Assistant Head of Year

Assistant Head of Year – Secondary School

Assistant Head of Year | Pastoral Support | Student Welfare & Behaviour

Location: Bradford
Type: Full-Time, Temporary to Permanent
Working Hours: 08:00 am – 16:00 pm
Salary: Competitive daily rate, dependent on experience
Start Date: Immediate

Do you have the experience, resilience and passion to make a real difference to the lives of young people? Are you confident supporting students with behaviour, attendance, wellbeing and wider pastoral needs?

We are recruiting an Assistant Head of Year to join a welcoming and ambitious Secondary School in Bradford, supporting a designated year group and working closely with the Head of Year and wider pastoral team.

This is an immediate-start, temp-to-perm opportunity, offering the successful candidate the chance to demonstrate their skills within a supportive school environment, with the potential to secure a permanent position directly with the school.

The school is committed to high expectations, positive relationships and ensuring every student has the support they need to succeed.

The Role: Assistant Head of Year

As an Assistant Head of Year, you will play a key role in the pastoral care, behaviour, attendance, safeguarding and wellbeing of students within your allocated year group.

You will work closely with the Head of Year, teaching staff, families and wider support services to identify barriers to learning and put effective support in place.

This is a highly people-focused role where building positive, trusting relationships with young people is essential.

Your Key Responsibilities

● Pastoral Support: Provide day-to-day pastoral support to students, helping them overcome barriers to learning and make positive choices.

● Behaviour Management: Promote high standards of behaviour, responding effectively to incidents and using appropriate strategies to improve student conduct and engagement.

● Attendance & Punctuality: Monitor attendance and punctuality, identify concerns and work with students and families to improve attendance.

● Student Welfare: Support students with their emotional wellbeing, mental health and wider pastoral needs, escalating concerns appropriately.

● Safeguarding: Follow school safeguarding procedures, identify concerns and communicate effectively with the Designated Safeguarding Lead and relevant staff.

● Relationship Building: Develop positive and professional relationships with students, parents/carers, teachers and other members of the school community.

● Academic Support: Work with the Head of Year and teaching staff to monitor student progress, identify barriers and encourage students to achieve their potential.

● Targeted Interventions: Support individual students and groups through mentoring, pastoral interventions, behaviour plans and other appropriate strategies.

● Family Engagement: Communicate with parents and carers regarding attendance, behaviour, wellbeing and student progress.

● Team Collaboration: Work closely with Heads of Year, tutors, teachers, safeguarding staff, SEND teams and external agencies where appropriate.

● Record Keeping: Maintain accurate records of pastoral interventions, attendance, behaviour and relevant student information.

● Student Development: Encourage resilience, confidence, independence and positive attitudes towards education.

● Whole-School Contribution: Support the wider pastoral team and contribute to a safe, inclusive and positive school culture.

What Makes a Great Assistant Head of Year?

We’re looking for someone who has:

● Excellent communication skills and the ability to communicate confidently with students, colleagues and families.

● Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to establish trust and rapport with young people.

● Experience working with young people, ideally within a secondary school, education, youth work or pastoral setting.

● Experience supporting behaviour, attendance, SEMH, SEND or student wellbeing.

● Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and maintain accurate records.

● A calm and resilient approach when dealing with challenging or sensitive situations.

● High expectations of young people, combined with an empathetic and supportive approach.

● Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to identify practical solutions to barriers affecting students.

● A proactive approach to pastoral care, rather than simply reacting to issues as they arise.

● The confidence to challenge appropriately while maintaining positive relationships with students.

● A collaborative mindset, with the ability to work effectively as part of a wider pastoral and teaching team.

● An understanding of safeguarding and confidentiality within an educational setting.

● The ability to motivate and inspire young people to improve their behaviour, attendance, engagement and academic outcomes.

Recent Assistant Head of Year vacancies particularly emphasise pastoral care, positive behaviour, attendance, student wellbeing, organisation, problem-solving and maintaining positive relationships with students and adults. Experience supporting mental wellbeing, SEMH, SEND or counselling needs is also specifically sought in comparable roles in Bradford.

Experience & Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have:

● Previous experience working with secondary-aged young people.

● Experience within a pastoral, behaviour, attendance, safeguarding, mentoring or student support role.

● Experience supporting young people with SEMH, SEND or mental wellbeing needs is highly desirable.

● A good understanding of the challenges that can affect students’ attendance, behaviour and engagement.

● GCSE English and Maths at Grade 9–4 / A–C* or equivalent is desirable.

Education-sector experience is strongly preferred, but we will consider candidates with strong transferable experience from youth work, mentoring, care, community or similar settings.

Why Work With Engage Education?

We are Engage Education, a trusted education recruitment agency with professional development and support at our core.

• Competitive rates of pay
• AWR-compliant pay
• Free CPD sessions
• Your own dedicated consultant
• £50 Amazon voucher when you refer friends
• Wellbeing support
• Travel discounts
• Retail offers from our partners
• Ongoing support throughout your placement
• Opportunity to secure a permanent position with the school

How to Apply

If you’re an experienced pastoral professional who is passionate about supporting young people and ready to make an immediate impact, we’d love to hear from you.

This is an immediate-start, temp-to-perm opportunity, so apply today to be considered.

You can apply for this role below or get in touch with us directly.

All applicants must have the appropriate qualifications and experience. Successful applicants will be required to hold a valid enhanced DBS check before starting work; full assistance will be provided.

If you are not contacted within 2 working days, unfortunately, you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

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