SENDCo
Houstone School, Dunstable, LU5 5PX28 days remaining to apply
Start date details
January 2027 or following notice period
Closing date
5 October 2026 at 10am
Date listed
7 September 2026
Job details
Job role
- SENCO (special educational needs coordinator)
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full time equivalent salary
- £73,790.00 - £81,411.00 Annually (Actual) AS Leadership 15-19 £73,790-£81,411 dependent on experience
SENDCo job summary
Vice Principal
Houstone School is seeking an exceptional Vice-Principal to provide strategic leadership of culture, inclusion, attendance, pastoral provision and pupil experience.
As a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, the successful candidate will help ensure that our values of Aspiration, Endeavour and Respect are evident in every aspect of school life. They will lead the further development of a culture where pupils are known, valued and challenged to achieve highly, while ensuring that our pastoral systems complement our ambitious academic curriculum and high expectations.
A significant feature of this role is the leadership and development of Assistant Principals who hold operational responsibility for Behaviour & Attendance and Personal Development & Wellbeing. The Vice Principal will provide strategic direction, accountability, challenge and support to ensure these areas operate effectively and align with the school's vision and values.
This role offers a unique opportunity to shape school improvement at the highest level and contribute significantly to the continued success and future growth of Houstone School.
WHY THIS ROLE IS DIFFERENT
This is not a traditional pastoral Vice Principal role.
At Houstone School, operational leadership of Behaviour and Safeguarding sits with Assistant Principals who hold direct responsibility for these areas. The Vice Principal's role is focused on strategic leadership, organisational coherence, leadership development and the continual improvement of the pupil experience. A new SENDCO will be recruited that will sit within this remit too, and a high-expectations approach to Inclusion will form a big part of the job.
You will lead through action, ensuring behaviour, safeguarding, attendance, inclusion and personal development operate as a coherent system that supports exceptional outcomes for every pupil. You will need to be rooted in the detail - we have a roll your sleeves up approach and commit to working hard for each other and the pupils we serve.
Working closely with the Principal, you will help shape the strategic direction of the school and helping the school develop into something world-class.
WHY JOIN HOUSTONE SCHOOL?
Houstone School is a school with ambition.
We believe in:
A culture rooted in Aspiration, Endeavour and Respect.
A traditional academic curriculum taught to an exceptionally high standard.
High expectations of behaviour, conduct and achievement
Developing the whole child through enrichment, leadership and personal development opportunities
Supporting and investing in our staff through professional growth and leadership development.
Serving our local community and transforming life chances for young people
This is an exceptional opportunity for an ambitious and talented leader to shape the future of a growing and successful school.
We look forward to receiving your application.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Leadership
Lead the strategic development of culture, Inclusion and pupil experience across the school.
Contribute to whole-school improvement planning, self-evaluation and strategic decision-making.
Ensure pastoral systems support excellent attendance, behaviour, safeguarding and achievement outcomes.
Develop and implement strategies that promote high aspirations and strong pupil engagement.
Lead on strategic priorities as determined by the Principal.
Leadership of Assistant Principals
Line manage Assistant Principals responsible for Behaviour & Attendance and Personal Development & Wellbeing as well as a new SENDCO.
Hold leaders accountable for delivering high standards and measurable impact.
Develop leadership capacity within pastoral teams at all levels.
Ensure consistency and alignment between various pastoral teams in the school
Quality assure systems, processes and outcomes.
Inclusion
Lead strategies that promote positive behaviour, high expectations and exceptional outcomes for all pupils, especially the most disadvantaged.
Ensure vulnerable pupils receive effective support and intervention, including forging effective working relationships with external professionals.
Remove barriers to learning and achievement.
Personal Development
Ensure pupils benefit from high-quality enrichment opportunities.
Promote pupil leadership and pupil voice.
Support the development of character, resilience and aspiration.
Stakeholder Engagement
Develop productive relationships with parents and carers.
Work effectively with external agencies and educational partners.
Represent the school within the wider community.
Support governance reporting and accountability processes.
Job specifics
Start Date January or April 2027 (or sooner by agreement)
Salary AS Leadership 15-19 £73,790-£81,411 dependent on experience
Job role Full time, Permanent
The Trust reserves the right to interview and appoint a suitable candidate before the deadline date.
Safeguarding
The safeguarding and welfare of children is paramount and all our staff share this view. Applicants must be willing to undergo safeguarding and child protection checks including with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Safeguarding children enrolled at the School is of paramount importance, and we are fully committed to the protection and safe care of our pupils. The successful applicant will be required to undertake appropriate checks as well as providing proof of your right to work in the UK.
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.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About Houstone School
- Organisation type
- Free School, ages 11 to 16
- Education phase
- Secondary school
- Size
- 765 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 16
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- Website
- Houstone School website
Houstone School opened in September 2022 and we are determined to make a positive difference to the educational landscape in Houghton Regis and the surrounding areas.
There are some key differences that we believe make Houstone School so distinctive.
Houstone School will have very strong standards of behaviour, a different approach to pupils with additional needs that believes that they can meet the heights of their peers, and aspects like longer school days that fit in with modern family life, alongside a real commitment to getting the curriculum, teaching and learning right.
Houstone School, shaped by the families and the educational teams who design it, has freedom to direct resources where they are most needed, and to ensure that our curriculum is truly aspirational.
We believe that our combination of firm discipline, very high expectations, an academic knowledge-based curriculum, and a humble approach to feedback means that we can go on to be one of the highest-achieving schools in the country. We really do want to be a ‘grammar school for all’.
Our ambition is that every single pupil will be able to attend university, and most will attend the most selective universities. We are ambitious to be the best school in the country.
School location
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