Associate Assistant Headteacher: Behaviour, Attendance and Culture; DDSL

Associate Assistant Headteacher:
Behaviour, Attendance and Culture (DDSL)

Job . ECC
Position Type:
Assistant Headteacher
Pay Range: LD 5-8

Position

Start Date:

01/09/2026
Contract Type:
Full-time
Contract Term:
Permanent

Application Close: 09/07/2026
Midday Date of Interviews: 14/07/2026
Shortlisting Starts: 10/07/2026

North East Essex Co‑operative Academy welcomes an aspiring leader to support pupils most in need. The Associate Assistant Headteacher will play a pivotal role in guiding the behaviour, attendance and cultural framework of our Alternative Provision – Pupil Referral Unit.

• Strategic Vision:
  Proven ability to contribute to the whole‑school improvement plan and lead initiatives that raise standards for marginalised learners.
• Staff Development:
  Experience in mentoring, coaching and holding staff accountable while fostering a supportive professional environment.
• Resilience:
  The staying power to lead through challenges, maintaining a calm and purposeful atmosphere in a high‑pressure setting.

• Curriculum Innovation:
  Knowledge of how to adapt the curriculum to meet the diverse needs of PRU pupils, ensuring it is both ambitious and accessible.
• Pedagogical Expertise:
  Experience delivering high‑quality adaptive teaching, with the ability to model best practices for engaging pupils with complex learning barriers.
• Assessment & Progress:
  Competency in using data to track progress beyond academics, focusing on holistic growth and successful moving‑on plans to other educational settings.

• Trauma‑Perceptive Practice:
  Deep understanding of how SEMH needs manifest as ‘challenging’ behaviour and the ability to implement restorative, non‑punitive strategies and provisions.
• EBSA Support:
  Experience developing reintegration plans for pupils struggling with school attendance due to anxiety or emotional distress.
• De‑escalation:
  Highly skilled in de‑escalation and in leading others to maintain a safe, regulated school environment via implementation of the trust policy.

• Holistic Growth:
  Commitment to a whole‑child approach, ensuring pupils develop the life skills, emotional literacy and self‑regulation needed for life beyond our setting.
• Safeguarding:
  Unwavering commitment to safeguarding, with a comprehensive understanding of the specific vulnerabilities faced by pupils in alternative provision.
• Multi‑Agency
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Experience working with external partners (e.g. mainstream schools, Social Care, SEND Operations, CAMHS, Local Authorities) to facilitate pupils’ successful return to mainstream settings or other specialised provisions.

We offer a supportive and collaborative trust and school leadership team, extensive professional development focused on SEND and alternative provision leadership, and the opportunity to innovate and shape the future of our pastoral and academic offer.

Leadership 5 £ 57,137 – Leadership 8 £ 61,534. Pay award pending September 2026.

Keys Co‑Operative Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. The Trust complies with statutory legislative requirements and guidance that seeks to protect children including ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education Guidance’. In order to meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants. This includes the disclosure of criminal records, online checks and other vetting documents.

We ensure that we have a range of policies in place which promote safeguarding and safer working practice across our schools. Keys Co‑Operative Academy recognises the value of, and seeks to achieve, a diverse workforce which includes people from all backgrounds. We take positive steps to create an employment culture in which people feel confident of being treated with fairness, dignity and tolerance irrespective of their individual differences.

This commitment extends beyond the relationship between employees and potential employees, to the whole community. Keys Co‑Operative Academy Trust is committed to the elimination of unlawful discrimination and to the promotion of good relations.