School Principal

Aspiring to reach outstanding? .. Then read on

Inspirational Leader required for the post of School Principal at Eastwood Grange School, Milken Lane, Ashover, Derbyshire S45 0BA

Priory Group is one of Europe's leading independent providers of mental health, specialist education, autism and learning disability and older people's services. Across the companies we place great emphasis on the quality of our services. We are committed to proactively driving improvements to ensure quality is at the heart of everything we do.

Eastwood Grange is a residential school for young people aged 9 to 18 situated in a well resourced site in the village of Ashover Derbyshire. The main site offers  day education and some residential accomodation for up to 30 boys who are day, termly or in some cases 52 week boarders. There are also 2 high quality children's homes in the local community mostly for children who attend the school.

The school residential provision was recently rated inadequate, but the most recent monitoring visit found that all regulations were now met. This is a chance for a strong, energetic leader to shape the future direction of the school. We have recently invested heavily in the site to ensure that the home areas are of the highest quality.

We require a skilled leader who can demonstrate substantial experience of working with young people with challenging behavior and mental health issues. Our new leader must be prepared to work hard and lead the committed team through a period of improvement and development.

We require someone who:-
We are looking for a leader who:

• Places high quality outcomes at the heart of everything in the school and residential homes.
• Has a background in special needs including perhaps a higher qualification
• Is committed to quality improvements and is adept at using data to monitor and review success across all aspects of the school and home
• Understands the importance of providing flexible and personalised packages to meet the needs of every young person
• Has strong communication skills both orally and in writing
• Has successful experience of working in partnership with local authorities, parents and other stakeholders
• Is experienced in managing  staff and challenging them to achieve the highest quality
• Has good commercial understanding with experience in managing a budget and able to lead the strategic development of your service

In return you will benefit from:-

• A happy school with a most positive ethos
• A well-resourced school and residential homes
• Support from experienced Regional Managers who line manage the childrens home managers and Operations Directors
• Excellent networking opportunities within the group which is made up of 30 schools and colleges
• Regular opportunities to reflect on wider professional issues with colleagues in similar schools
• A clear structure above school principal level offering opportunities for career development
• A generous package which includes a bonus for meeting quality and commercial targets

Priory Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment. The appointment is subject to an enhanced CRB disclosure. For more details please contact Karen Sheldon (karensheldon@priorygroup.com or 01483 899132).  Informal visits to the school are welcome and are expected prior to interview.

Completed application forms, a CV and a supporting statement of maximum 2 sides of A4 must be submitted by the closing date of 26th October 2014.  Short listing will take place w/c 3rd November 2014. Interviews will be held w/c 10th November 2014.

To apply, please visit: https://jobs.priorygroup.com/vacancies/1380/TES/principal/