Pathway Lead

The Oaks; Tonbridge; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Oaks Specialist College is seeking a Pathway Lead to join the Extended Leadership Team. You will oversee the Learning for Life pathway, guiding teachers and support staff, tracking progress, and ensuring high-quality curriculum delivery that supports social, personal, and educational development.

You will contribute to self-evaluation, quality improvement, and collaboration with senior leaders, with a focus on inclusive learning, independence skills, and work-related opportunities for

Responsibilities

• Be responsible for the delivery and monitoring of high-quality education and personal development across our Learning for Life learning pathway/Point provision.
• Lead a team of teachers and support staff within the pathway whilst being responsible for action planning, the improvement of teaching and learning and meaningful data collection and review.
• Track learner progress across various aspects of their individualised curriculum to identify areas of development, as well as trends and gaps in knowledge across the learning route.
• In discussion with the Principal, Deputy Principal and Assistant Principals contribute to the College’s Self Assessment Report and Quality Improvement Plan so that we continually evaluate our offer to ensure it remains responsive to learners’ needs and aspirations, as well as to the SEND local and national landscape.
• Liaise with the Principal, Deputy Principal, Assistant Principals and other Pathway Leads to ensure that planning and curriculum development is in line with strategic objectives.
• Be willing to instil creative and innovative approaches to the development of the curriculum that will continue to stimulate and engage learners in a way that enables social, personal, and educational progress.
• Ensure learning opportunities are equally distributed across the learning route to promote inclusive participation.
• Play a key role in the development of our learners’ independence skills so that they can confidently access and contribute to their local community.
• Identify opportunities for our learners to participate in internal and external work-related learning opportunities that utilise and develop their independence and employability skills.
• Build relationships with local businesses to continually identify opportunities for work experience and other work-related opportunities that enables the College to enhance our careers offer across all learning routes.
• Collaborate with the Careers Team to ensure you contribute to destination planning and work-related learning opportunities that the curriculum can support.
• Collaborate closely with the therapy and accessibility teams and Assistant Principal for Complex Needs to ensure appropriate resources and provision are in place to support all learners to develop their independence, communication, engagement and inclusion.
• Lead and contribute to self-evaluation and continuous improvement of the pathway against the Ofsted further education and skills inspection framework, evidencing impact across inclusion; curriculum, teaching and training; achievement; participation and development; safeguarding; and leadership and governance, and translating identified strengths and priorities for improvement into the College Self Assessment Report and Quality Improvement Plan.
• Contribute to the planning of continuous professional development within the pathway and the wider college to ensure we continue to deliver high quality learning programmes that reflect local and national priorities.
• Liaise with the administration team regarding annual review meetings to ensure consistency of offer and next steps as appropriate.
• Create an inclusive and supportive team culture in which staff feel valued, receive support appropriate to their individual needs and are confident to raise concerns.
• Have difficult conversations confidently and address concerns promptly, sensitively and fairly.
• Promote staff wellbeing while maintaining clear, consistent expectations and professional accountability.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of Education, Health and Care Plans and annual review processes, ensuring that agreed outcomes and actions are implemented, monitored and followed through.
• Work collaboratively across the wider College, considering how pathway decisions affect other teams and contributing to effective whole-college working.
• Contribute, to plan and execute the Learning for Life timetable.
• Undertake any reasonable additional activities or duties as directed by the Principal, Deputy and Assistance Principals.

Job description

The Pathway Lead role sits within the Extended Leadership Team and is an essential and integral part of the exceptional team at The Oaks Specialist College and is crucial to our continued success and development.

Principal Accountabilities

• 1. Be responsible for the delivery and monitoring of high-quality education and personal development across our Learning for Life learning pathway/Point provision.
• 2. Lead a team of teachers and support staff within the pathway whilst being responsible for action planning, the improvement of teaching and learning and meaningful data collection and review.
• 3. Track learner progress across various aspects of their individualised curriculum to identify areas of development, as well as trends and gaps in knowledge across the learning route.
• 4. In discussion with the Principal, Deputy Principal and Assistant Principals contribute to the College’s Self Assessment Report and Quality Improvement Plan so that we continually evaluate our offer to ensure it remains responsive to learners’ needs and aspirations, as well as to the SEND local and national landscape.
• 5. Liaise with the Principal, Deputy Principal, Assistant Principals and other Pathway Leads to ensure that planning and curriculum development is in line with strategic objectives.
• 6. Be willing to instil creative and innovative approaches to the development of the curriculum that will continue to stimulate and engage learners in a way that enables social, personal, and educational progress.
• 7. Ensure learning opportunities are equally distributed across the learning route to promote inclusive participation.
• 8. Play a key role in the development of our learners’ independence skills so that they can confidently access and contribute to their local community.
• 9. Identify opportunities for our learners to participate in internal and external work-related learning opportunities that utilise and develop their independence and employability skills.
• 10. Build relationships with local businesses to continually identify opportunities for work experience and other work-related opportunities that enables the College to enhance our careers offer across all learning routes.
• 11. Collaborate with the Careers Team to ensure you contribute to destination planning and work-related learning opportunities that the curriculum can support.
• 12. Collaborate closely with the therapy and accessibility teams and Assistant Principal for Complex Needs to ensure appropriate resources and provision are in place to support all learners to develop their independence, communication, engagement and inclusion.
• 13. Lead and contribute to self-evaluation and continuous improvement of the pathway against the Ofsted further education and skills inspection framework, evidencing impact across inclusion; curriculum, teaching and training; achievement; participation and development; safeguarding; and leadership and governance, and translating identified strengths and priorities for improvement into the College Self Assessment Report and Quality Improvement Plan.
• 14. Contribute to the planning of continuous professional development within the pathway and the wider college to ensure we continue to deliver high quality learning programmes that reflect local and national priorities.
• 15. Liaise with the administration team regarding annual review meetings to ensure consistency of offer and next steps as appropriate.
• 16. Create an inclusive and supportive team culture in which staff feel valued, receive support appropriate to their individual needs and are confident to raise concerns.
• 17. Have difficult conversations confidently and address concerns promptly, sensitively and fairly.
• 18. Promote staff wellbeing while maintaining clear, consistent expectations and professional accountability.
• 19. Maintain a thorough understanding of Education, Health and Care Plans and annual review processes, ensuring that agreed outcomes and actions are implemented, monitored and followed through.
• 20. Work collaboratively across the wider College, considering how pathway decisions affect other teams and contributing to effective whole-college working.
• 21. Contribute, to plan and execute the Learning for Life timetable.
• 22. Undertake any reasonable additional activities or duties as directed by the Principal, Deputy and Assistance Principals.