Deputy Director of Science

Location Ark Schools Central

Deputy Head of Safeguarding

Location: West London – currently operating an agile working policy with two core days (Mon and Weds) in the office with regular travel to schools in the Ark network (Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth)

Contract: Permanent

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am – 5.30pm)

Closing date: 11/03/2024 at 9am

1st round interviews: w/c 11/03/2024

2nd round interviews: w/c 25/03/2024

Salary: £65,000 to £75,000 (depending on experience)

About the role:

A new role in our growing team, the Deputy Head of Safeguarding will work alongside the Head of Safeguarding to provide the strategic and operational leadership to enable Ark schools to keep children safe.

You will support the strategic leadership of safeguarding across the network by providing key data, insights and termly analysis reports using our safeguarding management platforms (CPOMS and SENSO).

You will support the Head of Safeguarding on all aspects of safeguarding strategy, policy and procedure across the Ark network, collaborating with in-school safeguarding leads (Designated Safeguarding Leads – DSLs) who are accountable for ensuring proper procedure, process and safeguarding cultures are implemented in school.

The Deputy Head of Safeguarding, alongside the Head of Safeguarding, will work to grow capability across the network, ensuring that all stakeholders are aware of their responsibilities, are provided with suitable training and that systems exist which enable discharge of those responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Ensuring that all principals satisfy their obligation to have an appropriate safeguarding management structure in their school.
2. Supporting the DSL network to ensure that all Ark schools are compliant with statutory and legal requirements, providing leadership so that the letter and spirit of regulations are understood and implemented.
3. Overseeing annual updates of the Online Safety, Child Protection and Safeguarding, and Anti-Bullying policies so that all schools in the network have fully compliant policies.
4. Conducting annual in-school audits to ensure that safeguarding procedures are properly conducted, that schools are compliant with legal and Ofsted requirements as well as assessing the culture of safeguarding across the network.
5. Provide key data and insights on safeguarding across the network. This includes the strategic oversight of our safeguarding management platform, CPOMS, as well as our monitoring and filtering platform, SENSO.
6. Leading the DSLs as a specialist peer group, ensuring that best practice is shared and that DSLs across the network are supported in their professional development and can access professional supervision.
7. Supporting schools to promote early intervention, leveraging school to school support to maximise learning and impact and maximising capability building across the network.
8. Provide consultancy advice to school leaders and DSLs alongside the Head of Safeguarding and Director of Pastoral and Inclusion.
9. Manage complex cases, in line with the network’s escalation procedures.

Key Requirements:

1. Qualified at least to first degree level, or equivalent.
2. Relevant professional qualifications (e.g. Level 3 Safeguarding, Mental Health First Aid) with demonstrable commitment to ongoing professional development.
3. Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is preferable.
4. Track record of strategic and operational senior leadership of safeguarding in a secondary school setting.
5. Knowledge of schools and a deep understanding of student needs.
6. Comprehensive knowledge of safeguarding legislation, guidance, best practice and services for vulnerable children and young people.
7. Experience of developing safeguarding policies and skill in collaborating with colleagues at all levels to build ownership of this policy.
8. Proven track record of successfully embedding safeguarding developments into policy and practice, supported by accurate and reliable advice.
9. Effective coach and developer of others, capable of building and sustaining a community of practice.
10. Ability to support schools with the triangulation of pastoral (behaviour, SEND, Attendance, Safeguarding) data to drive their strategic work.
11. Ability to interpret safeguarding requirements and responses in specific circumstances.
12. Flexibility and adaptability to respond to changing needs.
13. Effective team worker who enjoys collaboration with colleagues across the network.

About Ark

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 30,000 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

You’ll be joining a group of like-minded, ambitious individuals who work collaboratively and are all committed to our core mission, that every child has the potential to succeed. Having just celebrated our 20th anniversary, we are shaping our goals for the next 20 and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

Benefits

1. 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays.
2. Full office closure between Christmas and New Year.
3. Hybrid working, with currently two days a week in our state-of-the-art office in West London working alongside colleagues.
4. Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit.
5. A flexible approach to working with understanding and consideration for work life balance and personal commitments.
6. As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year.
7. Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform.
8. Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests.

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