Headteacher - Wokingham

Discover Odyssey House School – Where Neurodiverse Learners Thrive

At Odyssey House School, we specialise in providing a bespoke, holistic, and therapeutic education for neurodiverse pupils who need a nurturing environment to truly flourish.

Our small, supportive schools are designed for children who have found mainstream education overwhelming. We offer a personalised experience that respects each child’s unique needs, helping them grow academically, emotionally, and socially.

We’re passionate about creating a space where neurodiverse learners feel understood, valued, and empowered. Our approach moves beyond results-driven teaching to focus on the whole child—building confidence, resilience, and a love of learning.

If you’re ready to be part of our inspiring OdBod journey and help shape an exceptional therapeutic education service, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch today!

[email protected]

The Headteacher provides inspirational leadership and effective management to ensure high-quality education and outstanding outcomes for all pupils. The core purpose of the Headteacher is to provide inspirational and effective leadership and management to Odyssey House School Wokingham. Rooted in the National Standards of Excellence for Headteachers (2020) and the Teaching Standards (2011), this role focuses on:

• Establishing and sustaining the school’s ethos and strategic direction together with the Executive Team and through consultation with the local community.
  
• Leading teaching and learning through personalised approaches that unlock each pupil’s potential.
  
• Overseeing the daily operations of the school to ensure it is well-managed, organised, and aligned with strategic goals.
  
• Driving continuous improvement through a robust school development plan.
  
• Identify problems and barriers to school effectiveness and develop strategies for school improvement that are realistic, timely and suited to the school’s context.
  
• Promoting a culture of collaboration across all Odyssey Education Services schools.
  
• Managing referrals and admissions, liaising with local authorities and private clients to champion the school’s values and growth.
  
• Allocate financial resources appropriately, efficiently and effectively.
  
• Embodying and modelling the core values of Odyssey Education Services to staff and pupils.
  

Duties and responsibilities

School culture and behaviour

The Headteacher will:

• Create a culture where pupils experience a positive and enriching school life
  
• Uphold ambitious educational standards in order to prepare pupils from all backgrounds for their next phase of education and life
  
• Ensure a culture of staff professionalism
  
• Encourage high standards of behaviour from pupils, built on rules and routines that are understood by staff and pupils, and clearly demonstrated by all adults in school
  
• Use consistent and fair approaches to managing behaviour, in line with the school’s behaviour policy
  

Teaching and Learning

• Develop and implement a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the relevant statutory requirements.
  
• Establish and sustain high-quality teaching across all subjects and phases, based on evidence.
  
• Have ambitious expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, and promote an inclusive culture that enables all pupils to access the curriculum.
  
• Establish curriculum leadership, including developing subject leaders with relevant expertise and access to professional networks and communities.
  
• Promote a culture that encourages collaboration, where best practice is shared in order to secure the best outcomes for pupils.
  
• Ensure valid, reliable and proportionate approaches are used to assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the curriculum.
  

Managing the school

The Headteacher will:

• Ensure staff and pupils’ safety and welfare through effective approaches to safeguarding, as part of a duty of care
  
• Manage staff well with due attention to workload
  
• Ensure rigorous approaches to identifying, managing and mitigating risk
  

Safeguarding

• Safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people
  
• Demonstrate this commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people
  
• To hold all staff and volunteers accountable for their contribution to the safeguarding regulations
  

Professional Development

• Ensure staff have access to appropriate, high standard professional development opportunities
  
• Keep up to date with developments in education, in particular SEN and Autism
  
• Ensure training and continuing professional development is effectively planned, delivered and evaluated
  
• Make sure professional development opportunities draw on experts both within, and beyond the school
  
• Seek training and continuing professional development to meet the needs of all staff members

Strategic Leadership

• Embed our shared vision across the organisation, ensuring that it is understood by staff and parents
  
• Develop and review the organisations strategic plan, ensuring that key objectives are used to develop the school improvement plan
  
• Review and monitor progress of school improvement plan and self-evaluation form, providing necessary challenge to achieve a sustained focus on the strategic objectives
  
• Build positive and respectful relationships with stakeholders and the wider community
  
• Develop strategic relationships with local authority commissioning teams
  
• Ensuring there is a healthy pipeline of placement referrals
  

Managing the Organisation

• Line-manage senior leaders, providing effective support and challenge to help them secure best outcomes for pupils.
  
• Carry out performance management in line with Odyssey Education Services procedures
  
• Manage the school budget and resources efficiently and effectively.
  
• Implementation of school and organisation wide policies.
  
• Allocate financial resources appropriately, efficiently and effectively.
  
• Develop and retain high-quality staff through effective professional development and performance management.
  
• Establish clear and open lines of communication with all stakeholders.
  
• Monitor staff wellbeing and workload and implement strategies to promote a healthy working environment.
  
• Ensure the school effectively and efficiently operates within the required regulatory frameworks and meets all statutory duties.
  
• Ensure staff and pupils’ safety and welfare through effective approaches to safeguarding, as part of duty of care.
  
• Develop positive working relationships with other schools and outside organisations.
  
• Maintain effective relationships with fellow professionals and colleagues to improve educational outcomes for all pupils.
  

Governance, accountability and working in partnership

• Understand and welcome the role of effective governance, including accepting responsibility
  
• Ensure that staff understand their professional responsibilities and are held to account
  
• Ensure the school effectively and efficiently operates within the required regulatory frameworks and meets all statutory duties
  
• Work successfully with other schools and organisations
  
• Maintain working relationships with fellow professionals and colleagues to improve educational outcomes for all pupils
  

Other Areas of Responsibility

Please note that this is illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of the role. It’s not a comprehensive list of all tasks that the headteacher will carry out. The postholder may be required to do other duties appropriate to the level of the role.

Any other reasonable responsibilities as requested by the CEO or Business Director.

Requirements

• Qualified teacher status
• Degree
• National professional qualification for headship (NPQH) (preferred)
• Minimum of 5 years successful leadership and management experience in a school
• Extensive teaching outstanding lessons
• Involvement in school self-evaluation and development planning
• Demonstrable experience of successful line management and staff development
• Data analysis skills, and the ability to use data to set targets and identify weaknesses
• Understanding of high-quality teaching based on evidence, and the ability to model this for others and support others to improve
• Understanding of curriculum development
• Understanding of school finances and financial management
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to build effective working relationships
• Patient and calm
• Commitment to uphold the 7 principles of public life (the Nolan Principles) at all times
• A commitment to getting the best outcomes for all pupils and promoting the ethos and values of the school
• Able to create good relationships with children, staff, parents and external agencies
• Ability to work under pressure and prioritise effectively
• Commitment to maintaining confidentiality at all times
• Organisation, time management, proactive and self-motivated
• Commitment to safeguarding and equality, ensuring that personal beliefs are not expressed in ways that exploit the position