Head of Inclusion (Secondary)

Astrea Academy Trust, Sheffield, S9 4WG

21 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  September 2026

• Closing date

  3 March 2026 at 12pm (midday)

• Date listed

  12 January 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Other leadership roles
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £74,814.00 - £82,877.00 Annually (Actual) Central Teachers salary scale

Head of Inclusion (Secondary) job summary

Shape the Future of Inclusion Across Astrea Secondary Schools

Are you ready to lead inclusion with intellectual rigour, moral purpose, and unwavering ambition for every child?

Astrea Academy Trust is seeking an exceptional Head of Inclusion (Secondary) to lead a bold, evidence-informed inclusion strategy across our secondary schools nationally. This is a rare opportunity to influence inclusion at scale and ensure that our most vulnerable students receive the same academic excellence and high expectations as every other child.

About the Role

This is more than a strategic inclusion role, it is a chance to reshape how inclusion is understood, designed and delivered across a national trust.

Reporting to the Director of Curriculum & Assessment (Secondary), you will lead the development of an inclusion strategy rooted in the belief that high-quality teaching is the first and most powerful intervention. You will champion an inclusion by design approach that strengthens the mainstream teaching offer while ensuring expert, evidence-informed support for those who need it most.

You will be a credible, values-led senior leader with deep expertise in SEND and inclusion, able to influence leaders, inspire teachers, and challenge traditional deficit-based models. You will hold an unshakeable belief that teaching pupils with SEND is a high‑status, high‑skill responsibility and lead others to believe it too.

This role is central to Astrea’s ambition that all schools perform in the top 5% nationally, ensuring equity of experience, opportunity and outcomes for every student.

What We Offer

• Close partnership with the Director of Curriculum & Assessment (Secondary)
• Collaboration with the wider Astrea Education team and Inclusion specialists
• The opportunity to shape trust-wide strategy and practice
• A values-driven culture built on inclusion, scholarship and aspiration
• The chance to make a tangible, lasting impact on outcomes for vulnerable learners

This is a national role, with travel across the trust and occasional overnight stays.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of Astrea's Secondary Inclusion Strategy
• Champion high quality teaching as the foundation of inclusive practice
• Support schools to implement exceptional, knowledge-rich curricula for vulnerable learners
• Lead early identification strategies and the use of evidence-informed interventions
• Strengthen, capture and share professional knowledge across inclusion specialists
• Provide expert guidance and challenge to school and trust leaders
• Develop inclusion leadership capacity across secondary academies
• Build and sustain strong relationships with external agencies and stakeholders
• Support schools to meet academic, attendance and inclusion performance targets

Why Join Astrea?

Astrea Academy Trust believes that what works best for SEND and disadvantaged pupils works best for all pupils. We are relentless in our focus on powerful knowledge, clear routines, expert teaching and warm‑strict cultures.

As Head of Inclusion (Secondary), you will be at the heart of this mission, shaping strategy, challenging assumptions, and ensuring that no child’s potential is limited by labels or lowered expectations.

Interested in Applying?

If you are driven by moral purpose, inspired by evidence, and ready to lead inclusion at scale, we would love to hear from you.

To arrange a confidential conversation, please contact the Astrea recruitment team:

• Stephen Casey or Sarah Fedun via recruitment@astreaacademytrust.org

Commitment to Safeguarding and EDI

Astrea Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All roles are subject to enhanced DBS checks and satisfactory references.

We warmly welcome applications from all backgrounds and are proud to be a Disability Confident employer, committed to removing barriers and supporting the progression of disabled staff.

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

Astrea Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Posts are subject to enhanced DBS checks. 

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 Astrea Academy Trust

• Type: Multi-academy trust
• Website: Astrea Academy Trust website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/astrea-academy-trust

Astrea is a trust that is coming of age and moving beyond its foundational years into a mature phase of development, our aim is that every child gets a brilliant education. Our work starts and ends with a universal belief in high standards and expectations for every child, no matter what barriers they face.

Underpinning our vision is a commitment that knowledge and scholarship will be celebrated, we want our children to become resilient in the face of challenge and we commit to providing all Astrea children with rich opportunities and to supporting them every step of the way. I am incredibly proud of what the Astrea family has achieved and as the trust matures, we are in a strong position to embark upon this next exciting phase, where all of our energy will be focused on providing a brilliant education which helps children to learn, thrive and lead successful lives.

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