Deputy Lead Nurse

Valence School, Westerham, Kent, TN16 1QN

31 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  ASAP

• Closing date

  14 June 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  14 May 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Pastoral, health and welfare
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time, full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £20.44 - £24.61 Hourly Salary equivalent to NHS Band 6

Deputy Lead Nurse job summary

(Salary equivalent to NHS Band 6)

As an experienced registered Nurse, you will deliver individual programmes of care and care packages to students using your clinical expertise in a specialist school setting. This will include health related care, emergency situations and responsibility for the health care of both day and boarding students.

As part of a wider Nursing team and embedded multi-disciplinary team (MDT) you will work collaboratively to find solutions and the best care for our students in a planned, non-acute setting.

The role is advertised as 32-40 hours per week to be worked over 4 or 5 days, term time only plus 2 weeks (41 working weeks plus 6.8 weeks paid holiday). 8-hour shifts (including a 30-minute break) will be worked over a weekly shift pattern, including morning, afternoon, evening and school day shifts between the hours of 7am-9pm. Flexibility will be considered.

Key Responsibilities:

The role will support the Nurse Manager in developing and leading the nursing team and ensure the practice and delivery of care and treatment is evidenced-based and of a consistently high standard across the school. The Deputy Lead will provide direct support to students with complex health needs and ensure staff are trained, competent and supervised to deliver the appropriate care to students.

About You:

You will be confident in the understanding of evidence-based practice and able to prioritise to provide direct care, assessment and support required. To meet the needs of our students, we are particularly interested in applicants with experience in respiratory care, tracheostomy care, suctioning, enteral feeds, jejunostomy and gastrostomy care.

You will work within a supportive Nursing team and be provided with regular clinical supervision.

Why Join Us:

• Work-life balance including school holidays off, no night shift, weekends or on call working
• Generous pension scheme & life cover
• Staff well-being sessions and support
• Retail discounts and subsidised meals
• Free on-site parking and refreshments
• Access to supervision and continuing professional development
• A supportive and experienced MDT with strong clinical leadership

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Nurse seeking to further develop their career within a dedicated, collaborative Nursing team and school environment.

We will be reviewing applications as they are submitted, therefore we strongly recommend applying early. Please be aware that the advert may close before the specified date depending on the number of applications received.

Valence School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of every student and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We value diversity and promote equality for all. For shortlisted candidates references will be taken up before interview and online checks undertaken. The successful applicant will require an enhanced DBS check (this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act)

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 Valence School

• School type: Special schools, ages 4 to 19
• School size: 132 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 4 to 19
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Valence School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/valence-school

We are proud to share with you the excellent work we do with children and young people who have physical disabilities and complex medical needs. Our school is unique within the maintained sector in the whole of southern England. We cater for students aged 4 to 19 and have both day and boarding places. We have a large site with high quality teaching, social care and health care facilities. A staff team of over 200 people provides specialist teaching, social care, therapies and nursing care to an exceptionally high standard.

Our overall aim is to enable every child and young person to achieve meaningful independence. Students flourish in a supportive but challenging environment, making good educational progress and achieving a range of accreditation as they get older. There is excellent support to enable students to achieve functional communication, mobility and skills for daily living.

We are a Foundation Special School and are part of the Kent SEN Trust, a cooperative trust of ten schools working together to improve outcomes for all the children and young people attending the schools. In 2008 Valence became a specialist Sports College and this status plays a significant role in raising students’ achievements and their participation in high quality physical education and sport.

The School works proactively with parents and external professionals to provide holistic support for every child and young person. It is also developing high quality outreach support services to local schools and more widely for children and young people in Kent who have physical disabilities who are attending mainstream schools.

The School always places children and young people at the centre of all decisions it takes and it has a relentless focus on achieving the best possible outcomes for every student.

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