Head of School
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The Rise School
Feltham
- £99,862 - £109,739 per year
- Expired
- Salary:
- AaAST Leadership Scale point 28-32 (£99,862-£109,739)
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- 1st September 2027
- Apply by:
- 23 September 2026
Job overview
Lead with ambition. Transform lives. Shape the future of autistic education.
At The Rise School, we believe every autistic young person deserves the opportunity to thrive, achieve and live a fulfilling life. As part of Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust, we are proud to deliver an exceptional specialist education that places autistic learners at the heart of everything we do.
Due to the retirement of our current postholder, we are now seeking an outstanding and inspirational Head of School to lead The Rise School into its next exciting chapter.
This is more than a leadership role. It is an opportunity to be part of both the MAT but also AaA and an exciting opportunity to shape a school where innovation, inclusion and high aspirations come together to create life-changing outcomes for autistic children and young people.
You will have an opportunity to work with and alongside our Director of Education, Executive Headteacher, Governing Body, Trustees and the wider Ambitious about Autism central teams, & Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust.
You will provide strategic leadership that ensures every learner, every member of staff and every family experiences excellence and as Head of School, you will:
Lead the strategic and operational direction of The Rise School, embedding our vision, values and ambitious culture across every aspect of school life.
Inspire, develop and empower a talented leadership team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement.
Champion exceptional teaching, learning and assessment, ensuring every learner receives a high-quality, personalised education that enables them to flourish.
Drive school improvement through evidence-informed practice, rigorous self-evaluation and an unwavering commitment to outstanding outcomes.
Build strong relationships with families, governors, colleagues and external partners, acting as an inspiring ambassador for The Rise School and Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust.
Ensure the highest standards of safeguarding, wellbeing and inclusion, creating an environment where learners and staff feel safe, valued and able to succeed.
Lead the effective management of people, resources and budgets, ensuring the school remains sustainable while delivering exceptional educational provision.
Contribute to the wider strategic leadership of Ambitious about Autism as a member of the Education Executive Management Team, the new ‘Ambitious Together Strategy' and help to shape the future of specialist education nationally.
We're looking for a leader who brings knowledge, skill and understanding of the specialist sector, vision, drive, integrity and determination. Someone who believes that autistic young people deserve the very highest expectations and who has the passion to create an environment where learners exceed those expectations every day.
You will be an experienced senior leader with a strong track record of school improvement, implementing and managing change, developing high-performing teams and delivering outstanding educational outcomes. You will combine strategic thinking with visible, compassionate leadership and be committed to developing staff so they can be the very best for the children and young people they serve.
In return, you'll join an organisation recognised nationally for transforming the lives of autistic children and young people. You'll work alongside passionate colleagues, contribute to sector-leading practice and have the opportunity to influence education well beyond the walls of one school.
If you are an ambitious leader ready to make a lasting difference, we'd love to hear from you.
Join us and lead a school where ambition has no limits, potential is recognised in every child, and every success changes lives.
Start Date- September 2027
Closing Date- 23 September 2026
Candidates informed of outcome of application- 25 September 2026
Interview Dates- Stage 1- 30 September 2026, Stage 2- 1 October 2026
Ambitious about Autism is committed to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of our organisation. We warmly welcome applications from all qualified candidates, valuing the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives they bring. We encourage applications from individuals regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or parental status, disability, or age.
Our recruitment process promotes equal opportunities, and we are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for candidates with disabilities or additional needs throughout the recruitment process. Please contact our Recruitment Team for accommodations. We recognise disability as a physical or mental impairment that significantly and long-term affects a person's ability to perform day-to-day activities, as defined by the UK Equality Act 2010. All applications will be considered solely on merit, aligned with our mission to support autistic children and young people.
Ambitious about Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check. As part of our Safer Recruitment checks, an online search maybe carried out in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.
The Safeguarding responsibilities of the post as per the job description and personal specification.
Whether the post is exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendment to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2021. This means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS Filter Guidance.
Attached documents
About The Rise School
The school’s values are Be Proud, Be Resilient and Be Kind.
It is a real privilege to be the Head of The Rise School and Sixth Form and to be able to work every day with our wonderful young people and dedicated staff. Our values of being kind, being proud, and being resilient will not change under my leadership.
Our pupils are some of the most vulnerable children in society and we are passionate in our desire to see them bloom, experience success and develop confidence and strategies to overcome some of the challenges associated with their autism. Our pupils are at the heart of everything we do.
Our curriculum focuses on both social skills and academic achievement, these run throughout all our work and are both of equal importance. This allows our pupils access to a curriculum that is guided by the national curriculum but also reaches beyond it.
We believe our social curriculum is vital for helping our young people cultivate self-regulation skills and strategies to look after their mental health. Our social curriculum includes PSHE (Personal Social, Health and Education) lessons, Weaving Wellbeing Programme, Citizenship lessons, Yoga lessons, and embedded mindfulness sessions.
We are equally proud of our academic curriculum, which consists of both BTEC and GCSE qualifications. These qualifications give pupils the vital stepping stones into Sixth Form or college and then into further education, university, apprenticeships, supported internships, and employment.
Our pupils have access to a range of opportunities that we offer as part of our LOTC (Learning Outside The Curriculum). Opportunities such as swimming, skiing, sailing, Duke of Edinburgh award, and after-school clubs that include robotics, and music. We also have a flourishing pupil council.
Thank you for your interest in The Rise School. We hope you find all the information you require on our website. Please do check out our Twitter feed, photo gallery and our latest news as they will give a genuine flavour of day-to-day life here at The Rise. We also love visitors! So please contact us if you have any further questions or queries or if you would like to book a visit.
Karen Oliver, Headteacher of The Rise School
Vision
Our vision at The Rise School is to create a vibrant learning community and be an exemplar school of best practice for children with autism and social communication needs by enabling our pupils to access a broad age-related curriculum.
We aim to achieve this vision by creating an environment where:
- Pupils and adults are happy to come to school every day and are proud of what they achieve.
- Parents and carers are confident that their children are safe, happy, making good progress and that their voices are heard.
- All pupils are given the support and challenges they need to learn and succeed in the world beyond school – their quality of life is key.
- All staff create consistently positive learning experiences that engage and challenge all our autistic pupils.
Values
Our values underpin all that we do at The Rise. They were chosen in a collaborative process that involved all our staff and pupils. We teach our values explicitly and celebrate them frequently.
Our values:
Be Kind
We demonstrate how giving and receiving kindness is important for everyone’s wellbeing.
Be Proud
Our pupils have much to be proud of and we want them to be strong advocates of themselves in their future lives.
Be Resilient
We know that our pupils will face challenges in their life, but we’re confident that, with the right strategies and attitude, they can flourish.
Ethos
The best way to convey The Rise School’s pupil-oriented and team-driven ethos is to hear from our staff directly. During a recent training day, our staff completed the sentence below in the following ways.
At The Rise School we:
- are champion adults to our pupils
- learn from each other and have fun
- are a great team
- take a positive and supportive approach
- respect one another
- are hard-working and resilient
- are passionate and determined
- acknowledge every achievement
- create a safe and positive environment
- are comforting, supportive and approachable.
About Us
The Rise School is a thriving special school based in Feltham, west London educating autistic pupils aged four to 18. It was set up by the Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust in 2014. This vibrant learning community equips young people with the academic qualifications and personal skill set needed to thrive in the world, socially, emotionally and, in time, in the workplace. The Rise School offers pupils the best of both worlds: special needs provision combined with a curriculum guided by, and reaching beyond, the national curriculum. Located on the same campus as the Tudor Park Education Trust, a secondary mainstream school, The Rise School enables pupils to access learning and social opportunities alongside their mainstream peers, whilst receiving the specialist support they need.
We have a Published Admissions Number (PAN) of 130. This is for 100 pupils in the Primary and Secondary site in Feltham and 30 at our Sixth Form site in Isleworth.
For September 2022 we are at capacity in Feltham (Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4).
The youngest pupils at the school are currently in Year 5 (9-10 years old). We currently do not have a pupil cohort for Reception and Year 1 to 4 (4 to 8 years old).
Admissions to The Rise School are handled by local authorities. The school is reliant on referrals from local authorities, and all of these must follow the school’s admissions process.
Any new referrals will be considered in line with The Rise School’s assessment process.
Our primary and secondary curriculum is broadly similar to that offered by mainstream schools including subjects such as: English, maths, science, history, Personal Social Health Education/ citizenship, ICT, physical education and food technology. Pupils also attend swimming lessons once a week until year 10.
To meet our cohort’s needs, pupils access the school curriculum in small class groups of between 8-10 pupils. We also deliver weekly yoga and wellbeing sessions. We have a full-time Speech and Language Therapist and Occupational Therapist on the team.
The Rise School has great facilities including; fully equipped class rooms, fun outside playgrounds, a well-being garden, sensory rooms, soft-play rooms and a gym.
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