Job Description

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Head of Residential Care required ASAP at The Hawthorns School, Chelmsford, CM1 2BN

£39,280pa to £42,094 pa - Scale 10, points 34-37

37 hours per week, 42 working weeks per annum

Closing Date:1st November 24

Dear Candidate

Thank you for your interest in this post. The Hawthorns School opened its doors in January 2023, for children with autism. We are currently in temporary accommodation, and preparing to move into a permanent purpose-built school in January 2025 when we will expand our provision to 50 pupils in KS2 and KS3. Then, in September 2025 we will complete our final stage of growth to 70 pupils which will include KS4.

We have already established a therapeutic, dedicated, tight-knit and supportive team who prioritise the needs of the pupils through an evolving curriculum with the development of social communication at its core.

However, our next big step is to make preparations for the opening of our residential provision in Spring 24. We therefore have a unique opportunity to appoint a Head of Residential Care. The successful candidate will work together with the Hawthorns' current Leadership Team, Local Governance Group and the SEAX Trust Executive Team to create a bespoke residential package which supports the current curriculum offer and which will enable pupils to develop skills necessary for their next steps.

Our model is holistic and bespoke to the individual child and we are therefore seeking an open-minded leader who recognises that adapting and trialling different methods may be necessary before goals are realised. We are committed to developing pupil achievement through the aims of personal growth, participation and preparation for adulthood and our residential offer will form a key part of this.

The residential provision will have capacity to accommodate 10 students from Monday-Thursday during term-time and, in 2025, when full capacity is reached, there will be approximately 7 staff working within the Residential Team.

Although we anticipate that the role may not be without challenge, the successful candidate will be fully supported by the current dedicated and dynamic team. In addition, The Hawthorns is one of a community of Special Schools, supported by the well-established and highly regarded SEAX Trust. The Trust respects and trusts each school to evolve its unique identity, whilst providing layers of support and networking at all professional levels. Together, in close partnership with Essex Local Authority, The Hawthorns School could not be in a better position to continue fulfilling its aims of personal growth, participation and preparation.

If you are someone who embraces a challenge, has a can-do attitude and a keen sense of humour and who can laugh at the daily absurdities we encounter in a new school facing new demands, then we'd like to hear from you!

We can offer you professional fulfilment, development, care and attention to wellbeing and a lot of fun.

Best wishes

Diane Rigg

Headteacher, The Hawthorns School

Information about the School

The Hawthorns School is a brand new school for autistic young people in Chelmsford and is the fifth school in the SEAX Trust. The Hawthorns School opened in temporary accommodation in January 2023, and will move into a brand new school building on the old St Peter’s School site, in January 2025.

The provision at the school will cater for pupils who have a diagnosis of autism and will offer a full-time education with a focus on social communication, emotional regulation and relationship-building while, at the same time, offering a broad and balanced range of curriculum subjects, including literacy and numeracy.

Pupils will be aged 7-16 and will have an EHCP. There will be ten residential places available for pupils from Monday to Thursday each school week. These will be managed by the school and will enhance the day curriculum offer.

Our Vision and Ethos for The Hawthorns

We have established a school which embodies the ethos, vision and values of the SEAX Trust and the other schools in the Trust (Thriftwood School & College, Langham Oaks School, Grove House School and Kingswode Hoe School).

The Hawthorns’ mission:

Our mission is to provide a personalised and imaginative curriculum designed to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding to build the basis for a purposeful and fulfilling adult life for young people with autism. Through outstanding teaching and secure relationships, pupils will gain the confidence to communicate effectively, acquire appropriate accreditation for next steps forward, learn core skills for life, develop healthy relationships, self-advocate, contribute to their community and keep themselves safe.