Grade: Soulbury (points 12-15)
Salary: £58,691 – £63,232 + £3,803 London Weighting
Contract Type: Fixed-Term Contract (12 Months)
Hours: Full-time, 36 hours
Closing Date: Sunday 21st June 2026
Interview Date: Week commencing 29th June 2026
Haringey is a fantastic place to live and work – the world in one borough. A place brimming with creativity, personality, radicalism, and community. It is a place where we stand up for each other. A place that is proudly distinctive. We’ll be celebrating all this and more as the “rebel borough” when we are the 2027 London Borough of Culture.
Our history champions change-makers and everyday rebels; revelling in our differences, battling discrimination, championing equality, and doing things our own way. Haringey’s people are a huge asset, with knowledge, expertise, and passion. Our staff members embody our organisational values: Caring, Creative, Courageous, Collaborative and Community-focused. These values keep us looking forward, ambitious for the future, and continuously striving to do our very best for all of our residents.
This is a unique and influential leadership opportunity to shape the educational experiences and outcomes of some of Haringey’s most vulnerable children.
As Assistant Head of Haringey Virtual School, you will lead the delivery of the local authority’s duties for children with a social worker, children in kinship care and previously in care. This is a high-impact, 12-month fixed-term role where you will provide strategic oversight and system leadership to improve inclusion, attendance, attainment, inclusion, and engagement across the borough working directly with schools and different partners.
You will work at the crossing point of education and children’s services – ensuring that vulnerable children are visible, prioritised and effectively supported within education systems. This includes at system-level identifying and reducing barriers to learning, supporting and challenging schools to deliver high-quality inclusive practice, and embedding trauma-informed, relational approaches.
A key part of the role will involve contributing education expertise into child protection processes, supporting schools and driving forward strategic priorities to strengthen the local offer for vulnerable learners. This is a rare opportunity to influence system-wide practice and deliver meaningful, lasting change for children and young people.
Haringey Virtual School is a statutory service within Children’s Services, dedicated to championing the education of children who have or have had a social worker. The team works across early years to post 16, ensuring vulnerable learners receive inclusive, high quality and aspirational educational support.
Led by the Head of Virtual School, with strong operational leadership from the Assistant Head, the team brings together Education Improvement Consultants an Inclusion and Attendance manager who work collaboratively with schools, social care and partners to address barriers such as attendance, exclusions and SEND needs.
This is a highly collaborative, multi- agency team that values innovation, strong relationships and the voices of children, with a shared commitment to improving life chances and raising aspirations for our vulnerable children.
You are an experienced and credible senior leader with a strong track record of improving outcomes for vulnerable children. Passionate about inclusion and belonging, you bring both strategic vision and hands-on expertise to working across education and children’s services. You thrive in complex, multi-agency environments and use your influence to drive meaningful change – ensuring children with a social worker are visible, supported and able to succeed.
Key Skills and Experience
- Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a strong academic background, with evidence of relevant ongoing professional development
- Significant senior leadership experience within an educational setting, with the ability to lead strategically and operationally
- Strong experience supporting children with a social worker, including Children in Need, Child Protection and Looked After Children
- Proven ability to improve school practice and raise outcomes for vulnerable pupils through effective support and challenge
- Extensive experience of multi-agency working across education, social care and partner services
- In-depth knowledge of statutory guidance, education legislation, and children’s social care frameworks
- Strong understanding of SEND, SEMH needs, EHCP processes and inclusive, trauma-informed practice
- Excellent data analysis skills, with the ability to use insight on attendance, attainment, exclusions and trends to drive improvement
- Demonstrable ability to influence and build credibility with headteachers, designated teachers, senior leaders and partners
- Strong organisational, communication and leadership skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and lead others effectively
At Haringey Council we are committed to creating a workplace culture where all our people feel valued, included, and able to be their best at work, and we recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce so welcome applications from all ethnicities and communities so that we continue to make a difference to our residents and community.
Our benefits package includes a leave entitlement up to 31 days + bank holidays, potential hybrid working opportunities, health and wellbeing support, a generous local government pension scheme and a range of discount schemes across leisure and culture that provide both financial and money-saving discounts.
Please note: we reserve the right to end this advert before the noted deadline if we receive sufficient applications. If you wish to apply for this role please ensure that you do so as soon as possible.
Additionally, we are aware that automated emails may end be diverted through to junk email folders. Please continue to check these through the application process. If you have any questions about the status of you application please contact [email protected]
