Deputy Headteacher, Swindon Virtual School

Deputy Headteacher, Swindon Virtual School

Location: Swindon

Hours: Full Time

Contract type: 4 Month - Fixed term contract

Salary: £61,106 p.a. plus benefits

Salary notes: Soulbury Scale 16

Closing date: 31/01/2025

Job reference: RNR002561

Interview date: 10/02/2025

At Swindon Borough Council, we want our town to be the best it can be. Our ambitious vision in the new Swindon Plan is supported by realistic transformation programmes, with the people of Swindon at their heart. Because that’s who we’re doing it for – the communities and businesses that make our town great. As part of the Council, you’ll support a friendly local authority making decisions with real impact. It’s all for better public services. Better processes. And a better quality of life, for everyone. Join us, and Swindon will be better with you.

Your next role

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Swindon Virtual School as Deputy Headteacher and we are looking to appoint as soon as possible for the right candidate. This opportunity is for a period of 4 months initially but with a potential to extend further.

Are you passionate about ensuring every child has access to quality education and opportunities for success? Do you thrive on making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children?

We are looking to appoint a creative, innovative individual to promote excellent education outcomes for all of our children who are looked after and care experienced young people.

Due to the rapidly expanding remit of the Virtual School, you will need to be someone who can work effectively alongside young people, social care teams, schools and families to secure the best education provision for every child, to monitor and raise academic achievement and to be a strong champion for our most vulnerable children.

Main responsibilities of the role:

• To have lead responsibility for the day to day management for the local authority’s statutory duties relation to the education needs, provision and outcomes for children and young people in care.
• To ‘know’ on an individual basis, all children and young people in care that would be on the Virtual School.
• To lead on ensuring that all designated teachers have access to a full training programme and to support the development of trauma informed approach in all schools /education settings where our children and Young people attend.
• Provide creative solutions to break down barriers to learning.
• Ensure effective allocation and spending of the pupil premium grant.

In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from Swindon Borough Council family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members.

You must be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act “for the effective performance of a customer-facing role”).

Your next package 

Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details. 

As an employee, you will receive a diverse and exciting environment in which to work, encouraging creativity and innovation whilst recognising the need to support ongoing personal development and a flexible work life balance. 

For Swindon to thrive in the future, we need to lay the foundations now. It’s why our regeneration and transformation programmes are already underway. So, you’ll be joining us at an exciting time on our journey. We’ll look to you to share your knowledge, influence decisions and drive real, positive change. With your contributions, we’ll achieve our vision of a prosperous, re-vitalised Swindon together. And you’ll be proud to say it was made better with you. 

Please see our Vision and Values page for more details.  

Please see our new Swindon Plan.  

Potential applicants are sometimes put off if they don’t meet 100% of the requirements. We think individual experience, skills and passion make all the difference, so if you meet the majority of the criteria, we’d love to hear from you. 

Your next steps

Read the role profile and select the Apply button where you will be redirected to the Swindon Borough Council website to complete our online application process. Clicking the ‘Apply’ button on this job website is not an application, you must register on the Swindon Borough Council website in order to be considered for the role. 

For further information about the role please do not hesitate to contact Gemma Meiklejohn, Virtual School Headteacher for an informal discussion about this exciting role on GMeiklejohn@swindon.gov.uk

As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from a diverse range of communities, and in particular disabled people and people from ethnic minorities. Read our statement of commitment to equality & inclusion.