Deputy Headteacher - Behaviour, Attendance and Safeguarding

Thornhill Community Academy, A Share Academy, Dewsbury, WF12 0HE

14 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  April 2026 onwards

• Closing date

  9 March 2026 at 9am

• Date listed

  23 February 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Deputy headteacher
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £78,702.00 - £86,803.00 Annually (FTE) Leadership payscale: L18 to L22

Deputy Headteacher - Behaviour, Attendance and Safeguarding job summary

We are looking to recruit ....

A highly driven and self-motivated leader who can lead and develop the strategic direction for the Academy’s pastoral care and provision.

At Thornhill Community Academy, we:

• Contribute to a vibrant place of learning and encouragement where young people are happy, settled and confident
• Have excellent student behaviour, clear values and systems that support teachers to teach and students to learn
• Promote a healthy work/life balance and value our people highly
• Have a broad and balanced curriculum that provides a memorable educational experience for all our students
• Are dedicated to transforming children’s lives for the better, raising aspirations and developing the knowledge our students need for the next stage of their education
• Be nice and work hard in all that we do.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have QTS and be well established as an outstanding teacher who inspires and motivates students and staff alike
• Have successful leadership experience at a significant level (at least Assistant Headteacher level) that demonstrates contribution to whole school initiatives
• Have substantial experience of working in a pastoral role including experience of developing effective behaviour and pastoral policies, practices and systems
• Be an experienced DSL or DDSL, or willing to train towards
• Be data driven to be able to strategically implement strategies to improve behaviour and attendance
• Be aligned with our values, ethos and ways of working and ambitious for every child, regardless of their starting point
• Be able to work collaboratively with school and trust leaders to benefit students’ pastoral outcomes
• Understand and be committed to our belief at Thornhill Community Academy, that people achieve their best when they enjoy what they are doing, feel safe and are rewarded for their commitment and success.

Overall Purpose of the role:

• Lead and deliver the highest standards of pastoral care so that students are safe, and behaviour and attendance is consistently outstanding.
• Strategically lead the pastoral structures and systems to ensure high standards safeguarding practice, behaviour and attendance are achieved throughout the Academy and embedded across all year groups.
• Ensure a professional, visible presence to support and embed high standards of student conduct in lessons and around the Academy.
• Under the direction of the Headteacher, play a major role in formulating and implementing the strategic aims and objectives of Thornhill Community Academy and the trust. Deputise as required for the Headteacher.

Safeguarding requirements:

• This post requires the post holder to work in settings with children and young adults. Any employment offer is therefore subject to the results of an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). People who may have contact with younger children (i.e. primary school age) are also required to complete a declaration about family or other members of their household.
• Applicants MUST complete the MAT’s standard application form to be considered, will be required to provide evidence of identity and qualifications and offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references.
• For applicants who work or have recently worked in a school, one of the references must be from the Headteacher.

Key Outputs:

Qualities, knowledge and expectations:

1. Lead and develop a team of pastoral leaders to secure the highest standards of safeguarding compliance, behaviour, attendance and academic outcomes.

2. Be accountable to the Headteacher and governors for achieving the highest standards of safeguarding compliance, behaviour, attendance and academic outcomes.

3. Ensure finances and other resources are used wisely, to provide the best quality experience and education possible for students whilst securing the best possible value for money.

4. Support the Headteacher in ensuring the aims and values of the Academy are clearly articulated, shared and understood by all.

5. Demonstrate the aims and values of the Academy in everyday work, practice and interactions.

6. Undertake the professional duties of the Deputy Headteacher reasonably delegated to you by the Headteacher.

7. Undertake the professional duties of the Headteacher, for short periods, in the event of their absence from the Academy.

8. Promote and model good relationships with parents/carers, which are based on partnerships, to support and improve students’ behaviour and attendance.

9. Contribute to the overall vision of the Academy by attending senior leadership team meetings and helping to devise and implement whole-school policies

10. Oversee relevant sections of the strategic Academy improvement documentation

11. Coach and support the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and deputy DSLs within the Academy.

Students and staff:

12. Invest in, challenge and support the staff you lead to help them achieve their personal best and perform well against their appraisal targets.

13. Support your wider team to develop strategies to help remove barriers students may experience in achieving their personal best, including disadvantaged students.

14. Gain a thorough understanding of the support young people and colleagues need to help all students enjoy their time at Thornhill Community Academy and achieve success.

15. Support staff within your team and the whole Academy in achieving high standards through effective training and professional development.

16. Support and promote the mental health provision across the Academy for both students and staff.

Systems and processes:

17. Support the Headteacher in establishing and implementing a vision for the continued development of the Academy, that ensures and contributes to exceptional levels of safeguarding compliance, behaviour, attendance and engagement of all students.

18. Oversee effective pastoral systems to secure high standards of behaviour and attendance.

19. Embed, oversee and monitor the Behaviour Policy to recognise and reward effort and consistently sanction negative behaviour in lessons and around the Academy.

20. Implement, monitor and review systems to promote high levels of attendance and excellent punctuality, particularly for key groups of students.

21. Oversee the Year 7 transition and admissions processes. 22. Further embed a culture of safeguarding through training, quality assurance and high quality supervision and leadership. Contribution to the self-improving school system:

22. Develop positive working relationships with outside agencies including other schools, the Local Authority, alternative provision providers, Community Hubs etc.

23. Develop whole-school strategies to promote positive attitudes and behaviour, engagement in learning and improve any poor behaviour, in the classroom and around the Academy.

24. Provide regular, honest and evidence-based feedback for colleagues to improve their progress against whole school, department and/or personal targets.

25. Secure commitment from the whole-Academy community for implementing strategies consistently and effectively.

26. Support the senior leadership link team, including the line management of allocated departments/faculties.

27. Support Head of Department to identify key priorities, produce development plans and SEF, monitor and improve the Quality of Education and student progress.

Expertise in role required (At selection - Level 1):

ESSENTIAL

Qualified Teacher Status.

Degree or equivalent.

Evidence of leading, and undertaking, high quality professional development and a willingness to undertake further development as appropriate.

Successful pastoral leadership experience at a whole-school level.

Able to monitor and evaluate impact of interventions and strategies.

Substantial and successful experience of working in a pastoral leadership role.

Knowledge of safeguarding, behaviour and pastoral policies, procedures and systems.

Experience of developing behaviour and attendance policies, procedures and systems including a strong belief in an SEMH-friendly approach.

Excellent communication skills.

Excellent behaviour management skills.

Commitment to the safeguarding of young people.

Able to successfully lead others, identifying clear priorities, communicating effectively and supporting improvements.

Good role model in terms of promoting trust aims and values, together with professional standards for teachers and leaders.

Is willing to work flexibly within scope of overall hours.

DESIRABLE

Able to analyse data with a view to developing strategies to improve performance.

Familiar with the safeguarding lead role.

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

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.

About Thornhill Community Academy, A Share Academy

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 16
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 910 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 16
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Thornhill Community Academy, A Share Academy website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/thornhill-community-academy-a-share-academy

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