and Key Stage 1 pathways.
- A supportive, fully engaged Governing Bodywith a rich skill set, committed to staff wellbeing, school improvement and the long‑term sustainability of the school.
- Strong partnerships with the Local Authority, with positive working relationships that support school development, SEND planning and outreach work.
- A highly valued school community, including an active and enthusiastic Home School Association who contribute significantly to the life of the school through fundraising, enrichment activities and community engagement.
- Extensive collaboration with local and regional networks, including mainstream and special schools, teaching hubs, headteacher groups and safeguarding partnerships, ensuring practice is outward‑facing and professionally connected.
- A unique and inspiring setting, including 20 acres of beautiful grounds, a historic house, hydrotherapy pool, sensory room, Forest School, on‑site farm and further spaces ready for future development.
- A clear long‑term vision, focused on developing our site and offer, enhancing outreach and AP provision, consolidating our new leadership structure, and maintaining financial stability.
- The opportunity to lead meaningful change, shaping provision in response to national SEND reforms, strengthening data‑informed practice, and supporting staff wellbeing, attendance and professional growth.
- A community that believes in what we do, values our specialist expertise, and shares a commitment to ensuring every pupil can thrive, achieve and enjoy a rich, individualised education
Further information about the job
For further information about our opportunity, please visit our dedicated recruitment microsite.
Key dates
VisitsWe strongly recommend that you visit us so we can share with you why we are so proud of our school, and you will have the opportunity to see what we have to offer. If you would like the opportunity to visit, please email Chloe.
Dates when we can accommodate visits are 25th & 26th March - if these are not possible for you please contact Chloe, as we may be able to offer alternatives.
Application closing date: Sunday 12th April
Shortlisting: Tuesday 14th April
Interviews: Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th April
When applying please take into account the following supporting documents:
Person Specification
Job Description
Application guidance, including policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders
The supporting information section of your application should clearly evidence your ability to meet the requirements we have outlined in the person specification. This will be used to shortlist applicants for this role and therefore it is imperative that you provide evidence as requested.
References
When completing your application, please provide two employment referees.
North Yorkshire Council (NYC) advertise vacancies and process applications on behalf of schools and external organisations (third parties) in North Yorkshire. NYC are not responsible for the recruitment/employment practices of third parties and accept no liability in relation to the vacancy and any subsequent recruitment/employment processes.
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
Apply for the job by following the link below.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
View advert on school website (opens in new tab)About Welburn Hall School
- School type
- Special school, ages 8 to 19
- School size
- 112 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 8 to 19
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- Welburn Hall School website
- Email address
- chloe.bullen@northyorks.gov.uk
- Phone number
- 01609 536964
We are a National Nurture School and we need to expand our team of teaching assistants. Set in over 20 acres of stunning countryside, Welburn Hall School is situated in the market town of Kirkbymoorside; nestled on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. With dedicated staff, fantastic facilities and beautiful buildings, we create a calm and inspiring place to learn, live and work.
A North Yorkshire Council maintained special school, we have a strong reputation for excellence; offering a dynamic, innovative and unique learning journey for pupils aged 8 to 19 years, with a wide range of physical disabilities or learning difficulties. Welburn Hall also boasts a vibrant and successful 6th Form College, catering for young people between the ages of 16 and 19.
Our aim is to ensure all pupils and students have the opportunities they need to reach their full potential for academic achievement, independence and personal development. We pride ourselves in being a warm and friendly school; our staff are our greatest resource and are highly valued for the contribution and difference they make to the lives of our pupils. Our ethos and core values of respect, perseverance and excellence support this model and are lived out in the daily work of the school.
The LA is currently investing more than £4m in refurbishing our facilities, generating more places for day pupils from September 2025.
Visit our website to find out more about our school.
Arranging a visit to Welburn Hall School
To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email chloe.bullen@northyorks.gov.uk.
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