Mount Havelock is part of the First Steps Together Group, and is our newest specialist school, located in Milnsbridge, Huddersfield, opening in January 2027.
Providing education for young people across Key Stages 3 and 4, Mount Havelock will offer a nurturing, inclusive and aspirational environment where pupils are supported to feel safe, understood and able to succeed. Joining Mount Havelock is an exciting opportunity to be part of a brand-new school from the beginning – helping to shape its culture, establish its team and create an exceptional learning environment for our young people.
For every journey, let’s take first steps together.
At First Steps Together, we believe every child and young person deserves to feel safe, understood, included and able to succeed.
We are a growing group of specialist independent schools providing nurturing, inclusive and aspirational education for children and young people with a range of additional needs, including SEND, SEMH and complex presentations. Across our schools, strong relationships, individualised support and high expectations are central to helping pupils overcome barriers to learning, develop confidence and independence and achieve positive outcomes.
We are looking for an experienced, passionate and committed Secondary English Teacher to join our school team and provide high-quality, personalised English teaching for pupils with SEND.
This is an opportunity for a teacher who is passionate about their subject but equally passionate about finding different ways for young people to succeed. You’ll deliver engaging and accessible English learning, adapting your teaching to pupils’ individual starting points, needs and EHCP outcomes while maintaining high expectations for what every pupil can achieve.
Working closely with teaching assistants and the wider school team, you’ll help pupils develop their literacy, communication and English knowledge and skills, supporting them towards appropriate qualifications and accredited learning pathways while building the confidence and independence they need for life beyond school. This reflects the wider secondary teaching remit within the JDPS, which combines personalised teaching, accredited pathways and development of communication and independence.
What you’ll be doing
You’ll take responsibility for planning and delivering high-quality English teaching for secondary-aged pupils with a range of SEND, SEMH and additional needs.
You’ll teach pupils individually, in small groups and in classes, adapting the curriculum, teaching approaches, resources, environment and pace of learning so that pupils with different needs and starting points can engage meaningfully and make progress.
At the heart of the role will be developing pupils’ confidence and capability in reading, writing, speaking and communication. You’ll make English purposeful and relevant, helping pupils see how literacy supports their learning, independence, relationships, future employment and everyday life.
You’ll deliver appropriate secondary English pathways, including accredited learning where appropriate, ensuring pupils are supported towards qualifications and outcomes that are ambitious but realistic for their individual needs and starting points.
You’ll create lessons that engage pupils who may have experienced significant barriers to education. That means being creative and responsive – using pupils’ interests, practical learning, structured routines, visual approaches and appropriate technology to make English accessible without lowering expectations.
You’ll develop and implement personalised learning plans and contribute to EHCP outcomes, ensuring targets are meaningful, measurable and reflected in everyday classroom practice. You’ll use assessment effectively to understand pupils’ starting points, identify gaps in knowledge and skills, monitor progress and plan appropriate next steps.
You’ll maintain accurate records of learning, achievement, behaviour and progress and contribute high-quality evidence to Annual Reviews and wider EHCP processes.
Creating the right environment for learning will be equally important. You’ll establish a calm, structured and predictable classroom where pupils feel safe, expectations are clear and positive relationships provide the foundation for learning.
You’ll understand that behaviour can communicate an unmet need and use positive, proactive and relationship-based approaches to support regulation and engagement. You’ll follow individual behaviour support plans, use co-regulation and de‑scalation strategies appropriately and adapt your practice when pupils need additional support.
You won’t do this alone. You’ll lead and deploy teaching assistants effectively within your classroom, ensuring everyone understands the intended learning, individual pupil needs and the strategies required to provide consistent support.
You’ll also work closely with families, therapists and other specialist professionals, including Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy where appropriate, embedding agreed strategies within teaching and contributing to joined‑up support around individual pupils.
Beyond your own classroom, you’ll contribute to the wider development of English and literacy across the school, sharing effective resources and approaches and helping create a culture in which communication, reading and literacy are recognised as fundamental to pupils’ learning and future independence.
Above all, you’ll be a teacher who believes that pupils’ additional needs should shape how we teach them, not limit our ambition for what they can achieve.
Bring your difference
We’re looking for a skilled teacher with strong subject knowledge in English and the ability to translate that knowledge into engaging, accessible learning for pupils with a wide range of needs.
You’ll hold Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a recognised degree, alongside evidence of continued professional development relevant to teaching and SEND practice.
You’ll understand how to plan, sequence and adapt learning so pupils can build knowledge and skills over time. You’ll be confident assessing what pupils know, identifying gaps and misconceptions and using that information to shape teaching and demonstrate meaningful progress.
You’ll understand that progress within a specialist school will look different for different pupils. For some, this may mean achieving formal English qualifications; for others, progress may focus on functional literacy, communication, engagement or greater independence. You’ll be able to maintain ambition while ensuring learning remains personalised and achievable.
Experience of adapting teaching for pupils with SEND is important. You’ll understand personalised and highly differentiated teaching and be able to adjust resources, communication, classroom structure and teaching approaches in response to individual needs.
You’ll also understand the importance of emotional regulation and positive relationships in enabling pupils to learn. You’ll bring a calm, consistent and nurturing approach, with the confidence to maintain clear expectations and respond effectively when pupils find situations challenging.
You’ll be able to work collaboratively with teaching assistants, families and external professionals and communicate clearly through planning, assessment information, reports and contributions to EHCP and Annual Review processes.
Experience teaching English within a specialist school, SEND setting or alternative provision would be particularly valuable, as would experience delivering GCSE, Functional Skills, Entry Level or other appropriate accredited English pathways.
Training or experience in trauma‑informed practice, SEMH, behaviour and regulation, autism, communication approaches or other areas of specialist SEND practice would also be beneficial.
Most importantly, you’ll bring creativity, resilience and high expectations. You’ll be prepared to find another way when a conventional approach doesn’t work and remain ambitious for pupils who may previously have found education difficult.
Why First Steps Together?
This is an opportunity to teach your subject in a setting where you can make a significant difference to individual pupils.
Smaller groups and personalised provision mean you’ll have the opportunity to understand your pupils properly – their strengths, barriers, interests and aspirations – and use that knowledge to create English learning that is meaningful, engaging and appropriately challenging.
You’ll have the opportunity to help pupils rediscover confidence in English, develop essential literacy and communication skills and work towards qualifications and outcomes that can make a genuine difference to their next steps.
You’ll work alongside teaching assistants, school leaders and specialist professionals, developing your knowledge across SEND, SEMH, safeguarding, behaviour, communication and inclusive teaching practice.
You’ll also join a growing specialist education organisation where professional development and continuous improvement are actively encouraged, with opportunities to develop your practice and progress your career.
If you’re an English teacher who believes strong subject teaching and highly personalised SEND practice can go hand in hand, we’d love to hear from you.
Bring your difference. Take your next step with First Steps Together.
Safeguarding
First Steps Together is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Appointment to this role will be subject to appropriate safer recruitment and pre‑employment checks, including an Enhanced DBS, satisfactory references, online checks and overseas police checks where required.
Get in Touch
If you would like to arrange an informal discussion about the role with a member of the School Leadership Team or our People Services Team, please contact us by emailing recruitment@fstmanagement.uk.
We reserve the right to close applications early should we receive a sufficient number of suitable applications which meet the essential criteria.
We will not accept CVs in place of a completed application form.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
