Therapeutic Pastoral Lead

Compass Community School Aylward Park is an independent specialist school providing high-quality, therapeutic and child-centred education to pupils from 11 to 17 years of age in Saxmundham, Suffolk.

Our children come from a wide range of backgrounds, but all have Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (SEMH). Many will also have other Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) such as Autism, ADHD, and communication difficulties.

The work we do is both varied and challenging and, as a trauma and attachment informed organisation, all staff are provided with extensive therapeutic training and support.

Our closely triangulated approach places the child at the centre of decision making, ensuring that education and therapy professionals, parents/carers, local authority teams and, most importantly, our students can work together to secure outstanding outcomes for all.

The Role                                                 

We are a therapeutic school and believe in a healing approach to supporting and modifying challenging behaviour. Our Therapeutic Pastoral Lead needs to embody, lead and facilitate this in our schools by working holistically.

Therapeutic Pastoral Leads work within our leadership group in school as a key member of the local leadership team. They are co-managed by Regional SENCOs and the Therapeutic Development Manager. We view this position as an integral role within our school community and, as such, we are looking for someone with capacity and skills to work at this level.

The successful candidate will be calm and sensitive at times of potential dysregulation and they will be experienced in de-escalation, having a working and practical knowledge of key theories and frameworks of interventions which will emotionally support children.

The successful applicant will receive Continued Professional Development training (CPD) in our Assessing and Healing Childhood Trauma (AHCT) approach and, in turn, promote and enable all education staff to fully understand how this supports students in our care.

You will run meaningful intervention groups with young people and role model application of therapeutic interactions and best practice.

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• The pastoral, SMSC, Socio-Emotional resilience and personal development of students.
• Assessment, monitoring, reporting upon, and supporting the overall holistic progress and personal development of students.
• Ensuring that safeguarding is paramount and safeguarding policies are adhered to.
• Contributing to the annual School Improvement Plan and School Evaluation Form
• Maintaining knowledge of, and taking shared responsibility for, the SMSC and Personal Development elements of the Independent School Standards and the Ofsted Inspection framework, working to promote these on a day to day basis.

Benefits and Rewards

As a trauma informed organisation, all our staff are provided with extensive therapeutic training and support. As a Head of School with Compass Community Schools, you’ll be part of a passionate team of professionals, benefitting from:

• Staff laptop and mobile phone
• Competitive salary
• Extensive training and professional qualification opportunities
• Small class sizes with specialist TA support
• The chance to be part of an expanding, national organisation that recognises skill, effort and potential and grows its own leadership teams
• Enhanced occupational sickness scheme
• Flexible pension
• Regular therapeutic and supportive supervision
• Employee benefit service with access to wellbeing services, salary sacrifice schemes, high street vouchers, money off eating-out and takeaways

Safeguarding

This role is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

The Compass Community values equality and diversity across our workforce and aims to ensure our staff community is reflective of the diversity of the children and young people within our care. In support of this commitment, we welcome applications from individuals of Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds.