Headteacher

1. Purpose of the Role To provide strategic and operational leadership of Brighton and Hove’s Pupil Referral Units – collectively known as the Central Hub Brighton (CHB) – during a period of significant organisational change. The post holder will ensure the continued delivery of high-quality education, safeguarding, and inclusion for pupils while overseeing the transition to a redesigned, smaller provision. This includes leading staff, managing change processes, and working collaboratively with the Management Committee, Local Authority, and other stakeholders to secure a sustainable and effective model of provision. The Local Authority is recruiting a Lead Strategic Education Consultant role alongside this Headteacher post, with both appointmentsestablishedas fixed-term roles foran initialtwo-year period. This reflects the transitional nature of the current phase for CHB and is intended to provide aligned strategic oversight and operational leadership during a defined period of change. The Lead Strategic Education Consultant willprovidestrategic guidance, professional challenge, and mentoring to support the Headteacher, Management Committee, and Local Authority during this period of transition. The role is consultative rather than operationally line-managing the post holder on a day-to-day basis, and is intended to strengthen leadership capacity, support improvement planning, and help ensure that decisions are aligned with the wider vision for inclusive, sustainable alternative provision across CHB. Statutory accountability for the provisionremainswith the substantive leadership and governance arrangements. Why This Is a Fixed-Term Post: National Reform Context This post has beenestablishedas a two-year fixed-term contract in direct response to the significant national policy changes set out in the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan (2023) and the associated reforms to the SEND and AP system in England. These reformsrepresentthe most substantial changes to the alternative provision landscape in a generation. The national framework is shifting away from large, standalone Pupil Referral Units towards a more integrated, locality-based model of alternative provision, in which PRUs play a more targeted role within a broader inclusion system. Local authorities are expected to redesign their AP offer to ensure it is more responsive, preventative, and aligned with mainstream school inclusionstrategies. This means CHB must transform its model of provision to remain fit for purpose and financially sustainable within the emerging national and local framework. In Brighton & Hove, this transition requires careful leadership and management over a defined period. The two-year fixed-term post reflects the fact that this is a transitional role: one which will guide the CHB through restructuring, right-sizing, and repositioning, with the aim of establishing a new and sustainable model of provision by the end of the contract period. It isan