Job Description

TCES Group

Merton
92,644 - 101,421 per year


Expiring soon

Job type:

Full Time, Part Time, Permanent

Apply by:

2 July 2025

Job overview

----------------

Starting Salary: 92,644 to 101,421 per annum.

Location: TCES Central Services, Wimbledon (with up to 2 days working from home) and travel required to all TCES sites across London.

Contract: Permanent, Full-time

Director of Education (Innovation & Strategy) Lead with purpose. Innovate with impact. Empower every learner.


At TCES (The Complete Education Solution), we don't just educate -- we transform lives. As a social enterprise with a no-exclusions policy, we deliver integrated, therapeutic education for neurodiverse pupils aged 7-19 with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC), often with complex co-occurring needs. Through our award-winning schools across Greater London and the DfE-accredited TCES National Online School, we provide a unique and ambitious platform for pupils who have struggled to find success in traditional settings.


We are now seeking a visionary Director of Education (Innovation & Strategy) to shape the future of our online and in-person educational delivery. This executive role is central to our mission: you will lead on quality assurance, drive digital innovation, and support the development of a modern, therapeutic curriculum that enables every pupil to thrive. Working closely with senior leaders, you'll ensure that our schools and services are Ofsted-ready, delivering high standards in teaching, safeguarding, and pupil outcomes. You'll spearhead improvement and inspire a culture of creativity, accountability, and continuous learning across TCES.


This is a rare opportunity to lead within an organisation that is deeply values-driven, where inclusion, therapeutic excellence, and educational ambition go together. If you're an experienced strategic leader with a track record in SEND, curriculum development, digital education, and whole-school improvement--ready to influence national conversations on inclusive practice--then we want to hear from you.

The Complete Education Solution (TCES)

TCES is an independent social enterprise, providing specialist therapeutic education based in London supporting exceptional neurodiverse children and young people aged 7 to 19 who have special educational needs and disabilities typically associated with autism, social emotional and mental health needs and associated disorders. Most of them will have experienced multiple placement breakdowns and significant trauma, often resulting in behaviour that challenges. On average pupils will have been excluded from other provisions up to three times before reaching us and had significant periods out of education.


TCES pupils learn at one of our two schools, at our Create Learning Primary, through our Create in the Community service or within our National Online School; our Create services support our most complex and vulnerable pupils, with highly differentiated and personalised holistic therapeutic education programmes developed for each pupil focusing on development milestones. When they are ready, we aim for pupils to step down from Create into one of our main school, our Sixth Form, or into mainstream provisions.

Essential requirements to be successful in the role are:

A

champion of education with similar

values to ours: Expect the very best from each other; Develop a strong work ethic; Respect and appreciate all difference; Include everyone and exclude no one; Listen to and involve everyone; Never give up on each other!*
Resilient and robust, role modelling

outstanding teaching and

professionalism.*
Substantial executive leadership experience with

demonstrable strategic and operational experience across teaching, learning and curriculum, ideally within

specialist therapeutic education provisions or

specialist schools.*
Proven experience of managing and developing teams, inclusive of

coaching and influencing staff to deliver innovative ways of working and teaching.*
Proven skills in operating at a strategic level as a

collaborative and

supportive member of a senior team, actively engaging in

decision making leading to positive pupil progress and business outcomes.*
Experience of

driving inclusive education initiatives to support best practice with vulnerable and complex groups.*
Proven skills in

coaching &

mentoring.*

Commercially astute and

solutions focused.*

Proactive and

innovative, collaborating with team members in other disciplines, whilst also with the ability to work flexibly and independently.*

In return we offer:

Competitive Salary & Performance Related Bonus ,and Terms and conditions An opportunity to join a leading provider of specialist education in one of the most rewarding sectors, directly contributing to positive outcomes for pupils with SEMH and ASC. A comprehensive induction process and excellent CPD opportunities, including an individual Learning & Development Plan for each staff member to support career progression. Regular half-termly staff wellbeing days. A range of employee support and wellbeing benefits, including our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), access to counselling, contributions towards medical costs, and an exclusive rewards platform. Gym and active health discounts. Private Healthcare Insurance

Closing Date: 02 July 2025

For more information contact recruitment@tces.org.uk

TCES is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils and expects all staff to share this commitment. The appointment is subject to all relevant checks such as references, medical clearance and a satisfactory enhanced DBS disclosure.

About

TCES Group

------------------------

TCES Group

3rd Floor, Beacon House, 26-28 Worple Road, Wimbledon
London
SW19 4EE
United Kingdom

+44 208 543 7878

The Complete Education Solution

(TCES) is an independent

social enterprise

consisting of a group of

Good and Outstanding

schools and services for young people with

neurodiverse identities

. Our pupils are aged 7 to 19 usually with diagnoses / labelled as having Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) and/or Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. We are committed to achieving the best outcome for each pupil and their family through access to outstanding

therapeutic education

and family support.



We provide a sector-leading therapeutic education and pupil leadership curriculum across our two day schools (

TCES East London

and

TCES North West London

, in Newham and East Acton respectively), as well as our Create Learning Service, made up of

Create in the Community

and

TCES Create Primary

, which works with more complex students who need intensive support as part of our 'step down' model into one of our main schools,

TCES Sixth Form

, or mainstream provisions. In 2020, we launched

TCES Home Learning

to provide a full curriculum for children who are unable to physically attend school for a variety of reasons, including

severe anxiety and school phobia

.

On joining us, pupils will have already - on average - experienced 3 permanent exclusions, been out of full-time education for up to 18 months and/or are recognised to be substantially at risk of being unemployed, developing severe mental health problems and involvement with the criminal justice system later in life.

Between 3 and 5 years after leaving a TCES, 90% of our students are in education, training or employment

, going on to study at college and university and pursuing careers in social care, retail and theatre amongst others.



Our authentic commitment to inclusion means that since our opening in 1999, working with over 3,500 children and young people, we have

NEVER

permanently excluded

a single child. Since 2019 our fixed term exclusions have also been reduced to zero.



For more information on how to join our team and community, visit

www.tces.org.uk/vacancies

Please note that you are wholly responsible for fact checking in respect of the information provided by schools. Please also check for the latest visa and work permit requirements that may apply. Tes is not responsible for the content of advertisements or the policies adopted by advertising schools. Tes asks that all schools follow

Tes' Fair Recruitment Policy

.