Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo)

Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) Salary: TSAT Leadership Scale (L9-L13) - £52,151 - £57,556 per annum Start date: Term 5  Contract: Full time, Permanent  Closing Date: Sunday 30th January 2022 Interview Date: Thursday 3rd February 2022

We have an exciting vacancy for a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) to join us at The Victory Academy. You will lead the strategic development of special educational needs (SEND) policy and provision within in the school. 

Working as part of the Extended Leadership Team and staff you will ensure the best possible outcomes for our students and be the designated teacher for Looked After and previously Looked After Children.

“Work with families and other agencies to safeguard the most vulnerable pupils is

extensive and of a high standard” 

“Staff universally feel well supported by leaders…” Ofsted 2020

Our School

The Victory Academy is part of The Thinking Schools Academy Trust. We are a mixed Comprehensive School for students of all ability ranges, where everyone works and learns within its caring and supportive environment.  Victory is a school for the local community, and we seek opportunities for students to develop as local citizens and serve and support our surrounding charities, industries and families. 

We are privileged to work in a stunning learning environment with excellent resources. One of our many strengths is having a strong programme of arts education, including achieving  a Platinum Artsmark award in 2018 which is held by less than 1% of schools in England. 

We are focused on providing an education for all. Our belief is that each person is unique – every member of our community has gifts and talents that we seek to grow and channel. We offer a broad and balanced curriculum geared towards ensuring that our students will achieve their academic potential regardless of their starting points, and be dynamic members of society when they leave the Academy.

View our video below to gain an insight into working at The Victory Academy and click here to hear about our school ethos and values from our staff and students.

Your new role

For a full list of roles, responsibilities and the person specification please view the attached job description.

• Determine the strategic development of special educational needs (SEND)
• Be responsible for day-to-day operation of the SEND policy and co-ordination of specific provision to support individual pupils with SEN or a disability
• Provide professional guidance to colleagues, working closely with staff, parents and other agencies 
• Ensure the SEND code of practice is being followed 
• Be the Designated Teacher for Looked After and previously Looked After Children
• Fulfil the responsibilities of a teacher, as set out in the STPCD
• You will be integral in the transition process from primary school to secondary school for SEND students
•  You will lead by example in setting a strong commitment to raising educational attainment for our students with SEN
• Empathy, emotional intelligence and problem-solving skills are critical to this role

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 Our Trust

The Thinking Schools Academy Trust is a family of schools consisting of both primary and secondary schools across Kent, Hampshire and Plymouth. 

We believe that every young person in our community deserves to have the best opportunities at life regardless of their individual circumstances.

Education is the key to transforming life chances and we support and develop every member of our community to:

• Think about their Thinking
• Be their Best self
• Shape their Success

In this way we transform life chances

Click Here To view our Trust video to gain an insight into The Thinking Schools Academy Trust

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What our Trust will offer you:

• Revised competitive Payscales to retain and reward excellent staff
• The opportunity to work with happy and well-behaved children who are excited about learning and work with parents who are supportive of our school values and ethos. 
• Vast support network from senior leaders and other teachers within the school and our Trust to help you deliver outstanding teaching and learning through resources, mentoring and school visits.
• Regular opportunities to meet and share best practice with the relevant year group teachers of the other secondary schools within our trust
• Benefit from an internationally accredited pedagogy approach to thinking and learning, which has been proven to enhance classroom practice
• Excellent CPD opportunities including our Early career, Middle and Senior Leadership programmes
• As an accredited Chartered Teacher organisation you can become a recognised Chartered Teacher 
• Reduced membership of a fully-equipped fitness suite and classes – located on the site of New Horizons Children’s Academy
• A 24/7 employee assistance programme which provides counselling and support / advice on a wide array of areas
• Free parking in our staff carpark

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What you need to do now:

If you are interested in working at our school, benefitting from a supportive network of colleagues across our Trust, and are keen to progress your career then please apply today!

Early applications are encouraged and we reserve the right to close the vacancy if a suitable candidate is found.

We strongly encourage any teachers who may be interested in working at our school to contact Kealy Davidson – k.davidson@tsatrust.org.uk to arrange an informal conversation about the role with our hiring manager. 

If you experience any issues in applying for this role via our careers site, please click here to submit an application via Microsoft Forms

If this position  is not quite right for you, but you would be interested for any other positions within our Trust please click here to join our Talent Pool.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.