Principal

Licensed sponsor Croydon Full-time Posted 1 day ago

Salary: L24-L31 £94,322 - £111,202 (Outer London Teachers Leadership Group)

Location: Addington Valley Academy, Field Way, New Addington, CR0 9AZ

Are you looking for somewhere truly special to work? A place where you can help make special happen every day for students with autism and severe learning difficulties? Addington Valley Academy is a special free school in Croydon for children and young people from 4 to19 with autism and complex learning needs. Since opening, we have grown into a vibrant community, offering places for students with a wide range of social communication, cognitive, sensory, emotional, and behavioural needs.

The new purpose designed school is equipped to meet the needs of students and includes sensory gardens, indoor sensory rooms, soft-play area, and a large cookery room along with other facilities to encourage students to learn skills to live independently. Students access specialist support enabling them to learn and achieve in a nurturing and aspirational environment.

At Addington Valley Academy, special happens through the passion of our staff, the progress of our students, and the shared commitment to creating the best possible outcomes for every learner. It’s a rewarding, inspiring place to work – where your dedication can truly make a difference.

We are looking for an experienced, ambitious and values-driven educational leader to become our next Principal. This is an exciting opportunity to lead a dedicated team, shape the future direction of the school, and make a lasting difference to the lives of learners with autism and complex needs.

The successful candidate will combine strategic vision with operational excellence, driving high standards across education, safeguarding, staff development, and school improvement while championing an inclusive culture where every learner can thrive.

Key Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership to drive outstanding outcomes for learners and continuous school improvement.
Lead and develop a high-performing staff team, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration and professional growth.
Ensure the highest standards of safeguarding, wellbeing, inclusion and SEND provision across the school.
Oversee the effective management of resources, staffing and budgets to deliver sustainable success.
Build strong relationships with families, governors, external agencies and Trust leaders to support positive outcomes for learners.

Key Requirements

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and substantial senior leadership experience within education.
Proven experience of leading improvement and raising outcomes for learners with special educational needs and disabilities.
Strong knowledge of safeguarding, SEND legislation and inclusive educational practice.
Demonstrable ability to lead, motivate and develop staff while maintaining high expectations and standards.
Excellent communication, organisational and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build effective partnerships.

OHCAT is an exciting, forward-thinking organisation, and we offer many benefits to attract and keep our staff, contributing towards maintaining and improving wellbeing, and encouraging our required behaviours, achievements, values, and skills. Below is just a selection of the benefits available to our employees:

Rewards & Benefits

Pathways for progression within the trust, ensuring you can grow and thrive in a supportive and inclusive environment
Pension Scheme - you will be enrolled in either the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) or the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), both offering life cover and financial protection for your family
Salary Sacrifice Schemes (Cycle Scheme, Employee Car Lease Scheme and Home Electronics Scheme)
Employee Wellbeing - We support employee wellbeing with access to counselling, mental health support, generous leave, flexible working, and enhanced parental leave including Employee Assistance Programme, MyGym Discounts, Corporate Eyecare Scheme and Free Virtual GP Appointments
Employee Discounts (Blue Light Card, Costco Membership, Discounts for Teachers, and more)
Other (Season Ticket Loan and Employee Referral Scheme)

Find out what makes Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust a truly rewarding place to work – visit our ‘Work for Us’ page to learn more about our values, opportunities and the difference our staff make every day.

Our Trust

Addington Valley Academy is part of Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust. We are a family of specialist education providers from pre-school through to further education across London, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire and fully represent all designations of special education needs and disabilities (SEND). To find out more about us, and what makes us a special place to work please visit our website.

We are committed to promoting and advancing equality of opportunity by attracting and retaining the most diverse range of students, staff and partners.

Working together to transform lives is what we do and across the whole organisation we have a range of experts and practitioners who advocate for children and young people with SEND to ensure they receive the best possible opportunities to achieve their full potential.

As a large specialist education provider we employ over 1500 people across our schools, college and central support team. There is a wide range of job roles available, ranging from teaching and therapy to business support roles and significant career progression opportunities.

It is an exciting time to be part of OHCAT and we are keen to recruit talented people who can play a key role in realising our mission and who want to make a difference. In return, we offer training and development, competitive pay and benefits in a positive and inclusive working environment.

To ensure a fair opportunity for all applicants, candidates who have applied for this position in the past 6 months will not be considered.

Closing Date: 1st November 2026

Interviews will take place on: The 10th & 13th November 2026

To help us manage applications effectively, we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient suitable applications are received.

Safeguarding Statement

Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Appointments made will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020.

Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, committed to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace for all.