SEND Lead Practitioner – Autism (Communication & Interaction)
The Archer Academy
Barnet
- Expired
- Salary:
- Scale Point 7 - 10 pro rata - 36 hours per week, 39 weeks per year
- Job type:
- Full Time, Fixed Term
- Start date:
- September 2021
- Apply by:
- 21 June 2021
Job overview
SEND Lead Practitioner for Autism (Communication & Interaction)
- Deadline for application: Midday on Monday 21st June 2021
- Planned interview date: W/c 28 June 2021
- Scale Point 7 - 10 pro rata
- 36 hours per week, 39 weeks per year.
Take a lead role within the Department and wider school in the Communication and Interaction area of our Special Educational Needs and Inclusion provision.
We are happy to receive applications from candidates with experience of working with young people within any of the four areas of SEND but the successful candidate must be able to demonstrate experience and knowledge of working with autistic young people.
The role will include identification of students with SEND, running effective intervention programmes, supporting the Teaching Assistant team and being a keyworker to an identified group of ‘EHCP’ students. This will include the development of effective relationships with families and external agencies.
A key purpose of this role is to identify and work with ‘SEN Support’ and ‘EHCP’ students, to address their needs across Key Stage 3 and 4.
There is also the opportunity to lead on an area of personal strength or experience in line with whole school priorities, for example, the provision of learning mentor intervention.
The Archer Academy seeks candidates who are:
• Outstanding practitioners who inspire students and colleagues
• Committed to ensuring that every student realises their potential
• Flexible, collaborative and resilient
• Committed to the whole life of the school through our enrichment programme
• Focused on securing the highest ambitions for your students, the school and yourself
Our ideal candidate will:
• Have knowledge of and experience in supporting a range of SEND students
• Have an awareness of key interventions for the four areas of need and demonstrate experience and knowledge of working with autistic young people
• Have strong evidence of relationship building skills with students, their families and external agencies
• Be a committed team player
We will offer you:
• A unique opportunity to play a key role in building on the school’s successes to date
• A happy and supportive working environment with high expectations and standards
• A network of outstanding practitioners to collaborate with and learn from
• Leadership and management opportunities both now and in the future, as the school continues to mature
The Archer Academy benefits from:
• A forward-thinking senior leadership team
• A committed and talented body of staff
• A supportive Trust and Governing Body
• An excellent CPD programme
• A committed and innovative Well Being Committee
Please submit your application form by email to, Jessica Bryant, Headteacher’s PA & HR Manager, at recruitment@thearcheracademy.org.uk. Please do not hesitate to contact Jessica on 07708251440 with any questions or to arrange a tour of the school.
The Archer Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful candidates will be subject to enhanced DBS clearance.
Attached documents
About The Archer Academy
Headteacher
Lucy Harrison
The Archer Academy
The Archer Academy is an outstanding, 11-16 comprehensive school, based in East Finchley. We have 810 students (27 per form), and our GCSE results place us consistently in the top 10% of schools nationwide. We are proud to be a first-choice community school, and are committed to creating opportunities for both students and staff to thrive during their time with us.
Vision and aspirations
Our vision is rooted in our desire to provide an outstanding, inclusive and aspirational education for local children, which will get them ready for adult life. We offer a broad range of opportunities both within and outside the classroom, and encourage our students to get stuck in, explore their potential and discover their passions, so they can discover the kind of people they want to become.
We are similarly aspirational for our staff, who are the beating heart of our school, and the story behind our success. We are a close-knit team who support and challenge each other, carefully balancing the requirements of the job with the needs of the individual. And we have created a can-do culture in which staff are encouraged to try new ideas and take a few risks, with the safety net of a supportive SLT.
Environment and atmosphere
The Archer Academy is a campus school, which has allowed us to create two distinct atmospheres that match our students’ life stages. Both sites benefit from specialist subject resources including dance studios, music tech space and D&T studios, as well as bright modern classrooms and libraries.
Lower School is home to years 7, 8 and 9, allowing our younger students to find their feet in a caring and supportive space, and getting leadership opportunities that would more usually only be available to senior students. Upper School has a more college-like atmosphere, with a greater focus on scholarship and individual study and more adult-to-adult relationships between staff and students.
The confidence and security provided by this campus set-up stands our students in good stead throughout their time with us, and helps create a positive environment for them and their teachers.
Careers and development
The value we place on our staff means we prioritise their career and personal development. We are committed to helping them progress within our school; we love it when they stay and grow with us, while also celebrating with them when they find new opportunities elsewhere.
We have invested in professional partnerships with the Prince's Institute and PIXL which give access to subject-specific accredited CPD. We are also members of the Ambition Institute, and proactively support staff in studying for national professional qualifications including MPQSL and NPQH.
We also have a clear internal mentoring process, with a member of SLT leading on professional development. We hold half-termly teacher learning communities that see us working together on pedagogy, teaching and learning, and classroom practice. We also encourage staff to develop their skills through action research projects and have supported several through Masters qualifications.
We regularly invite School Improvement Partners into our school to act as a critical friend, helping us stay on the front foot, ask ourselves difficult questions, and identify and celebrate our strengths. Our teachers work hard, but they enjoy themselves too, and are supported to develop their skills and experience at every step.
Culture and wellbeing
Our school is a happy place, and that doesn’t happen by accident; we work hard to make it, and keep it, that way.
We build strong, mutually-respectful relationships between staff, students and parents, and reap the benefits by having an engaged and supportive parent community. Our students are proud of their school, and take this with them when they leave; as one alumnus put it, “Once an Archer, always an Archer”.
We prioritise the wellbeing of our staff as highly as that of our students. Our dedicated Staff Wellbeing Committee meets monthly to explore and implement the big and little things that make life better for us all. From reducing email overload and taking pressure points out of the calendar, to holding termly open meetings to action plan around key parts of school life, the committee doesn’t just give staff a voice – it’s listened to, and acted on.
Our staff also have the option to apply for a sabbatical after three years of service, and are encouraged to get involved in policy development to ensure that their wellbeing is built in. We have invested in a staff wellbeing platform, and create regular opportunities for our team to come together and have fun, believing that social events are not just for Christmas.
Learning and outcomes
Our curriculum is designed to blend subject specialism with the richness of wider learning and skills. Our youngest students study Thematic Learning, which gives them (and their teachers) the chance to explore knowledge and skills that go beyond the national curriculum, an experience that supports their learning throughout their time with us, and beyond.
Our GCSE students can choose a varied GCSE portfolio that plays to their passions as well as their strengths; we are proud to have many students who study both Triple Science and Dance, or Engineering and Drama. And while we encourage them to think about the future doors they want to open, we also make sure they enjoy the here and now too.
We are consistently in the top 10% of schools nationally, and in 2023 we bucked the post-pandemic trend for lower year-on-year grades, landing within the top 7%. We are fiercely proud of the achievements of our non-selective cohorts, and believe they are a testament to both the environment we have created and the professionalism and determination of our staff team.
Come and see us, and see for yourself
If you’re interested in joining our team, we’d love to give you a tour so you can see for yourself what Archer Academy life is like. Please contact our HR Administrator via recruitment@thearcheracademy.org.uk to find out more.
The Archer Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful candidates will be subject to enhanced DBS clearance.
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