SENCo

We are seeking an experienced SENCO, with at least two years’ experience in a SEN leadership role. The successful candidate will be expected to model and advise on outstanding classroom practice particularly in terms of Quality First Teaching.  An additional specialist qualification would be an advantage. 

About Us

Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is a mixed Academy for 1,300 students aged 11-18, with a large sixth form of over 350 students. The Academy has three consecutive Outstanding judgments by Ofsted, with the most recent inspection in 2014 finding the Academy to be Outstanding in every aspect. We are a consistently high performing school; in 2019, our progress 8 score was 0.61, 94% of our students achieved a 4+ in English and 86% in maths.  Our motto, ‘All Can Achieve’ encapsulates our vision that all members of the Academy community are supported and encouraged to achieve their absolute potential.

We have recently been designated as a ‘Teaching School Hub’ and we are able to offer all teachers an extensive programme of first class professional development. Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is part of the Harris Federation and this enables us to offer you a comprehensive induction programme and training and development opportunities to support your career development including Masters and other qualifications.

Main Areas of Responsibility

Your role will be:

• To ensure that Academy practice is compliant with the SEND Code of Practice (2014) and other relevant statutory requirements
• To work with the Academy Leadership team ensuring an ethos of Inclusion within the Academy and a culture of high aspirations for students with SEND
• To work with the Academy Leadership team ensuring the implementation of the Academy SEND Policy
• To ensure that the provision of SEND support is in accordance with the aims of the Academy and the curricular policies determined by the Governing Body and Principal of the Academy.
• To be responsible for maintaining the Academy’s SEND Profile, ensuring that it is always up-to-date and is an accurate picture of student SEND need across the Academy
• To be responsible for the accurate identification of SEND need across the Academy, ensuring a rigorous and thorough assessment process.
• To be a role model with regard to Quality First Teaching and differentiation within your own teaching practice
• To be responsible for the embedding of Quality First Teaching across the Academy
• To be responsible for the Academy SEND Offer, ensuring high quality targeted interventions enabling students with SEND to make better progress
• In consultation with the Academy Leadership Team, to provide a programme of professional development with regard to SEND, that ensures all staff have the knowledge, skills and understanding to plan teaching and learning effectively and enable students with SEND to make expected progress
• To be responsible for tracking the progress of students with SEND, using a wide range of Academy data relating to progress, attainment, referrals, exclusions, detentions and attendance to identify barriers to learning.
• To deploy staff and resources according to the needs of SEND students
• To write a termly report to the Governing body on progress and developments

Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will have:

• A good Honours degree
• Postgraduate teaching qualification
• NASENCo Award
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development relevant to the SENCO role or willingness to undertake this training
• SpLD Assessment Practising Certificate, a post-graduate qualification in individual assessment at or equivalent to Level 7
• SEN experience in a secondary school
• Evidence of successful teaching experience
• Evidence of pastoral experience
• Teaching experience in all key stages
• Evidence of outstanding teaching and learning

Next Steps

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact us via e-mail, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. You will need this when completing your application.

Please note: we may hold interviews as and when applications are received and we reserve the right to offer to a candidate prior to the closing date. We only accept applications submitted online via our careers website and which are completed before the closing deadline. With this in mind, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible and advise you check the job information as per the listing on our careers site.

Rewards & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level to senior leadership.

We look for talented individuals who share our vision for creating exceptional places of learning, and are committed to ensuring that every child in London has access to the best possible education.

In addition to the opportunities for career progression, training and development, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. Before applying, please review our Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.