Regional Director for School Improvement - North West
Youth Engagement Schools Trust, Macclesfield, SK11 8JF41 days remaining to apply
Start date details
As soon as possible
Closing date
10 September 2026 at 11:59pm
Date listed
31 July 2026
Job details
Job role
- Other leadership role
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time, part time (Can be done as a job share): Full or Part time working considered
Contract type
- Permanent
Actual salary
- L26 - L32 £95,734 - £110,891* (September pay award pending)
What skills and experience we're looking for
Transforming Lives Through Exceptional Educational Leadership
As a growing specialist multi-academy trust, The Youth Engagement Schools (YES) Trust brings together a diverse family of alternative provision and specialist schools, united by a shared commitment to transforming the lives of children and young people. Our schools are built on child-centred education, authentic relationships and an unwavering belief in every learner’s potential. Across the Trust, highly skilled professionals bring deep expertise in trauma-informed practice, relational approaches, SEND, inclusion and personalised learning.
As we continue to expand our national footprint, we are strengthening our regional hub model, bringing together schools through shared expertise, strong local partnerships and collective leadership. Aligned to the DfE’s regional structure, our hubs combine local identity with the consistency, quality and collaboration that define the YES Trust.
To support this exciting next phase of our journey, we are seeking an exceptional educational leader to join us as Regional Director for School Improvement.
This is a rare opportunity to shape educational excellence across a region within an ambitious and growing national Trust. As one of our Regional Directors, you will play a pivotal role in strengthening leadership, driving sustainable school improvement and ensuring every child benefits from the highest quality education.
This role is not about imposing change or applying standardised solutions. Our schools already benefit from strong leadership, committed staff and established cultures of improvement. Instead, it is an opportunity to deepen leadership capacity across the Trust, building on existing strengths through strategic oversight, thoughtful challenge and evidence-informed support.
Reporting to the Director of Education, you will act as the Trust’s strategic school improvement partner across your region. Working alongside Executive Headteachers and Headteachers, you will evaluate effectiveness, identify priorities, facilitate the right support and provide constructive challenge to secure meaningful and sustainable improvement. Through rigorous quality assurance, evidence-informed evaluation and a relentless focus on holistic outcomes, you will help every school continue to grow and thrive.
What makes the YES Trust distinctive is our recognition that specialist education is deeply contextual. While our schools are united by shared values and high expectations, we know that communities, cohorts and individual learners are different. We trust our leaders to respond to these differences while remaining aligned to the Trust’s vision. This role requires someone who can recognise excellence in different forms, exercise sound professional judgement and work collaboratively across a wide range of specialist settings.
We are looking for an accomplished educational leader with a proven track record of securing school improvement and improving outcomes for children and young people. You may be an experienced Headteacher, Executive Headteacher, senior Trust leader, serving Ofsted Inspector, or an experienced system leader seeking the opportunity to influence educational excellence at greater scale. You will bring substantial expertise in school improvement, curriculum leadership and educational evaluation, together with the credibility to work alongside senior leaders across Alternative Provision, SEMH and specialist education. Above all, you will combine strategic thinking, professional curiosity and sound judgement with an unwavering commitment to improving the life chances of vulnerable children and young people.
Joining the YES Trust means becoming part of a values-led organisation with a clear moral purpose and bold ambitions for the future. As we continue to grow nationally, this role offers a unique opportunity to shape leadership across the Trust, influence educational excellence beyond a single school and help build a legacy that will benefit children, families and communities for years to come.
If you are inspired by the opportunity to shape educational excellence across a region, strengthen leadership at scale and help transform lives, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Job Description
Salary: Leadership scale L26 - L32 (September pay award pending)
Holiday: 35 days + bank holidays
Location: Working across The YES Trust North West Region
Contract: Full or Part time working considered
School Improvement
Implement the Trust School Improvement Strategy across designated schools within the hub.
Work alongside Executive Headteachers and Headteachers to drive sustained school improvement and educational excellence.
Support schools in developing, implementing, and evaluating robust School Development Plans (SDPs).
Ensure School Development Plans are aligned to Trust priorities, quality assurance findings, and pupil outcomes.
Quality assure the accuracy, rigour, and impact of each school Self Evaluation Framework (SEF).
Ensure self-evaluation is evidence-based and accurately reflects school performance.
Monitor progress against improvement priorities and agreed milestones.
Lead targeted support and intervention where accelerated improvement is required.
Quality Assurance and Standards
Lead a programme of review visits, learning walks, deep dives, safeguarding reviews, and thematic evaluations.
Evaluate the effectiveness of leadership, quality of education, behaviour for learning, attendance, safeguarding, and preparation for adulthood.
Ensure schools operate in line with Trust expectations and statutory responsibilities.
Produce evaluation reports identifying strengths, risks, and priorities for improvement.
Provide regular assurance reports to the Director of Education and Board of Trustees, as required.
Evidence, Data and Evaluation
Promote a culture where improvement activity is informed by robust evidence and measurable impact.
Analyse outcomes, progress, attendance, behaviour for learning, safeguarding, and destination data.
Use data to identify trends, priorities, and areas of risk.
Ensure data is considered alongside professional judgement and qualitative evidence.
Champion triangulation through performance data, direct observation, stakeholder voice, and school documentation.
Support leaders in developing accurate evaluation processes and evidence-informed improvement planning.
Leadership Challenge and Support
Act as the primary school improvement partner for Executive Headteachers and designated Headteachers within the hub.
Provide professional challenge, support, and accountability.
Facilitate regular review meetings focused on performance and outcomes.
Support succession planning and leadership development.
Review effectiveness of leadership development and capability, identifying strengths, areas for development, and facilitating access to appropriate support.
Ofsted Readiness and Inspection Excellence
Maintain expert and current knowledge of the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework.
Lead inspection readiness activity across the region.
Conduct inspection preparation reviews and support schools in evaluating readiness.
Support leaders in evidencing impact through robust SEFs and SDPs.
Monitor progress against recommendations arising from inspections and reviews.
Promote continuous improvement rather than event-based inspection preparation.
Educational Excellence
Champion ambitious and appropriately personalised curricula.
Support strong outcomes, personal development, and preparation for adulthood.
Promote evidence-informed teaching, learning, and assessment.
Maintain high expectations and inclusive practice across all schools.
Collaboration and System Leadership
Foster collaboration between hub schools, services, and professional networks.
Facilitate sharing of effective practice and innovation.
Work closely with other Regional Directors to ensure consistency of standards, expectations, and practice across hubs.
Contribute to cross-regional reviews, moderation, and quality assurance activities.
Support Trust-wide improvement priorities and strategic initiatives.
Reporting and Accountability
Report regularly to the Director of Education on standards, risks, and impact.
Maintain oversight of school performance across the regional portfolio.
Escalate concerns relating to safeguarding, educational standards, leadership capacity, or compliance.
Contribute to reporting for executive leaders, committees, and trustees.
Demonstrate measurable impact through robust evaluation and evidence.
What the school offers its staff
What we offer
In addition to a rewarding and meaningful career, we offer:
Access to high-quality CPD and professional qualifications
Flexible and supportive working arrangements
Teacher Pension Scheme
Employee wellbeing support and counselling services
Perkbox benefits platform
Car salary sacrifice scheme
Electric car charging points
Cycle to work scheme
Free parking
The opportunity to work alongside exceptional leaders in a growing Trust with a genuine focus on people development and culture
Flexible working opportunities
Flexible Working
We recognise that attracting and retaining the highest quality candidates means offering a flexible working environment. We consider a variety of flexible arrangements, including part-time roles, job-sharing, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid opportunities where appropriate. By adopting a flexible approach, we empower our staff to bring their best selves to work every day, fostering creativity, commitment, and resilience. Our teams remain diverse, motivated, and aligned with our vision of transforming children's lives through world-changing education. We believe that by investing in the wellbeing and professional fulfilment of our staff, we are also investing in the futures of the communities we serve.
Candidates are encouraged to discuss flexible working from recruitment onwards, in line with the statutory "day one right" principle, and ensuring equal opportunities for all groups of prospective employees
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
The safe recruitment of staff in the Trust is the first step in the effective safeguarding and promotion of welfare for our children. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, volunteers and other workers in the Trust to share this commitment. It is recognised that this can only be achieved through sound procedures, good inter-agency co-operation and the recruitment and retention of competent, motivated employees who are suited to, and fulfilled in the roles they undertake.
A copy of the Trust’s Safer Recruitment Policy is available on request.
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)Additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About Youth Engagement Schools Trust
- Type
- Multi-academy trust
- Email address
- j.crouch@theyestrust.org
- Phone number
- 01260 490042
The Youth Engagement Schools (YES) Trust is a multi-academy trust based broadly in the North West of England. Together, we have developed a growing family of schools which makes a difference for children and young people. As we continue to set and raise the bar in all the work we undertake, we are keen to maintain our national recognition as one of the highest achieving alternative and SEN multi-academy trusts in the country.
We unashamedly use words like “kindness” and “compassion” in our values. Our ability to make that difference rests on our vision and our core values which include an absolute belief in the importance of collaboration and mutual support, and on our recognition of the trust as a family of schools in which colleagues are equally valued. We want to continue this further, and to become the employer of choice for teaching and support staff across the region.
We are:
• Child centred
• Adaptive and sensitive to need
• Authentic in our relationships
We strive for:
• Solution-focused mindsets
• A climate of reflection and feedback
• Intrinsic motivation *
• Continual improvement
• A culture of collaboration
Our minimum expectations of our staff are:
• Belief in our core values
• Professional conduct at all times
• Appropriate communication
• Ability to follow direction
• Kindness and compassion
• Flexibility and adaptability
Arranging a visit to Youth Engagement Schools Trust
To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email j.crouch@theyestrust.org.
Head office location
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