Designated Safeguarding Lead

Witherslack Group Ltd.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Training and induction

School holidays

Flexible benefits incl. life insurance

Wellbeing tools and advice

Medical cover

Pension matched up to 5%

Refer a friend £1,000 bonus

Job summary

Witherslack Group's LavenderLodge School in Mitcham (South London) seeks a Designated Safeguarding Lead to oversee safeguarding across the school, liaising with statutory and non-statutory agencies, parents and staff to ensure wellbeing and child protection.

Join the leadership team, work across locations, and help deliver a bespoke, autism-informed curriculum for pupils aged 4 to 11, with a supportive environment and access to training, pension and benefits.

Qualifications

• Must have worked with autistic pupils.
• 70%+ pupils non-verbal; familiarity with Makaton, PECs, PODD.
• Experience with challenging behaviour and understanding behaviour function.
• Able to teach pupils aged 4–11 with flexibility.
• Awareness of TEACCH, attention autism, PODD in practice.
• Full UK driving licence.

Responsibilities

• Lead safeguarding within the school and liaise with agencies and families.
• Work with the Head Teacher and leadership team to support wellbeing.
• Provide expert safeguarding advice to staff and maintain policies.
• Ensure safeguarding procedures are applied and records kept.

Skills

Autism experience

Non-verbal communication

Behaviour analysis

Creative teaching

TEACCH

PODD

Makaton

Tools

UK driving licence

Job description

Please note that applications for this role will close on 14th of October, with shortlisting on 15th of October, and interviews scheduled for 22nd of October - If you do not have this information please do not proceed.

Important: You must provide your full employment history, both paid and unpaid, from the age of 16 onwards as part of your application, including roles that may not be relevant to the position.

Those Huge Small Victories

For children with complex, challenging needs, the level of care and education must go above and beyond and that’s what drives us here at Witherslack Group. With our high staff-to-child ratio and in-house clinical teams, we’re proud to have won a reputation for excellence. Our aspirational homes, schools and ethos help us achieve the best possible outcomes. In short, we’re enhancing life opportunities. Our Designated Safeguarding Leads are a huge part of making sure our children and young people’s needs are fully recognised and comprehensively met.

Get out what you put in

You will work as part of the leadership team and report directly to the Head Teacher for this crucial role. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other members of the Witherslack Group team in different locations to enable you to progress and develop your skills and knowledge.

As a Designated Safeguarding Lead you will take responsibility for safeguarding within the school, this means that on a daily basis you will be liaising with statutory and non‑statutory agencies, parents/carers and staff on matters of wellbeing , child protection and safeguarding and will be a great source of support, advice and expertise in the team.

One of the best environments in SEND

LavenderLodge school resides within an 18th Century building in the heart of Mitcham. Our pupils come from many different boroughs to attend our school and are lucky to experience ‘a life changing love of learning.’ We are proud of our pupils and our dedicated team and pupils leave us with a sense of achievement. Having joined the Witherslack Group family in 2022, Lavender Lodge School is an independent specialist day school providing high-quality education, based in South London. The school meets the needs of pupils with a primary diagnosis of autism and additional needs such as ADHD, speech and language difficulties, sensory issues and associated behavioural difficulties. We were recently recognised as Good by Ofsted.

Skill set requirements –

Must have worked with pupils who are autistic and have previous experience of this

Needs to be able to communicate in a variety of ways as 70% of our pupils are non‑verbal e.g. can use Makaton, picture display symbols – we use PEC’s and PODD, have experience working with non -verbal pupils

Have worked with pupils who display challenging behaviour but would have the will and desire to support pupils to manage their behaviour and also for you to work to understand the function of the behaviour

Be flexible to work with pupils from 4 through to 11 years old

Be able to think outside the box in regards to delivering lessons. We have lots of tools to help support this, but our pupils need a bespoke and accessible curriculum

Have an awareness of autism strategies such as TEACCH, attention autism and use of PODD and be able to use these in practise

What we do for you

We know you’re going to do great things. For your hard work and commitment, we reward you with the best salary and benefits package in the education sector. With us, you’ll get to bring learning to life and make a genuine difference to the lives of our young people – plus you’ll get:

• Training: A full induction and on the job training
• Holiday: You’ll work hard at WG, so you’ll be rewarded with full school holidays
• Flexible benefits: meaning you can increase/decrease benefits such as life insurance – check out our benefits here
• Wellbeing: a host of wellbeing tools and advice including employee assistance
• Medical cover so you can claim back the cost of things like an opticians or dentist appointment and a host of high-street
  discounts
• Beautiful working environments with the very best facilities – check out our schools here
• A recommend a friend scheme that offers a £1,000 bonus every time
• Contributory pension scheme – matched up to 5%

Bring your whole-self to work

Our young people and their families come from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds and with different needs – and our workforce reflects that diversity, so that our teams can engage, encourage and inspire our young people to be themselves. As well as having at least 3 years’ experience in a Designated Safeguarding Lead role, we will also look for:

• Comprehensive
  portfolio of CPD related to Safeguarding and Child Protection.
• Outstanding interpersonal and problem resolution skills.
• A genuinely empathetic approach is also essential
• Full UK driving licence

Interested in joining us?

At Witherslack Group, inclusion is part of who we are. We’re committed to creating an environment where everyone feels respected, valued and that they truly belong.

As a specialist provider of education and care for children and young people with special educational needs, we understand the importance of embracing individuality and championing difference- especially when it comes to neurodiversity. We celebrate diverse perspectives, lived experiences, and the unique strengths that each person brings to our community.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities. We are proud to be recognised as an inclusive employer and are committed to making our recruitment and workplace practices inclusive and accessible. If you need any adjustments to support you through the recruitment process or in the workplace, we’ll be there every step of the way.

By building a diverse and inclusive team, we’re better able to support the children, young people and families we serve and ensure every member of our team can thrive, grow, and be their authentic self.

The Witherslack Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its young people. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check (we will cover the cost) and an online search. We are an equal opportunities employer welcoming applications from all sections of the community.

For a full job description and person specification, please click here

To view our ex-offenders policy please click here .

To view our Child Protection Policy, please visit the 'Parents and Carers' section of this School/Learning centre. You can find all our Schools here .

Special Education / Careers in Care / Careers in Special Education / Working with Children / SEMH / SEN / ASD