Head of Inclusive Learning

Ashford College; Ashford; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous Annual Leave

Pension scheme with employer contrib.

Learning & Development opportunities

Culture and recognition programs

Wellbeing and health support

Exclusive discounts & perks

Flexible personal leave

Job summary

Ashford College is seeking a proactive Head of Inclusive Learning to develop and lead an inclusive learning service, promoting independence for learners with additional needs. You will manage day-to-day provision, ensure alignment with curriculum, and drive learner success and progression across EKC Ashford College.

You will provide strategic and operational leadership for inclusive learning, safeguarding, mentoring, careers guidance and student experience services, collaborating with senior

Qualifications

• Background in education with experience supporting students with additional needs.
• A good understanding of Educational and Health Care Plan management is essential.
• A teaching qualification is desirable and leadership experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for inclusive learning and student support.
• Lead safeguarding, progression mentoring, careers guidance and student experience services.
• Collaborate with senior leaders, curriculum teams, external agencies and local schools to champion inclusion.

Education

Experience in education & supporting students with additional needs

Understanding of EHC or Education, Health and Care Plan management

Leadership/line-management experience

Job description

About The Role

Lead the Support Empowering Every Student to Succeed

As the Head of Inclusive Learning at EKC Ashford College, you will be involved in developing an inclusive learning support service which promotes independence for learners with additional needs, taking responsibility for the day‑to‑day management of the provision, and ensures that the support is integral to the curriculum offer and that it contributes to success and progression of learner.

You will provide strategic and operational leadership for inclusive learning, student support, safeguarding, progression mentoring, careers guidance and student experience services.

Working closely with senior leaders, curriculum teams, external agencies and local schools, you will champion inclusion and drive excellence across all aspects of learner support.

Alongside our priority of excellent student experience, we also focus on our employees. Here are just some of our benefits when working for the East Kent Colleges Group:

• Generous Annual Leave-38 days FTE per annum
• Competitive Pension Scheme- 28% employer contribution
• Learning and Development Opportunities- 3-4 annual paid group development days and bespoke programmes e.g. Senior Leadership Development Programme and strong internal progression-1 in 3 roles are filled internally
• Culture and Recognition- Being part of Community Days, an Annual Staff Celebration Day, and an eco‑friendly organisation dedicated to reaching net‑zero by 2030
• Wellbeing and Health Support- Generous sick pay, health checks, free flu jabs, free eye tests, glasses vouchers, flexible support for medical appointments and return‑to‑work support
• Exclusive Discounts & Perks- Inc. restaurant, grocery, retail and holidays discounts as well as car leasing and tech purchasing schemes
• Flexible Personal Leave- Time off for your child's first day at nursery or school, moving homes and for interviews

About You

We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and innovative Head of Inclusive Learning to support in providing a diverse range of students with a variety of special educational needs.

You should have a background in education and specifically, experience of supporting students with additional needs. A good understanding of Educational and Health Care Plan management is essential. A teaching qualification is desirable and ideally, experience of line managing individuals and/or leading a team.

You should be hard‑working, a team player, and proactive, with the ability to inspire, lead, coach, and motivate staff. An ability to maximise available resources effectively and support the Inclusive Learning team in providing excellent curriculum support is also required.

About Us

Outstanding Ofsted Provider

East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our ‘Strong’ skills grading by Ofsted.

Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles.

As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self‑declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing.

It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so.

If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

East Kent CollegesGroup is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is underrepresentation in our workforce.

We are proud to hold thePositive About Disability Awardand are aDisability Confident Employer. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability.

Similarly, we have a commitment toCare Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge)and to current or previousArmed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge)with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the positions essential criteria and who have declared this on their application.

We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.

We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in‑house recruitment team.