Federation of Cherry Oak School, Victoria School and Victoria College
Based at:
Victoria School
Bell Hill
Northfield
Birmingham
B31 1LD

Telephone number: 0121 476 9478

Email: recruitment@victoria.bham.sch.uk

Required for January 2025, full time

The Federation comprises two special schools and one 19-25 specialist College in Birmingham. The schools are LA maintained, whilst the College is an Independent Specialist Provider, with its own Board of Trustees. The College is in a soft Federation with the two schools.

Victoria School
Victoria School is an all age 2-19 special school based in Northfield; supporting pupils with cognition and learning needs, profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), physical disabilities and complex medical health and learning needs. We cater for 228 pupils and are extremely proud of our provision and whole school community.

Victoria College
Victoria College is based on the same site in Northfield. We support young people with PMLD and complex medical and health needs. The college opened in 2013 and we have 31 learners on roll.

Cherry Oak School
Cherry Oak is a Primary Special School for children aged 4-11 years and is based in Selly Oak. There are currently 112 pupils on roll. Our pupils have Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties and/or Cognition and Learning Difficulties. Approximately half of our pupils are diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum.

The Federation’s vision is to ‘inspire and empower students through collaborative working and to promote their holistic development.” Our values statement is “We R.I.S.E Together – Respect, Inspire, Support, Empower”.

The Board of Governors is seeking to appoint an inspirational Assistant Headteacher to join our committed staff team and to work in collaboration with the Executive Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team.

We are rightly proud of our Federation and each setting. We’re looking for the right person to lead a vibrant, highly committed and caring community where children are at the very heart of all that we do. Our recent Ofsted inspection (June 2024) found that:
“Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. Pupils rise to these expectations and achieve well.”
“Relationships between staff and pupils are highly positive. Pupils’ individual needs, such as behavioural, communication, physical and sensory needs, are supported exceptionally well.”
“The school has designed a highly ambitious curriculum for all pupils. At the heart of this curriculum, is a focus on supporting pupils’ communication, independence and physical needs.”
“Behaviour and attitudes to learning are exemplary. Staff know the needs of individual pupils and learning environments are purposefully designed to support pupils’ behaviour and sensory needs.”

Our students have told us the following:
“I've been here for a long time and the school has helped me be more independent, help others and develop my confidence.”
“The staff are very friendly and help you an awful lot to learn. I would recommend it for anyone with special needs.”
“We help each other to get a better education through lots of different activities.”

The successful candidate will:

• communicate the shared vision, ethos and strategic plan for Victoria School that inspires and motivates all stakeholders
• play a leading role in school improvement and self-evaluation
• promote a culture of inclusion within the school where all views are valued and taken into account
• be an excellent role model, exemplifying a high standard of teaching and learning and promoting high expectations for all students and staff
• support the process for monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning throughout the school
• build a collaborative learning culture within the Federation and beyond to establish effective learning communities and partnerships
• undertake a 0.4 (2 day) teaching commitment, as relevant to the role and directed by the Head of School

Our school offers:

• an opportunity to work with our fantastic pupils and staff team!
• a happy and caring community that always puts our pupils first
• a highly motivated staff team who are committed to getting the very best outcomes for our pupils
• excellent opportunities to further develop your leadership skills and career pathway
• a commitment to continuing professional development
• a strong and supportive Governing Body
• a culture of promoting positive mental health and wellbeing through a well-planned strategy

You are actively encouraged to visit the school for a tour and to contact us to discuss the role prior to submitting your application.

How to apply: 

If you wish to discover more details about this exciting opportunity, please request an information pack and application form by emailing  recruitment@victoria.bham.sch.uk or alternatively, download from the Victoria school website.

Interviews: Wednesday 16 October 2024.

This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be subject to necessary pre-employment checks, including: an enhanced DBS; Prohibition check (where applicable) Childcare Disqualification (where applicable); qualifications (where applicable); medical fitness; identity and right to work.  All applicants will be required to provide two suitable references. An online search will also be carried out on all shortlisted candidates.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. Which means 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. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

BCC is a Living Wage employer.