SENCO

Job Description

Working With UsHarris Academy Orpington opened in September 2016, joining the highly successful Federation of Harris academies in London and the senior leaders here are experienced in creating and running great schools and that is what we are doing in BR5. We are a communityschool that serves families in and around Orpington and we are well on our way towards providing an outstanding education for the students who come here. We want out students to succeed and have choices in their lives; to take control of their futures andachieve beyond their dreams. We are ambitious, tenacious and enterprising and committed to helping our students succeed. Our work as a Health Science Specialist school, with students being given access to recognised professional qualifications, work experience and careers is unique and is designed tohelp and support the whole community who are regularly invited into the Academy to hear from guest speakers.We have the most incredible facilities; with brand new science labs, 3 Main Halls, Dance Studios, 3 Astro Turfs, Drama Studios, dedicated Art and DT blocks, we are incredibly proud of the work that our students do here. We have developed a curriculum thatis ambitious and broad. We believe in the need to nurture an appreciation of human creativity and achievement and have designed a curriculum that does just that.We aim to ensure that every student is inspired and supported to achieve his/her personal best and learning comes first. Our motto is “Together We Can” and if you are interested in joining us, we would be very keen to meet you. Main Areas of ResponsibilityThe purpose of your role will be:

• To ensure that Academy practice is compliant with the SEND Code of Practice (2014) and other relevant statutory requirements
• To work with the Academy Leadership team ensuring an ethos of Inclusion within the Academy and a culture of high aspirations for students with SEND
• To work with the Academy Leadership team ensuring the implementation of the Academy SEND Policy
• To ensure that the provision of SEND support is in accordance with the aims of the Academy and curricular policies
• To be responsible for maintaining an accurate and up-to-date Academy SEND Profile
• To be responsible for the accurate identification of SEND need across the Academy, ensuring a rigorous and thorough assessment process
• To be a role model with regard to Quality First Teaching and differentiation within your own teaching practice
• To be responsible for the embedding of Quality First Teaching across the Academy
• To be responsible for the Academy SEND Offer, ensuring high quality targeted interventions enabling students with SEND to make better progress
• In consultation with the Academy Leadership Team, to provide a programme of professional development with regard to SEND, that ensures all staff have the knowledge, skills and understanding to plan teaching and learning effectively and enable students withSEND to make expected progress
• To be responsible for tracking the progress of students with SEND, using a wide range of Academy data relating to progress, attainment, referrals, exclusions, detentions and attendance to identify barriers to learning
• To deploy staff and resources according to the needs of SEND students
• To write a termly report to the Governing body on progress and developments

What We are Looking ForWe would like to hear from you if you have:

• QTS (or equivalent) and a good undergraduate degree
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development relevant to the SENCO role or willingness to undertake this training.
• Knowledge and understanding of national priorities, current curriculum development and an ability to design and implement an innovate curriculum based on students’ needs
• A thorough understanding of quality assurance techniques
• An appreciation of student motivation
• An understanding of how professional development contributes to the raising of quality
• SEN experience in a secondary school
• Evidence of successful teaching experience
• Evidence of pastoral experience
• Experience of working with key stakeholders such as parents, governors, employers etc

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack. Applying for this PositionOur people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide rangeof top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan,electric car scheme, 26 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) for staff who work across the full year, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.