Trust Executive Lead of Inclusion and Safeguarding

The East Midlands Education Trust is seeking to appoint an exceptional educational leader to the role of Trust Executive Head of Inclusion and Safeguarding. Operating as a pivotal member of the senior Trust Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and reporting directly to the CEO, Paul Smith, you will hold ultimate strategic and statutory responsibility for driving systemic excellence across all Trust academies. In this high-profile executive role, you will lead the design, development, and rigorous quality assurance of the Trust’s overarching inclusion and safeguarding strategies. This role is fundamentally geared toward ensuring Ofsted readiness across all sites, establishing a robust culture of compliance, and closing the disadvantage gap. You will hold oversight for programs linked to safeguarding, child protection, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Pupil Premium, Free School Meals (FSM), and alternative provision. Key Responsibilities Serve as the executive lead for inspection preparation across all areas of inclusion and safeguarding. Ensure all academies are highly prepared to evidence outstanding practice under the Ofsted framework, specifically focusing on Leadership and Management, Behaviour and Attitudes, and Personal Development. Act as the ultimate strategic lead for safeguarding and child protection across the Trust. Maintain absolute statutory compliance, oversee the auditing of school-level Single Central Records (SCR), and ensure a proactive, synchronised culture of vigilance and care aligned with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). Implement trust-wide QA frameworks, mock inspections, and peer-review systems to monitor the impact of inclusion strategies on attendance, suspension rates, and learning outcomes for vulnerable groups. Provide high-level leadership, mentoring, and rigorous accountability to our SENDCOs, Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), Inclusion Leads, and school-based Senior Leadership Teams (SLT).

About You To be successful in this role, you will be a visionary leader with a proven track record of operating effectively across multiple sites or at a senior leadership level within a MAT structure. You will possess: Experience of working in a similar MAT wide role and experience of working in a high performing school. Extensive experience in successfully navigating the Ofsted inspection framework with demonstrable impact on safeguarding and inclusion outcomes. Deep, authoritative working knowledge of statutory frameworks surrounding safeguarding/child protection (KCSIE) and SEND/Inclusion. A data-driven approach to leadership, with the ability to analyse complex performance, attendance, and behaviour metrics to drive rapid intervention. Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the gravitas to report confidently to the CEO, Trust Board, and external regulatory bodies.