School Improvement Advisor; Special and Primary Schools

Aylesbury

We are seeking an experienced and highly effective education leader to join our team as School Improvement Advisor (Special and Primary Schools) on an 18-month fixed-term contract.

The postholder will play a key role in delivering Buckinghamshire's Side by Side School Improvement Strategy, working closely with special schools and primary schools to raise standards, strengthen leadership, improve governance and secure positive outcomes for children and young people.

As part of Buckinghamshire Council's School Improvement Team, you will provide highly specialist professional support, challenge and advice to school leaders, governors and trustees. You will help schools evaluate performance, identify priorities for improvement and access the support required to achieve sustainable improvement, with a particular focus on pupils with SEND and those attending specialist educational provision.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced school leader with strong SEND expertise who is passionate about educational excellence and committed to ensuring that every child receives the highest quality education and support.

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.

As a School Improvement Advisor (Special and Primary Schools), you will work directly with special schools and primary schools across Buckinghamshire, providing expert support, challenge and guidance to school leaders, governors and trusts.

You will undertake school improvement visits, analyse performance information, support school self-evaluation and help schools develop effective improvement plans. You will also broker support where required, drawing upon system leadership capacity and wider educational partnerships to secure improvement.

• Supporting and challenging school leaders, governing bodies and trustees to improve outcomes for pupils, particularly those with SEND.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of leadership, governance and school improvement strategies in special schools and primary schools.
• Undertaking risk assessment of schools and identifying priorities for improvement and support.
• Planning and undertaking school visits in line with the Side by Side Strategy.
• school-to-school support and leadership deployments.
• Supporting schools preparing for, or undergoing, Ofsted inspection.
• Delivering traded school improvement services, including reviews, audits, training, conferences, workshops and Headteacher Performance Management.
• Supporting mainstream schools to strengthen SEND provision and improve outcomes for pupils with additional needs.
• Leading and contributing to county-wide initiatives that improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
• Promoting and sharing effective practice across Buckinghamshire schools.
• Supporting schools in areas including safeguarding, equalities, PREVENT and academisation.
• Supporting governing bodies with Headteacher recruitment and responding to complex issues and complaints where required.

This role offers the opportunity to make a significant contribution to educational improvement across Buckinghamshire, particularly in strengthening provision and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Please see the attached job description for the full list of responsibilities.

As an 'any-desk' worker, you'll need a desk, screen a keyboard to get your job done. You'll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

• Successful leadership experience within a special school, primary school or specialist SEND setting.
• A proven track record of improving outcomes for children and young people, including pupils with SEND.
• Strong knowledge of SEND practice, inclusion and specialist provision.
• Excellent knowledge of current educational policy, accountability frameworks and inspection requirements.
• Authority and credibility to work effectively with Headteachers, governors, trustees and wider education…