Headteacher Mountjoy School

About the role

Following the announced retirement of our current inspirational Headteacher, the Governing Body of Mountjoy School in Beaminster, close to the beautiful Jurassic Coast in West Dorset, will shortly be advertising for an inspiring, visionary, and compassionate new leader to take up the post from 1st January 2027
.

Supported by a dedicated staff team, a skilled and supportive governing body, excellent community links, local partnerships and strong relationships with families, our school offers an excellent opportunity for an experienced leader to build on strong foundations and guide us into the next stage of our journey.

Guided by our ethos of “making a difference today for tomorrow,” we are proud to be Mountjoy School, where we have created a nurturing, ambitious, and inclusive environment where every learner can thrive. As a close-knit community special school catering for up to 110 pupils aged 4 to 19, we support a range of complex learning needs, including Severe and Complex Learning Difficulties (SLD/PMLD) and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Operating from our state-of-the-art facilities—including a sensory studio, media hub, and hydrotherapy pool—and rated ’Good’ in all areas by Ofsted
, this Group 6 position offers an exceptional opportunity for an experienced leader to build on our strong foundations of lived inclusion.

We have undergone an unprecedented period of growth in the last 5 years, partly due to the enormous demand for special school places in Dorset and the popularity of Mountjoy with parents and carers.
With an exciting ’new build’ on the horizon, this is a rare chance to really make a difference and drive long-term strategic success.

• A visionary leader with a proven track record of inspiring staff, pupils, and families within a specialist SEND environment (Minimum Special School Leadership
  
  Experience:
  
  2 years).
• An individual who champions absolute inclusion, child-centred education, and high developmental and academic standards.
• A leader deeply committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children with complex needs.

We welcome and encourage visits to the school. These have been arranged for Tuesday 8th September 10-11.30amd and Thursday 10th September 1.00 to 2.30pm.

Final date to receive applications: 14th September 2026 (11.59pm)

Shortlisting date: 15th September 2026

Interview dates Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd September 2026

Mountjoy school values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

Our school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people; this is a commitment which we expect all staff and volunteers to share. The successful candidate will be required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service check in line with the Governments safer recruitment guidelines.

This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be established as part of the appointment process.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account.

The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

Our school will conduct online searches…