Assistant Headteacher: Inclusion
Whickham School
Gateshead
- Expired
- Salary:
- L12-L16
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- 01 September 2026
- Apply by:
- 26 April 2026
Job overview
Contract: Full-time - Permanent
Salary: L12-L16
Are you an experienced leader with a passion for inclusion? Do you want to make a real difference to the lives of young people in a thriving, supportive secondary school?
Whickham School is a highly successful comprehensive school. We pride ourselves on our diversity and inclusive culture. We are seeking an outstanding individual to join our senior leadership team as an Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion. You will provide strategic leadership for inclusion across the school, ensuring that all pupils, particularly those with SEND and those eligible for pupil premium, are fully supported to succeed both academically and personally.
About the role:
Lead and implement a clear, ambitious whole-school inclusion strategy, shaping provision in line with national developments and reforms in SEND and inclusion
Be accountable for the outcomes of SEND and disadvantaged pupils
Line manage the SENDCo and wider inclusion team, ensuring high-quality provision and support
Oversee and drive the school’s pupil premium strategy, ensuring measurable and sustained impact
Lead staff training and development to embed inclusive, adaptive teaching across the school
Work in close partnership with pastoral, safeguarding and curriculum leaders to ensure a cohesive approach to supporting vulnerable pupils
What makes Whickham School special?
Whilst we are a high-performing school (Progress 8 of +0.26 in 2024 and 82% achieving grade 4+ in English and Maths in 2025), we are about much more than our academic performance. We are a community that values all of our stakeholders, recognising that our staff make the difference for our pupils. We therefore invest in our staff in a number of ways.
We support work-life balance in the following ways
Reduced teaching hours to support planning and professional development
Dedicated collaborative planning time – at least one hour every fortnight for each teacher to meet with their subject team to talk through upcoming learning episodes
Flexible approach to work-life balance considerations
Access to fitness facilities outside school hours
We invest in your growth
Join our established Leadership Group to shape whole-school practice
Meaningful leadership development opportunities, including access to NPQ programmes and specialist courses.
Evidence-based CPD that makes a real difference to your practice
Coaching and mentoring support to help you thrive
The practical benefits:
Salary sacrifice schemes including bicycle and electric vehicle leasing
Higher priority for your children's admission to our heavily oversubscribed school
Modern facilities with the latest display technology in every classroom
Supportive, collaborative staff community
Who you are
You are an experienced and passionate leader and teacher with:
Experience of leading inclusion and/or SEND provision in a secondary setting, or other relevant leadership experience
Strong understanding of statutory frameworks, including the SEND Code of Practice and safeguarding responsibilities
Experience in successfully leading and developing a team
Experience of working with external agencies and leading multi-agency support for vulnerable pupils
A passion for developing others and building leadership capacity
A track record of excellent teaching, with evidence of strong student progress and outcomes
A deep understanding of adaptive teaching and how to support vulnerable learners to succeed
Strong understanding of curriculum, assessment and the effective use of data to drive improvement
A commitment to evidence-informed practice and continuous professional development
Qualified Teacher Status and a degree in a relevant subject
Your personal qualities:
You are committed to inclusion and providing the best possible learning experience for vulnerable learners
You understand that great teaching is built on relationships, high expectations, and relentless focus on progress
You're reflective, solution-focused and committed to continuous improvement
You can inspire and motivate both students and staff
You're committed to upholding our school values and creating an inclusive learning environment for all learners
Your impact
As Assistant Headteacher Inclusion, you will:
Champion inclusion – create a culture where every pupil feels seen, supported and able to succeed
Drive outcomes – ensure that SEND and disadvantaged pupils make strong academic progress and achieve well
Lead strategically – develop, implement and evaluate a cohesive inclusion strategy aligned with whole-school priorities
Develop provision – ensure high-quality, evidence-informed support for pupils with additional needs, including those with SEND and SEMH needs
Empower staff – build staff confidence and expertise in adaptive teaching through high-quality CPD and coaching
Strengthen systems – ensure robust identification, monitoring and intervention processes for vulnerable pupils
Work collaboratively – build strong relationships with families, external agencies and stakeholders to secure the best outcomes for pupils
Ensure accountability – use data intelligently to evaluate impact and drive continuous improvement
Are you ready to lead our team?
Want to see it for yourself? We actively encourage visits. Contact Rebecca Erskine at rerskine@whickhamschool.org (PA to the Headteacher) to arrange a time that works for you.
Application deadline: 9am on 26th April 2026
Submit to: recruitment@whickhamschool.org
Application forms: Download from the Whickham School website, where you'll also find the full job description, person specification and further details about the school and role.
Whickham School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). We expect all staff to share our commitment to safeguarding.
What happens next?
Download the full job description and person specification from our website
Visit us (optional but highly recommended) – see our facilities, meet the team and experience Whickham
Complete your application – tell us why you're the person to lead on inclusion at Whickham school
Submit by 9am on Sunday 26th April 2026
Interviews will be held on Tuesday 5th May 2026
Questions - Contact Fraser Turnbull (Headteacher) at rerskine@whickhamschool.org (PA to the Headteacher)
Whickham School is committed to creating a diverse workforce. We’ll consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to sex, race, religion, belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity, age, disability, marriage or civil partnership.
Attached documents
About Whickham School
- Whickham School
- Burnthouse Lane, Whickham, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Gateshead
- NE16 5AR
- United Kingdom
The School
Whickham School is a large and successful school in Gateshead with over 1700 students including approximately 350 in our high performing sixth form.
Ofsted
Following our recent Ofsted inspection in May, Whickham School continues to be a good school with enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if Ofsted were to carry out a graded (section 5) inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.
“Staff have very high expectations of pupils. Through the school’s values, pupils are encouraged to have empathy and respect for others. They are also encouraged to aspire and to be resilient.”
“The support available for pupils with SEND is exceptional.”
“Pupils behave exceptionally well at Whickham school. They feel safe and well looked after in the school.”
School Organisation
Demand for student places is strong and the school is regularly oversubscribed. Students are organised into year groups whilst eight faculties deliver the school curriculum. The Sixth Form, which has its own dedicated facility, is an increasingly popular choice of students from all over the local area.
In January 2020 many faculties moved into a brand new, state of the art, STEAMS themed building. The stunning four storey building houses Science, Technology (plus Business and IT), Engineering, Art, Maths and Sport.
The Leadership Team meet weekly and share responsibility for policy generation, decision making, planning and the general wellbeing of the school. The relevant governing body committee is involved in strategic planning and policies from the onset. Faculty and Year groups meet every two weeks to discuss strategic issues.
Vision and Values
“Whickham, a school to be proud of at the heart of the community. Where learning is cherished in a safe, caring and supportive environment. A school where everyone is valued and inspired to be the best they can be.”
CPDL & Well Being
Staff development and wellbeing is something that is very important at Whickham - we recognise that the physical and mental health of our staff are crucial aspects of sustaining a motivated, dedicated and high performing workforce. Please see the attachment which mentions some of the steps we actively take to support our staff.
We are committed to ensuring we provide outstanding CPDL and an environment that enables exceptional staff well-being. We will support you in your personal and professional development, enabling you to contribute fully to the creative and dedicated teams of dynamic and ambitious staff you will be joining.
In addition to our School Improvement hour every other week, we have a series of working groups dedicated to Teaching and Learning as well as other opportunities to become involved in driving forward best practice. All of our teachers benefit from dedicated collaborative planning time, and we run a very successful NQT programme which offers comprehensive support and guidance from dedicated mentors.
We are accredited with the Bronze level of the Better Health at Work award and we are committed to supporting staff not only through the dedicated campaigns that we have run, but also in proactively encouraging healthy practice in a range of meaningful ways.
Curriculum
At Whickham School, we aim to provide a broad and engaging curriculum that enables students to fulfil their talents and interests, whilst gaining the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in your further studies, training and employment. High quality information and guidance is provided to help students navigate their pathways through the courses on offer.
A strong foundation is provided at Key Stage 3 where students follow a broad and balanced curriculum comprising the following subjects: Mathematics, English, Science, Modern Languages, Geography, History, RE, Technology, ICT, Art and Design, Music, Religious Studies and Citizenship.
Pupils are allocated to mixed ability tutor groups and are taught in those groups for most lessons. Pupils are taught in smaller groups for Technology and Physical Education. Pupils are taught in setted classes for Mathematics and, from Year 9, English.
At KS4, students follow a two-year programme to provide more time to study key GCSE and Btec subjects in more creative and supportive ways, accelerating progress and achievement.
The curriculum at Key Stage 4 is more varied with students choosing programmes of study from a wide range of curriculum areas. Our new curriculum enables the vast majority of students to follow an academic pathway that enables them to achieve a set of qualifications that would contribute towards the EBAC. In addition, we have an extensive range of creative and vocational courses delivered on and off-site that enable all our students to follow courses that ensure high levels of engagement and success. We continue to collaborate with external partners to ensure that learning in areas such as engineering takes place in real – work contexts.
The school has strong AEN department that provides additional support to encourage academic progress at all key stages.
The breadth of choice continues into the Sixth Form, with large numbers of students selecting from over 35 different A Level and BTEC National courses.
Whickham School is alive with activities that offer students the opportunity to broaden their interests and experience.
Physical education and Sport are highly prominent with a wide range of interests catered for. Music and Drama are also strengths in the school. The school puts on a number of productions each year including an annual musical which plays to packed houses for a week. The school band and drama groups perform at various prestige events. Educational visits and exchanges are organised for students of all ages. Sports Leadership is particularly strong.
The Governing Body
The governing body is enthusiastic and active and they bring a wide range of experiences and skills derived from their diverse employment in commerce, industry and education.
The relationship between the senior management team and the governing body has evolved into one which enables open and frank discussion to take place on school issues. The introduction of more linked governors to specific school subject areas has improved governor involvement and awareness of issues and priorities. Strengths and weaknesses are discussed freely.
The relationship between the governing body and staff is one of mutual trust and openness. The governing body endeavours to provide support as well as challenge and to become actively involved in all school matters. We consider the governing body to be part of the school management team and to support the school in its quest to maximise all student achievements in a happy interesting and safe environment.
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