Lead SENDCo

What our parents say about our school… (statements from this years’ survey)

‘Brilliant school, great to see my child thriving. Teachers take the time to understand the child individually and build up relationships. Thank you!’

‘Thank you for making the last 7 months amazing for my child. We definitely made the right decision to wait for this school.’

‘Dorset Studio school has been amazing for my daughter. I have never known a school like it and I am so grateful that she was accepted by them.’

‘Absolutely amazing school! Thank you so much to each and every staff member for all their hard work.’

 What our staff say about our school…(statements from this year’s survey)

‘I feel valued’

‘There is openness and transparency between staff’

‘Staff take teaching and learning very seriously’

‘The SLT are the most supportive I’ve known’

‘I am entrusted to do my job to the best of my ability’

‘The best thing about working here is seeing the children blossom and grow stronger’

 And this is what our year students said this year…

‘Choosing DSS was one of the best decisions I ever made. The teachers are all friendly and supportive and try to get the best out of all of us for the future’

‘It is much better than my last school. I much prefer the daily routines here. It feels like staff put more effort into building relationships with students’

‘The work is suited to my ability. I am challenged and supported’

‘Dorset Studio School is way more supportive than any other school I have been to. The teachers care about the students and allow students to flourish in their subjects’

‘DSS is a great school. I no longer wake up and complain about going to school. The teachers here are supportive and wonderful. They help me in my learning but also mentally. I know if I need help with anything they will support me. I now look forward to coming to school’

‘Staff support is outstanding during lessons. I have become more confident over the years of attending this school’

 Does this sound like a school community you would like to be a part of?

We work hard. We are relentless in our pursuit of the best opportunities for students. We are resilient and tolerant, adaptable and flexible. We are team players. We enjoy each other’s company.

We are professionals demonstrating expert judgement. We are calm of disposition and intellectually aware. Characteristics are more important than experience. Our team are exceptional people.

 Who are we?

The Dorset Studio School is a thriving, mainstream 11-16 co-ed secondary school. Studio Schools champion academic excellence alongside the development of a student employability profile. Our learners leave us with an impressive blend of skills and knowledge, perhaps evidenced by destinations and employment rates significantly above national averages for other schools.

We have recently opened a second, KS4 site, just a few miles away on the beautiful Poundbury development within the county town of Dorchester. This is a temporary measure, providing the learning experiences and facilities that our students require, whilst we await the building of our new school, on the same Kingston Maurward site, due for completion during 2026. We are a relatively young school (in our tenth year this year), uniquely placed to offer a ‘twenty first century’ education to those young people wishing to pursue employment in the Land Based, or indeed other sectors.

Our progress

Recognised by OFSTED as a ‘Good’ school in September 2017, the report noted that our ‘teachers motivate pupils to learn by giving them interesting lessons and providing the right support when they need it.’ We ‘set ambitious targets and expectations for our students’ with, ‘the most able pupils achieving well.’ The school’s ‘work to promote personal development and welfare is outstanding.’

The Dorset Studio School progress eight score has consistently placed us among the better performing secondary schools in the County. This year, students made more progress with us than was the case in more than half of many long established much larger schools within the County. Only three Studio Schools nationally fared better, with Dorset Studio School achieving the best Studio School progress scores south of London.

We are an inclusive school. All students follow a demanding academic curriculum with the majority working towards nine GCSE qualifications. This is complemented with an incrementally phased work experience commitment allowing the students to develop both the soft and technical employability skills that they will need to be able to flourish in a competitive market. Our staff is extremely dedicated, caring, professional and innovative; committed to ensuring excellence for our students.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity within a forward-thinking school for a proactive and energetic individual to lead our commitment to students with SEND.

We are seeking a highly skilled individual who shares our ambition for all students to achieve optimally.

As part of our dedicated and skilful student support team, you will lead two other qualified SENDCOs, as well as a team of specialist support staff and teaching assistants, ensuring that intervention makes a sustained difference to the learning and life opportunities of the young people in our care. You will have a genuine involvement with the development of our quality assurance programme and will be expected to lead on EHCP submissions and provision. We expect our SENDCO to be a strong teacher and this role will carry with it a teaching allocation equating to approximately 30% of the timetable.

You will be a strong advocate for students with SEND, able to ensure that they receive ‘Quality First Teaching’ and able to support staff to be able to routinely deliver this. As such, you will provide clear leadership for SEND including the assessment of impact and reporting back to key stakeholders including OFSTED. You will lead a provision that will narrow gaps quickly, that will be involve forensically identified intervention and that will empower staff to support all students to the very best of their ability. In short, you will oversee a provision that will be second to none.

Dorset Studio School is oversubscribed and is proud of its strong reputation. As an evolving and growing school, the range of appointments we make, and the skill set we look for is ever expanding. We are developing our provision in many of our staff teams. If you feel that you have more to offer, and that this post could be the next step in your career development, please do let us know.

Safer Recruitment Procedure

The Dorset Studio School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. In order to meet this responsibility, the school follows a thorough selection process to discourage and screen unsuitable applicants. Please be aware that checks may be carried out on all aspects of the application to confirm the validity of information supplied.

Child Protection Statement

The successful candidate will be required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service check, in line with national safer recruitment guidelines. As part of the shortlisting process, we will carry out an online search as part of our due diligence on the shortlisted candidates.

Equal Opportunities

The Dorset Studio School values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early.