SEND Specialist Teacher in Horsforth

What skills and experience we're looking for:

• An excellent teacher with a strong understanding of SEND and inclusive practice.
• High expectations for pupils with additional needs and believes every child can make meaningful progress.
• Ability to deliver carefully planned, adaptive teaching and targeted intervention.
• Understanding of how to support pupils with communication and interaction, SEMH, cognition and learning, and regulation needs.
• Capability to help children communicate, regulate, reconnect with learning and develop independence.
• Effective collaboration with class teachers to support pupils’ successful access to mainstream classroom life.
• Guidance and support for teaching assistants.
• Sensitive and professional communication with families, colleagues and external professionals.
• Reflective, resilient, organised and committed to evidence-informed practice.
• Brings warmth, ambition and genuine commitment to helping children thrive.

What the school offers its staff:

• A warm, inclusive and welcoming school community.
• Wonderful children who deserve skilled, thoughtful and ambitious provision.
• A clear vision rooted in helping every child belong, believe and become.
• The opportunity to play a central role in developing new specialist provision pathways.
• Support from the SENDCo, senior leaders and external SEND specialists.
• Excellent opportunities for professional development.
• Extensive school grounds, including a forest area, to support outdoor learning and wider provision.
• Supportive colleagues who care deeply about inclusion and doing the job well.
• Access to the School Advisory Service, including GP, counselling and physiotherapy services.
• Access to the Vivup employee benefit package.
• Staff wellbeing and social opportunities.

Further details about the role:

This is a significant opportunity to join Horsforth Newlaithes Primary School at an exciting stage in our development. Inclusion is at the heart of our vision for Newlaithes. We believe every child should belong, believe and become: to feel known, valued and included; to believe in themselves and their future; and to become the very best version of themselves. We also recognise that, for some children, inclusion requires more than adaptive teaching alone. From September 2026, we are developing specialist provision pathways for children who need carefully planned, personalised and purposeful support to access learning successfully, develop independence and thrive as part of our school community. The Specialist SEND Teacher will play a key role in leading and delivering this provision. Working closely with the SENDCo, senior leaders, class teachers, support staff, families and external professionals, the successful candidate will provide skilled teaching and specialist support for children with a range of needs, including communication and interaction, SEMH, cognition and learning, and regulation. This role will involve teaching children through carefully planned provision, supporting pupils to access mainstream classroom life wherever appropriate, and helping to develop inclusive practice across the school. The postholder will also provide day-to-day guidance, deployment and support for teaching assistants working within the provision, in liaison with the SENDCo and senior leaders. Our school has extensive grounds, including a large forest area, and we are keen for our specialist pathways to make purposeful use of outdoor learning, Forest School and the wider school environment. We want provision that supports children’s regulation, communication, confidence, independence and curriculum access, while remaining firmly connected to the life of the whole school.

Qualifications:

• High expectations for pupils with additional needs.
• Understanding that specialist provision should be ambitious, nurturing and purposeful.
• Ability to deliver adaptive teaching and targeted intervention.
• Capability to support pupils with communication and interaction, SEMH, cognition and learning, and regulation needs.
• Ability to help children communicate, regulate, reconnect with learning and develop independence.
• Effective collaboration with class teachers to support successful access to mainstream classroom life.
• Guidance, support and deployment of teaching assistants effectively.
• Sensitive and professional communication with families, colleagues and external professionals.
• Reflective, resilient, organised and committed to evidence-informed practice.
• Brings warmth, ambition and genuine commitment to helping children thrive.

Commitment to safeguarding:

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All appointments are made in accordance with safer recruitment practices and statutory guidance, including KCSIE. The successful candidate will be subject to satisfactory references, an enhanced DBS check, checks regarding suitability to work with children, verification of qualifications, right to work checks, and any other relevant pre-employment checks. Online searches may be carried out on shortlisted candidates as part of our checks. Any matters arising from these checks may be discussed with candidates as part of the recruitment process.