Safeguarding Statement
Involve Care Solutions is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All staff must share this commitment. This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and is subject to safer recruitment checks, including employment references taken up directly with employers, verification of full employment history, an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list check, and online searches on shortlisted candidates in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer.
Head of Alternative Provision — New AP Centre (Exeter, Devon)
Salary: £43,000–£47,000 per year, dependent on experience
Location: Exeter, Devon
Job Type: Full-time, permanent, 40 hours per week, year-round
Bonus: Growth-linked performance bonus available
An Exciting Opportunity to Open and Lead a Brand-New Alternative Provision Centre
Are you an experienced AP, PRU or specialist school leader who has spent years running someone else's model and thinking you would do it differently? This is your chance to do exactly that.
Involve Care Solutions is opening a new Alternative Provision centre at the former Iron Mill College site in Exeter, and we are looking for the person who will lead it. The building works are underway now, the first young people arrive in January 2027, and almost everything in between is yours to shape — the timetable, the policies, the culture, and the team you will recruit around you.
This is a rare opportunity to build a provision from day one rather than inherit one, with a clear path to grow the role, and your own team, as referrals and revenue increase.
About the Role
Reporting directly to our Managing Director, you will:
- Lead the daily running of the centre — referrals and admissions, timetabling, and the general operation of the site
- Act as Designated Safeguarding Lead for the centre, supported by a Deputy DSL, and hold overall accountability for safeguarding culture
- Recruit, develop and line manage the AP team as it grows — AQA Unit Award Scheme Lead, Lead Tutor, Transition & Progression Lead and trade skills delivery
- Own attendance and compliance reporting to Devon County Council — daily attendance, termly progress reports and the annual self-assessment and KPI process
- Be the centre's main point of contact for Devon's SEND casework team, schools, social care, CAMHS and educational psychology
- Build and maintain the referral relationships that grow placement volume
- Create and hold a calm, positive, trauma-informed learning culture that supports engagement, behaviour and wellbeing
- Work with the Directors to grow the provision — staffing, curriculum and physical space — and contribute to future framework tenders
We will build towards 14 placements across our first academic year, each receiving up to 15 hours a week, delivered through the AQA Unit Award Scheme, Functional Skills Maths and English, and trade skills. The centre is designed to grow well beyond that.
Experience & Qualifications
To be successful, you will bring:
- Minimum 2 years' experience managing or leading provision for vulnerable, SEND or otherwise disengaged children and young people within the last 5 years — AP, PRU, special school or comparable setting
- Designated Safeguarding Lead trained to Level 3, or prepared to complete this before starting in post
- Strong working knowledge of safeguarding practice, the SEND Code of Practice and statutory guidance for Alternative Provision
- Confident, calm behaviour management with young people presenting complex or challenging needs
- Experience liaising with local authority commissioners, schools and multi-agency partners
- Comfortable operating in a start-up or growth environment, building processes and structure from a relatively blank slate
- Strong written and verbal communication, with parents and carers as well as statutory bodies
Desirable:
- Direct experience opening, launching or significantly growing an AP, PRU or similar provision
- QTS or QTLS — welcome, but not essential. We care far more about whether you can engage a young person who has stopped attending anywhere else
- Experience of a local authority AP framework, Devon or comparable
- Familiarity with the AQA Unit Award Scheme, Functional Skills delivery or other accredited AP curricula
Why Join Involve Care Solutions?
We place children and young people at the heart of everything we do. We support children with complex needs across Devon through a residential children's home, community support packages and a family contact centre — and we employ our own clinical team, including Learning Disability and Mental Health Nurses and a Clinical Psychologist.
That last part matters. Most alternative provision in this region is online tuition or mentoring. Ours is centre-based, and our Clinical Psychologist and clinical nursing team are available to the provision — in-house, rather than referred out and waited for. You will also be supported by a leadership team committed to reflective practice, emotional intelligence and professional growth.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary of £43,000–£47,000, dependent on experience
- Growth-linked performance bonus
- 30 days annual leave, including bank holidays
- Company pension
- Extensive training and development opportunities, and clear pathways for career progression
- Real autonomy and a direct line to the Managing Director
- A Clinical Psychologist and clinical nursing team you can actually pick up the phone to
- A centre that will keep growing — sensory room, life skills kitchen, animal care, outdoor learning and gym are all planned as we develop the site
- Blue Light Card eligibility
- Free on-site parking
- Casual dress, company events and an employee mentoring programme
Apply Today
If you are ready to build something exceptional for young people who have been let down elsewhere, we would love to hear from you.
Please apply with your CV. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete an application form before interview, giving a full employment history with any gaps explained.
For a confidential chat, contact Joe on 07462531115.
Closing date: Monday 24 August 2026
Interviews: week commencing 31 August 2026
Work Location: Exeter, Devon
Pay: £43,000.00-£47,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
