Head of Learning Support at Durham International Schools

Key Responsibilies

• Together with the Heads of School and Board of Directors, determine the strategic development of the SEN provision for the School.
• Ensure Durham Kenya has a clear approach to identifying and responding to children who learn differently and a deep understanding of special educational needs.
• Analyse and interpret relevant school data and ensure the identification of SEN is built into the overall approach of monitoring and tracking progress of all students.
• Day to day responsibility for the operation of the SEN/EAL provision and the coordination of specific provision to support individual students with SEN/EAL across the whole school.
• Ensure the delivery of an appropriately broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum to meet the needs of all students.
• Regularly review and evaluate the quality, breadth and impact of the support offered by the School for children with SEN/EAL
• On an on-going basis use professional learning opportunities to improve and develop teachers’ knowledge and understanding of best practice in supporting children with learning needs and behaviour management.
• Work with teaching staff to develop effective ways of bridging barriers to learning through:
• Timely identification and assessment of specific needs.
• Monitoring of teaching quality and pupil achievement.
• Target setting through IEPs.
• Review annually the school policies related to children who learn differently to ensure the policies are up-to-date and in-line with any legislation updates (including SEN policy, EAL policy, G&T policy and parts of Curriculum policy).

Identification and Assessment of SEN

• Supporting Teaching and Learning for SEN Students Involve parents in the discussion about early concerns making sure parents receive the information, advice and support they need to participate in the decision-making process regarding interventions to achieve agreed specific outcomes/progress for their child.
• Interpret specialist assessment data gathered on students and use it to inform practice.
• Make referrals and liaise with professionals outside of the school including psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and medical specialists.
• Use data effectively to identify students who are underachieving and to create andimplement effective plans of action to support these students.
• Ensure clear arrangements are in place for the ongoing assessment and identification of SEN across all 3 sections of the school as part of monitoring the progress and development of all students. 

Supporting Teaching and Learning for SEN Students

• Provide one-on-one and/or small group teaching support to children with learning difficulties.
• Support teachers in understanding the learning needs of pupils with SEN/EAL/G&T and the effective use of differentiated activities to support learning for all children in their class.
• Develop effective liaison with external agencies in order to provide maximum support for pupils with SEN/EAL. Offer advice and support to teaching staff in providing a quality first teach approach. 
• Support teachers to develop and implement effective teaching and behaviour management approaches in the classroom.
• Attend Parent-Teacher Meetings to keep parents informed about their child’s progress. Put in place access arrangements for students who qualify for test and class accommodations; and coordinate venues around the school for a student with access arrangements to sit for tests/exams.
• Ensure teaching staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to support children with SEN through training that targets: 
• Understanding different kinds of educational needs and ways to support them in the classroom. Durham’s approach to identifying and addressing SEN needs.
• Durham’s team approach (parents, school, external specialists) for the assessment and supporting of educational needs. 

Monitoring Progress and Reporting

• Maintain an up-to-date register of students with learning support needs.
• Assess, record and report on the progress and attainment of students using a variety of formative assessment as well as standardised diagnostic assessments.
• Ensure ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching and learning and use the analysis to guide further improvement.
• Ensure IEPs are completed and chair termly reviews with parents and teachers to assess each student’s progress in achieving their targets.
• Maintain accurate and complete records of all correspondence, tests and contacts with parents and other parties related to students. 

Person Specification
Qualifications and Experience 

• Be a fully qualified teacher with at least 5 years teaching experience.
• Have a valid Teacher Services Commission Certificate (if applying from Kenya) or a PGCE or
• Qualified Teacher Status (for overseas applicants).
• Hold a postgraduate qualification in SEN or SpLD.
• Have at least 1 year experience of successful leadership as Head of Learning Support or
• another leadership role in a school.