SEN Teacher
The Harbour School, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO2 8RA20 days remaining to apply
Job start date
23 February 2026
Closing date
9 December 2025 at 8am
Date listed
19 November 2025
Job details
Job role
- Teacher
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Key stage
- Key stage 3, Key stage 4
Working pattern
- Full time: Full time teaching contract (32.5hrs, Monday - Friday), Permanent
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- MPS/UPS
Additional allowances
SEN allowance (£2,787 per annum)
What skills and experience we're looking for
Do you want to be the teacher who helps a young person discover their own potential, perhaps for the very first time?
Some young people have been let down by every other school. At The Lighthouse Campus, we provide a safe, full-time space for students with complex social, emotional, and mental health needs - students for whom all other educational provision has broken down. Many of our students struggle with extreme anxiety, trauma, or behaviours that can put themselves or others at risk. For them, just getting through the school door can feel like an achievement.
We’re looking for a Teacher who can see beyond the behaviour and connect with the person underneath. Someone who can patiently build trust, model emotional resilience, and help students develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed. Using our emotional literacy framework, you’ll support students to form positive relationships, engage in learning, and take steps toward meaningful change.
This is not just a teaching role - it’s a chance to be the person who helps a young person believe in themselves when no one else has.
Ifyou’rethe kind of person who celebrates the small wins, stays calm in any situation, and believes in second (and third… and fourth) chances, we want to hear from you.
What you’ll be doing:
- Planning and delivering engaging lessons tailored to individual needs.
- Tracking progress, providing feedback, and celebrating every success.
- Creating a safe, positive classroom where students feel valued.
- Supporting wellbeing through positive behaviour strategies and trauma-informed approaches.
- Working closely with colleagues, families, and external agencies to give students the best support.
- Contributing to curriculum development, enrichment, and whole-school initiatives.
Who we’re looking for – you will:
- Have Qualified Teacher Status (or equivalent) and KS3/KS4 teaching experience.
- Have a passion for supporting students with complex SEMH needs and challenging behaviours
- Assess progress with care – and celebrate even the smallest victories
- Be deeply committed to trauma-informed, relational, and emotional literacy approaches to behaviour and learning
- Be creative,flexibleand emotionally resilient – able tothink outside the boxand adapt to the needs of every learner
- Be a team player who thrives in a multi-disciplinary environment, working closely with parents, carers, support staff, and external agencies
What the school offers its staff
About us:
The Harbour School is a multi-site organisation, with campuses at Bay Campus (including Primary at The Bay), The Bridge Campus, The Lighthouse Campus, and the Vista Campus (including The Horizon Service), all based within the city of Portsmouth. We also have an Outreach Support Team and a Hospital tuition service at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.
The Lighthouse Campus is a full-time educational provision for vulnerable students with complex social emotional and mental health learning needs for whom all other educational provision has broken down. Students demonstrate a range of highly challenging behaviours and at times pose significant risk to themselves and others.
The primary focus of The Lighthouse campus is to work effectively and holistically with the unmet emotional and relational needs of students using an emotional literacy framework which promotes relationships for wellbeing, learning of new social and emotional skills, behaviour change, engagement in learning, success and achievement.
Why join us?
- Small class sizes with excellent support staff to help you make a real impact and allow more time for meaningful teaching.
- The chance to make a huge difference in the lives of young people, one small victory at a time.
- Comprehensive support, Induction and training package
- We’re a supportive team who’ll have your back during the good, the bad, and the “Did that really just happen?” moments.
- Professional development opportunities because we’re all about helping you grow, both as a person and in your ability to juggle six things at once!
- You will be part of an inclusive and collaborative team that, no matter what the challenge may be, are ready to face it head on and are committed to seeing it through.
- A school that celebrates progress, not just results.
- A rewarding role where no two days are the same and every day makes a difference!
- The opportunity to develop your career within Southern Education Trust, a growing Trust.
Further information about the job
If you’re looking for a role that challenges, rewards, and fills you with purpose in a world where every day is unique and every moment counts, this could be the role for you!
Visits to the school are welcomed, please contact Bonny Keogh on 023 9266 5664 to arrange an appointment.
Closing date: 9th December
Interview date: 18th December
To become part of our amazing team, please contact recruitment@deltaeducationtrust.com to request an application pack.
Commitment to safeguarding
The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share the same commitment. Please ensure a full work history is completed in your application form including any gaps of employment. Applicants will be required to complete satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) check is required for this post prior to commencement. The Trust is an equal opportunities employer.
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)Upload additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About The Harbour School
- School type
- Academy, ages 5 to 19
- School size
- 123 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 5 to 19
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- The Harbour School website
- Email address
- recruitment@deltaeducationtrust.com
The Harbour School is a special school for learners with Social, Emotional and/or Mental Health (SEMH) Needs and/or Medical Needs. The school operates from multiple sites situated across Portsmouth with provision extending beyond these physical locations.
As a trust, our ethos is encompassed in our vision “Learning together in pursuit of happiness”.
Arranging a visit to The Harbour School
To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email recruitment@deltaeducationtrust.com.
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