Assistant Headteacher

Job Introduction

Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the post of  Assistant Headteacher at John Watson School.

We are seeking to appoint two excellent and committed practitioners to join our existing Senior Leadership Team. You will be joining the school at an exciting time in its development. You will need to be able to demonstrate highly effective teaching, knowledge of Safeguarding, curriculum and assessment development, and operational and strategic decision making skills in a SEND environment. We are looking for someone who has excellent interpersonal skills, is solution focused, resilient and passionate about securing the best outcomes for children.

We aim to create a happy, healthy and secure learning environment in which all the needs of pupils are met, enabling each to reach their potential. Our innovative child-centred curriculum centres on developing communication skills and maximising independence. We offer pupils opportunities for integrated educational experiences with other schools on our split-site multi-user campuses and the wider community.

If you share our school values and have high expectations for what children and young people can achieve, we would like to hear from you.

We are a community special school for children aged 2-19 with severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple difficulties, and complex needs, including autism, with over 110 pupils on our roll. For more information about our school please see below and visit our school website.

You will be playing an important role in developing and ensuring a high quality education for all pupils across the school.

On behalf of the Governors, thank you again for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you.

John Riches

Interim Headteacher

John Watson School 

About The School

Many of our children and young people live in Oxford and its surrounding area, but we also draw from rural South Oxfordshire and much further afield, including Buckinghamshire. We have a strong reputation and are oversubscribed. 

We are passionate about ensuring that our children and young people reach their full potential and achieve maximum levels of independence as a result of their education. The whole staff team is committed to keeping children and young people safe and to do so they recognise their need to advocate on their behalf in the wider community, including when working with multi-disciplinary teams. 

Judged as Good by Ofsted in October 2022, we see ourselves as a school that is on a continuous journey of school improvement. The county recognises our strong work in the field of safeguarding. We establish respectful relationships with all our children and young people through our understanding of their special educational needs, assessment of their skills and abilities, alongside carefully planning their next steps. 

As a welcoming and caring community, we are dedicated to ensuring that each individual meets their potential. We recognise talent and support career progression, with a number of support staff opting to take routes to teaching and internal promotions to school leadership roles. We very much believe in nurturing staff and ‘growing our own’ talent.

The school is situated on two sites a mile apart in Wheatley and Holton. There has recently been considerable investment in our accommodation to develop our expanding provision. This means that as well as ensuring beautiful indoor and outdoor learning spaces, there are a suite of office spaces on each site. 

We share our campuses with Wheatley Primary and Wheatley Park Secondary schools, facilitating opportunities for inclusion.  We work with sixth formers from Magdalen College School and host PGCE and Paramedic students from Oxford Brookes University and Health and Social Care students from City of Oxford College.

If you share our passion for making a real difference to the lives of children and young people with special needs, this could be the opportunity you are looking for. In return for your contribution to our team, you will work in an environment which is innovative and in a role which is rewarding and fulfilling.  We will provide you with induction and training and the opportunity to join the Local Government Pension Scheme, one of the largest public sector pension schemes in the UK. This is an exciting time to join our team.

Our Vision is to develop a love of learning for life through providing high quality education that respects and celebrates our pupils' unique strengths and abilities.

Our values SLICE underpin all aspects of life and learning at our school

Safety  We believe that all of our pupils should have a safe and positive experience within school and beyond where they learn key skills to keep themselves and others safe.

We aim to…

• ensure all pupils access a safe and caring environment for them to thrive, through rigorous safeguarding and by providing a low arousal environment 

• empower pupils to have a voice that is listened to and valued by those within their school community and beyond

• provide staff with training to maintain a highly skilled and experienced workforce to support pupils’ physical, mental health and wellbeing 

• identify and offer pupils the opportunity to develop skills to keep themselves safe, learning to manage risk through age-appropriate positive risk taking and engagement with the local community and beyond

Learning We believe that our pupils are entitled to the best educational experience offering challenge and high quality teaching.

We aim to…

• ensure a curriculum that offers challenge, is inspirational and meaningful for all pupils that links directly to individual learning outcomes using curriculum pathways developed through our expertise in SEND and autism 

• provide our staff with a range of professional development, workshop and in-house training opportunities to maintain the highest quality teaching and learning

Independence We believe that independence should be fostered in all pupils respecting their unique strengths and abilities.

We aim to…

• respect and support our pupils aspirations in a positive way, optimising their unique strengths and abilities to maximise their potential 

• develop pupils understanding of the community they live in and how they can make a valuable contribution to society

• model and teach the skills required to be independent in all areas of life, developing a range of skills that can be generalised an utilised at home, in the local community and adult life

• ensure all pupils and staff within the school community are treated equally and provided with the opportunity of making independent choices and participating in decision making

Communication We believe our pupils have the right to have their voices heard using their preferred method of communication 

We aim to…

• work with multi-professional teams to ensure a bespoke approach to supporting and implementing communication strategies 

• ensure all pupils are equipped with the tools and resources necessary to communicate effectively using their preferred methods of communication

• provide staff with the skills to use key communication approaches effectively when working with and supporting pupils

• respect all modes of communication recognising that speech is one mode of communication and that non-spoken communication should not limit the outcomes and potential of individuals

Engagement  We believe that our pupils are entitled to a stimulating learning environment that inspires them to engage with their learning and interact with those around them.

We aim to…

• ensure that pupils unique strengths and abilities are recognised and celebrated through meaningful praise, positive reinforcement, displays and fortnightly newsletters

• create a stimulating environment that recognises individuals strengths and interests to support pupils developmental needs and learning styles 

• use effective evidence based approaches that inspire and engage pupils with SEND, including Attention Autism

• engage and liaise with a range of external educational settings and local organisations that enable reverse integration and high quality opportunities, including Wheatley Primary School and Wheatley Park School, Magdalen College school (MCS), Music for Autism, Pets at Therapy and Lord’s Taverners Cricket

Assistant Headteacher

Job Description

RESPONSIBLE TO:              Headteacher

RESPONSIBLE FOR: Being the lead professional on site and overseeing the day-to-day oversight of one of the two school sites at John Watson School and delivering on school improvement priorities as determine by the headteacher

WORKING HOURS : While the core hours align with the school day, this is a leadership role that requires flexibility both during term time and in school holidays. John Watson School are committed to supporting a healthy work/life balance for all staff.

Introduction 

• This job description should be read in conjunction with the current School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions document and the provisions of that document will apply to the post holder. 

• The performance of all the duties and responsibilities shown below will be under the reasonable direction of the Headteacher where appropriate. The Headteacher will be mindful of their duty to ensure that the employee has a reasonable workload and sufficient support to carry out the duties of the post. This job description will be reviewed at least annually and any changes will be subject to consultation. The school’s Grievance Procedure will be used to resolve any dispute arising out of the job description. Other relevant policies may be the County Council’s Stress at Work Policy and the Dignity at Work Policy. 

General Duties 

You will be expected to carry out the professional duties of a teacher as outlined in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions document, or any subsequent legislation and to meet the Teachers’ Standards. In addition, you will be required to follow all school policies, procedures and protocols and uphold the good reputation of the school. 

Leadership and Management responsibilities: 

• Demonstrate high professional standards 

• Lead by setting clear expectations to staff and sustaining constructive and effective working relationships

• Work effectively with all members of the school leadership team to enable the school to run as efficiently and effectively as possible, at all times 

• Take the responsibility of lead professional on the allocated site as required

• Through working in partnership with the wider SLT, oversee the operational procedures and day-to-day management of the allocated site including:

  • the beginning and end of the school day

  • staff deployment and emergency cover 

• Lead staff briefing, meetings and training as required

• Be a member of the John Watson School Safeguarding Team as a Deputy Safeguarding Lead

• Promote high standards of health and safety, care and guidance to provide a safe and well-ordered learning environment for all 

• Ensure that you model professional behaviours and further the school’s vision and values 

• Support the aims and objectives of John Watson School 

• Contribute to the implementation of the school improvement plan 

• Work collaboratively with the SBM to ensure HR issues are dealt with in accordance with OCC policies

• Manage and support effective staff development 

• Play a key role in developing and maintaining positive relationships with parents and carers

Teaching and learning responsibilities:

• Maintain high standards of teaching and learning across the Wheatley site 

• Ensure whole school systems are followed by the teaching team 

• Maintain a secure, caring, happy, and stimulating learning environment in which pupils can thrive

• Step in and cover classes, in exceptional circumstances 

• Assist with the monitoring and enhancement of the quality of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

• Contribute to the development of the JWS Curriculum and Teaching and Learning polices

NB – This role includes a teaching commitment of up to 2 days a week (0.4 of contract) 

Safeguarding

• Be a member of the school’s Safeguarding Team and fulfil the role of a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.

• Uphold the school’s safeguarding policies and procedures (including inline with the latest version of Keeping Children Safe in Education), ensuring the welfare of all students.

• Be alert to any safeguarding concerns and report them in line with school policies.

Specific responsibilities under Health & Safety legislation to ensure that you:

• Take reasonable care for your own health and safety, and the safety of others affected by your action or inaction;

• Cooperate on all issues involving health and safety and safeguarding;

• Report any health and safety or safeguarding concerns to your line manager as soon as practicable.

Other: 

• Liaise and work cooperatively with other professionals to secure the best practice within the school and across co-located partners 

• Liaise with and promote cooperative working with all professionals working with our children and young people to ensure that their needs are met effectively and that changes to a pupil’s needs are communicated to all members of the school’s community as appropriate  

• Undertake any other reasonable duties and professional responsibilities which may arise connected with the effectiveness of the role as Assistant Headteacher 

The post holder may be required to perform duties other than those given in the job description. The duties and responsibilities attached to posts may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the duties or the level of responsibility entailed. Such variations are a common occurrence and would not themselves justify the re-evaluation of a post.

The Headteacher, and Governing Body retain the right to implement changes to this job description to reflect changes in the demands of the post and this will be done in consultation with the post holder.

John Watson School is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate must promote this ethos. Enhanced DBS clearance is required for this post

Assistant Headteacher Person Specification

To apply for this position please complete an application form, which can be found on our website and return by email to headteacher@johnwatsonschool.org 

The deadline for applications is Monday 12 May at 12noon.

Interview date: TBC

Applications will only be considered using the application form provided. 

As part of our recruitment process we will require you to fill out an overseas check and self-declaration form prior to interview. 

Start date :  September 2025 (earlier start date is possible)

Safer Recruitment

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.