Programme Lead

You

You are an experienced leader, ideally with experience of leadership in schools. You care about what The Difference is trying to achieve, and have your own ideas about how we ought to do this. You are a natural communicator, and can inspire more teachers to make the difference with the most vulnerable learners. You have experience of hiring teachers, designing assessments and coordinating others to deliver projects. You love to learn and to grow in your work.

The Challenge

Every day 41 of England’s most vulnerable children– equivalent to more than a full classroom of pupils – are permanently excluded, with disastrous personal and societal consequences.

These are the country’s most disadvantaged: 4 times more likely to have grown up in poverty, 7 times more likely to have special needs, 10 times more likely to have mental health problems and 20 times more likely to be interacting with social services due to safeguarding concerns. These
children are at serious risk of knife crime.

Once they are excluded, life chances are bleak. Less than 2% of excluded pupils finish school with the qualifications they need in maths and English; 50% are immediately not in education, employment or training (NEET) straight after GCSEs. This small group of pupils goes on to make up
half of the prison population, and is more likely to reoffend. It is estimated that each excluded child will go on to cost the state £370,000 in extra education, health, welfare and criminal justice spending. For lastyear’s cohort of excluded pupils, that’s a total cost of £2.9bn to the Exchequer.

Yet too little is known about how to break this tragic cycle. While some parts of the school system have seen an evidence-led revolution, there has been insufficient research and teacher training in how to measure or move outcomes for these most complex and vulnerable pupils. This impacts teacher satisfaction. Increasing numbers are leaving the profession, disillusioned and disempowered by this lack of expertise. Meanwhile, the numbers of young people whose lives are written off through school exclusion continues to rise, year on year.

Our Journey

Our Journey The Difference is embarking on the ten-year journey to different a future. Over the first three of these years, a pilot of the Difference Leaders will: recruit the best teachers to work with the pupils who need them most, in 10% of schools for excluded pupils; develop the evidence base of which interventions are best-replicated to impact vulnerable pupils; train mainstream senior leaders in inclusive practice; and continue to convene the conversation on inclusive practice in England’s schools. We will grow from a small start-up team, to a bigger organisation, with impact across the country. Are you the right person to join us on this journey?

To apply

To apply for the role please read the full applicant pack on our website
https://www.the-difference.com/vacancies