Shape the Future of Inclusion Across Astrea Secondary Schools

Are you ready to lead inclusion with intellectual rigour, moral purpose, and unwavering ambition for every child?

Astrea Academy Trust is seeking an exceptional Head of Inclusion (Secondary) to lead a bold, evidence-informed inclusion strategy across our secondary schools nationally. This is a rare opportunity to influence inclusion at scale and ensure that our most vulnerable students receive the same academic excellence and high expectations as every other child.

About the Role

This is more than a strategic inclusion role, it is a chance to reshape how inclusion is understood, designed and delivered across a national trust.

Reporting to the Director of Curriculum & Assessment (Secondary), you will lead the development of an inclusion strategy rooted in the belief that high-quality teaching is the first and most powerful intervention. You will champion an inclusion by design approach that strengthens the mainstream teaching offer while ensuring expert, evidence-informed support for those who need it most.

You will be a credible, values-led senior leader with deep expertise in SEND and inclusion, able to influence leaders, inspire teachers, and challenge traditional deficit-based models. You will hold an unshakeable belief that teaching pupils with SEND is a high‑status, high‑skill responsibility and lead others to believe it too.

This role is central to Astrea’s ambition that all schools perform in the top 5% nationally, ensuring equity of experience, opportunity and outcomes for every student.

What We Offer

• Close partnership with the Director of Curriculum & Assessment (Secondary)
• Collaboration with the wider Astrea Education team and Inclusion specialists
• The opportunity to shape trust-wide strategy and practice
• A values-driven culture built on inclusion, scholarship and aspiration
• The chance to make a tangible, lasting impact on outcomes for vulnerable learners

This is a national role, with travel across the trust and occasional overnight stays.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of Astrea's Secondary Inclusion Strategy
• Champion high quality teaching as the foundation of inclusive practice
• Support schools to  implement exceptional, knowledge-rich curricula for vulnerable learners
• Lead early identification strategies and the use of evidence-informed interventions
• Strengthen, capture and share professional knowledge across inclusion specialists
• Provide expert guidance and challenge to school and trust leaders
• Develop inclusion leadership capacity across secondary academies
• Build and sustain strong relationships with external agencies and stakeholders
• Support schools to meet academic, attendance and inclusion performance targets

Why Join Astrea?

Astrea Academy Trust believes that what works best for SEND and disadvantaged pupils works best for all pupils. We are relentless in our focus on powerful knowledge, clear routines, expert teaching and warm‑strict cultures.

As Head of Inclusion (Secondary), you will be at the heart of this mission, shaping strategy, challenging assumptions, and ensuring that no child’s potential is limited by labels or lowered expectations.

Interested in Applying?

If you are driven by moral purpose, inspired by evidence, and ready to lead inclusion at scale, we would love to hear from you.

To arrange a confidential conversation, please contact the Astrea recruitment team:

• Stephen Casey or Sarah Fedun via recruitment@astreaacademytrust.org

Commitment to Safeguarding and EDI

Astrea Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All roles are subject to enhanced DBS checks and satisfactory references.

We warmly welcome applications from all backgrounds and are proud to be a Disability Confident employer, committed to removing barriers and supporting the progression of disabled staff.