Senior Leadership Opportunities Dove House Academy
View Vacancy detailsWelcome from the Principal
Dear Colleague,
We are delighted that you are interested in the opportunity to join the senior leadership team at Dove House Academy, a member of the Solent Academies Trust family of schools. Both roles, Vice Principal and Assistant Principal, are set to provide the successful candidates with limitless opportunities for personal and professional growth, innovation and success; all of which will take place within the context of our highly supportive network of high-performing specialist settings.
Dove House is a very special community and I am proud beyond words to be the Principal here. We are on a journey to make sure our school grows with our young people and adapts to their needs in today’s complex and often confusing world. We are ambitious and aspirational and on an unwavering mission to make sure our pupils are ready for their educational next steps and that they have the confidence to communicate and self advocate and that they are equipped with the skills they need to be safe in the community and online, to work and to live as independently as possible. Within Solent Academies Trust, we take a restorative and relational approach, rooted in strong relationships and connections between staff and pupils and their families. This is a key feature of our culture here at Dove House and something we feel very passionate about.
Dove House Academy is a special school for 240 pupils aged 11-19, situated across two sites in Basingstoke. Our main site accommodates Key Stages 3 & 4, with Post-16 based at a satellite site approximately one mile away. The main site boasts extensive outside space, a gym and large fitness suite, as well as multiple specialist spaces, including a newly built sensory room and a soft play room. Additionally, there is plenty of scope for future development to our site, with plans already underway to enhance and grow our physical environment further, including new classrooms, a new playground and a redevelopment of our OT space.
Most pupils at Dove House have a primary need of moderate learning difficulties, however, an increasing proportion have a diagnosis of severe learning difficulties. Many pupils have additional needs including Autism, ADHD, physical or medical needs. As a result, we are currently on an exciting journey of curriculum development to ensure that our ‘outstanding’ setting continues to meet the needs of future cohorts, to an exceptionally high standard. In support of this, we are looking for 2 senior leaders, to join our team. First we are seeking an experienced Senior Leader, to join us as Vice Principal, who is raring to lead our Curriculum into the next phase of its development. Alongside this, we are seeking a curious and creative Senior Leader to lead on our Pupil Progress and innovate within Personal Development. These roles will be key to us ensuring our offer equips our young people for gloriously ordinary lives in which they have choice and agency.
These opportunities offer an irresistible invitation to motivated, passionate, committed and forward-reaching senior leaders, who are able to drive meaningful change alongside maintaining the many successes already seen within Dove House Academy. We would, therefore, very much like to extend an offer to visit our school and to discuss this opportunity further.
With thanks and very best wishes,
Maarit Eben-Aimine
Principal, Dove House Academy
About Dove House Academy
Dove House Academy is a special school for 240 pupils, aged between 11 and 19, situated across two sites in Basingstoke. Dove House is an engaging, aspirational, and inclusive school for young people with Moderate and Severe Learning Difficulties, including Autism and Specific Learning Difficulties.
You can find out more about the school at www.dovehouseacademy.com
Our Values
Empowerment
All valued members of our learning community are encouraged to empower others to achieve their best and take every opportunity for themselves to become empowered as confident, independent and ambitious members of our team, committed to achieving our Trust pledge.
Respect
We are committed to treating each other fairly, with trust, care and respect. We seek the very best outcomes for all our pupils and are unwavering in our effort to ensure that all pupils have access to the opportunities they deserve.
Aspiration
We are continuously aspirational and tenacious in making sure our teams perform well and deliver the highest quality provision and enjoyable educational experience for our pupils to be well prepared for their next stage in life.
About Solent Academies Trust
Solent Academies Trust drives an aspirational vision to inspire lifelong learning, perseverance, kindness and growth for all our community through our unwavering belief that ‘it’s got to be possible’. Together we make every day count towards transforming the lives of our children and families by harnessing the opportunities they deserve to thrive as healthy and engaged individuals.
We are committed to improving equality of opportunity, social inclusion and closing disadvantage gaps more broadly, by developing innovative partnerships locally and nationally. The benefits of working together as a family of schools across our Trust are far-reaching. We have a genuine sharing of expertise, experience and ideas which promote continuous learning, excellent career opportunities and high quality professional development.
We pride ourselves on providing friendly, caring and stimulating learning environments with high levels of challenge within which pupils can flourish. Each school provides a curriculum that is creative, relevant, motivating and personalised to meet the wide-ranging needs of its pupils. We have active, positive partnerships with families and the communities in which our pupils live, work and interact socially.
You can find out more about the Trust at https://solent-trust.net/
Location
Vacancy details - Vice Principal (Quality of Education, Curriculum and Assessment)
Core Purpose
The postholder will be an effective system and academy leader working across the Solent Academies Trust family of schools as well as within Dove House and will be an ambassador for the Trust.
Under the leadership of the Principal the postholder will provide leadership and strategic direction for the academy by:
- Supporting the Principal to secure high standards in the quality of education and pupil outcomes, pupils’ personal development and well-being, behaviour and attendance and in the leadership and management of the academy.
- Providing high quality leadership and management that will contribute to the development of a high achieving learning community where high expectations are tangible, and a culture of educational excellence is evident.
- Providing every pupil with a high-quality education and life experience, which promotes the highest possible standards of achievement and ensures they leave Dove House ready for the next stage in their life.
- Supporting the building of leadership and staffing capacity at Dove House, reflecting the SAT ambition to be an employer of choice.
- Preparing, leading and supporting specific areas of accountability in relation to internal and external audits including Ofsted and other audits e.g. health and safety, safeguarding, Challenge Partners, etc. as appropriate.
- Deputising for the Principal and leading the academy in their absence.
Salary: L16 – L20 (£75049 - £82654)
Vacancy details - Assistant Principal (Pupil Progress)
Core Purpose
- Develop the academy, in partnership with all schools in Solent Academies Trust, as a learning community with high aspirations that leads to strong educational, social and emotional and life outcomes for children.
- Collect, collate, analyse and present attainment data and use it effectively to improve pupil outcomes.
- Ensure that every pupil has a comprehensive Personalised Learning Plan that is regularly reviewed and kept up-to-date
- Be the academy’s lead for pedagogy, working closely with leaders in other trust academies to ensure approaches to teaching and learning are engaging and innovative for all cohorts and constantly evolving to meet pupil need
Salary: L10 – L14 (£64691 - £71330)
Timeline
Closing date – 9am, Friday 17th April
Interviews – w/c 20th April
Start date – September 2026
Visits
Candidates are welcome to visit the school, and this can be organised by contacting Martin Blair at Hays Leadership Appointments
How To Apply
For further information, an informal and confidential discussion about either role or to discuss the application process please contact Martin Blair at Hays Leadership Appointments.
Safeguarding
Dove House Academy and Solent Academies Trust value equality and diversity and are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants will be subject to safer recruitment practises including satisfactory references and an enhanced DBS check for the appointed candidate.
Martin Blair
Hays Leadership Appointments
Tel: 07908268091
Email: martin.blair@hays.com
