Founding Headteacher - SEMH / SEND

Full-Time, On-Site Contract Location: Crouch End

Salary: £70,000 - £80,000 (Flexibility for Exceptional Candidates)

Overview: We are exclusively partnered with a sector-leading specialist in therapy and education for children and young people who have experienced adverse childhood experiences. Since 2012, they have led the way in delivering therapeutic education. Their expert team of teachers and therapists ‘work as one' with pupils aged 5 to 16 who benefit from a therapeutic curriculum focused on meeting their social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. They are now seeking an exceptional Headteacher to lead the opening of a brand-new KS2/3 specialist school in Crouch End. This is a rare opportunity to shape a school from the ground up, overseeing its final development, ensuring inspection readiness, and leading a successful launch. As the founding Headteacher, you will play a pivotal role in making a genuine difference to pupils' lives at their trauma-centred therapeutic schools. The organisation has an exceptional track record. Recent Independent School Inspectorate’s routine and material change inspections recognised a rare Significant Strength across its schools. This is in addition to their previous outstanding Ofsted reports which demonstrate the strength of their provision across all sites and the success of their specialist therapeutic approach.

Key Highlights:

• Rare equity stake - highly unusual at this level
• Small school settings - meaningful impact on every pupil
• Strong wellbeing culture
• Exceptional staff retention (leaders with 10+ years’ service)
• A rare chance to become the founding Headteacher of a brand-new specialist school
• Significant autonomy over staffing, operations and school development
• Opportunity to join a growing organisation at the right time

This is a senior role supporting pupils with ACEs, complex SEMH needs, and associated SEND, combining strategic oversight with hands-on operational leadership. You will play a pivotal role in establishing a safe, therapeutic and high-performing learning environment for pupils, ensuring the school launches with excellence, clarity of purpose, and a strong culture from day one. The organisation operates a relationships-first approach, moving away from traditional behaviour management and focusing on building consistent, positive relationships that enable pupils to thrive. It is a demanding position, but one where the impact is clear and the reward - both professionally and personally - is significant.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the successful opening and establishment of a brand-new specialist school, providing strategic and operational leadership to ensure the school is fully prepared for inspection, pupil intake and long-term success.
• Oversee all aspects of school operations, including safeguarding, compliance with Independent School Standards (ISS), admissions, placements, staffing, budgets and resource planning, ensuring the highest standards of education, care and governance.
• Drive exceptional outcomes for pupils by creating safe, structured and therapeutic learning environments, championing high attendance, positive behaviour, and a culture where every pupil can thrive.
• Recruit, develop and inspire a high-performing team, providing visible leadership, effective performance management and professional development while fostering a positive, values-led culture.
• Build strong partnerships with families, local authorities, placing partners and other stakeholders, maintaining excellent communication and strengthening the school's reputation for delivering outstanding specialist education.
• Lead inspection readiness and continuous school improvement, ensuring the school remains compliant, quality-assured and prepared for both announced and unannounced inspections.
• Lead safeguarding practice, likely acting as Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) during the initial phase of growth.
• Work collaboratively with the Executive Leadership Team and People.