Headteacher

Newcastle Bridges School

Pay Range: L20 £85,547.00 - L26 £99,086.00 - including pay award.

Visits to the school: W/C Monday 2nd November 2026

Closing date: Noon, Monday 9th November 2026

Interview date: W/C Monday 16th November 2026

Are you an ambitious individual seeking a leadership role?

Newcastle Bridges School is seeking an exceptional and inspirational Headteacher to lead our unique and highly specialist school through the next stage of its development.

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious, values-driven leader who is passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people and who understands that pupils with complex medical, mental health or neurodevelopmental needs should never be disadvantaged in their education or future opportunities.

The role

As Headteacher, you will provide the strategic and educational leadership required to bring our different provisions together as one school with a shared vision and consistently high expectations, while recognising and valuing the specialist nature of each setting.

You will have a passion for teaching and learning and a relentless focus on improving outcomes for pupils. You will lead the continued development of an ambitious and personalised curriculum, promote consistently high-quality teaching and ensure that safeguarding, wellbeing and pastoral care remain central to everything we do.

Working with colleagues across Newcastle Bridges School and Prosper Learning Trust, you will:

1. Develop and communicate a clear and ambitious vision for the school
2. Secure consistently high-quality education and improved outcomes across all provisions
3. Ensure the curriculum is ambitious, personalised and responsive to pupils' individual needs
4. Maintain the highest expectations for safeguarding, wellbeing and pastoral care
5. Inspire, motivate and develop staff, building a strong and collaborative culture across multiple settings
6. Create the right balance between whole-school consistency and specialist provision
7. Use effective self-evaluation and evidence to identify priorities and drive continuous improvement
8. Build strong relationships with pupils, families, staff, governors, health professionals, the Local Authority and other partners
9. Ensure resources are used effectively and provide best value
10. Contribute to the strategic development of Newcastle Bridges School and Prosper Learning Trust.

This is a challenging, distinctive and highly rewarding Headteacher role.

About you

We are looking for an experienced and reflective senior leader who combines high ambition with an understanding of the individual needs of pupils.

You will:

1. Have experience of successful leadership at a senior level in a SEND/Additional Provision environment
2. Have a strong understanding of pupils with a wide range of complex educational needs
3. Demonstrate a successful track record of improving teaching, learning and pupil outcomes
4. Be a strategic thinker who can translate vision into clear priorities and effective action
5. Have the ability to inspire, motivate and develop others
6. Understand how to lead improvement while managing the complexity of a multi-site organisation
7. Demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills
8. Work successfully with families and multi-agency professionals
9. Have the highest expectations for all pupils and a relentless commitment to safeguarding
10. Demonstrate sound judgement and the ability to make difficult decisions in the best interests of pupils
11. Lead with integrity, openness, collaboration and ambition.

Above all, you will share our belief that every pupil, irrespective of individual circumstances or need, has the right to an excellent education and the opportunity to achieve their potential.

Newcastle Bridges School is a multi-site school providing education for pupils who are unable to access mainstream education because of mental and/or physical health needs. Our provision extends across school, hospital and community settings and supports pupils with a wide range of complex and changing needs.

The school includes:

1. The Kenton site, a Newcastle Local Authority commissioned provision for pupils aged 11 to 16 who are unable to access mainstream school because of medical or mental health needs.
2. The Great North Children's Hospital, where pupils whose education is interrupted by regular or long-term hospital stays are taught on specialist paediatric wards and within the hospital classroom.
3. Ferndene, an inpatient setting supporting young people aged 12 to 18 with complex mental health, behavioural and emotional needs, including pupils with a learning disability.
4. The Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorder Service (CNDS), supporting nursery and primary-aged children with complex communication, mental health and neurodevelopmental needs.
5. Medical Pathway Provision, providing education from Reception to Year 11 for pupils unable to attend their usual educational setting because of illness, including teaching within community settings where appropriate.

Despite the diversity of our provision, our purpose is clear. We provide a holistic, child-centred education that encourages every pupil to aim high. Every pupil is equal, valued and unique, and we are committed to providing safe, inclusive and nurturing environments in which pupils can learn, achieve and flourish. Our pupils may face significant barriers to education, but we believe those barriers should never become barriers to ambition.

We can offer

The successful candidate will join a forward-thinking and collaborative community that values innovation, inclusion and aspiration.

We can offer:

1. Talented and committed staff with considerable specialist expertise
2. Support and expertise from colleagues across Prosper Learning Trust
3. Extensive opportunities to work alongside education, health and other specialist professionals
4. High-quality professional development and support
5. The opportunity to shape the future direction of a unique multi-site school
6. Most importantly, the opportunity to make a significant and lasting difference to the lives and future opportunities of children and young people.

This is an exceptional opportunity to make a difference.

We are looking for someone who can bring people together around a shared ambition for Newcastle Bridges School while respecting the unique nature of each of its provisions. You will need to understand complexity without allowing complexity to lower expectations.

If you are an inspirational leader who believes in high expectations, personalised education and putting pupils at the centre of every decision, we would be delighted to hear from you. Come and lead a school where every pupil is valued, every opportunity matters and ambition has no limits.

If you are interested in visiting the school, please note that visits are taking place during the week commencing 2 November. To arrange a visit, please email admin@prosperlearningtrust.co.uk or call 0191 605 3899.

To learn more about Newcastle Bridges School and Prosper Learning Trust, please visit our websites.

Prosper Learning Trust was established in January 2018 to help vulnerable young people succeed against the odds. Four core values underpin everything we do as a Trust, these are Aspiration, Integrity, Resilience and Kindness. We are looking for staff who share those values and want to support our young people.

The Trust currently have 5 schools in the region: 

1. Newcastle Bridges School – Alternative Provision academy offering education to pupils unable to access mainstream school due to medical needs including hospitalised children and young people (3-19 years) 
2. Mary Astell Academy – Alternative Provision academy offering education to permanently excluded pupils and pupils who are struggling in mainstream school (11-16 years) 
3. Thomas Bewick Special School – Special School academy for pupils with a diagnosis of autism (3-19 years) 
4. Harry Watts Academy – Special School academy for pupils with a diagnosis of autism (5-16 years) 
5. Gilbert Ward Academy – Special School academy for pupils with SEMH or a diagnosis of autism (11-16 years) 

The successful candidate will be deployed initially at Newcastle Bridges School but will be expected to work at any Prosper Learning Trust site should the need arise.

Benefits of working for Prosper Learning Trust

The Trust is proud to say that we match the Real Living Wage and we also offer successful candidates:

1. A friendly and supportive team of staff who are willing to share expertise and learn from one another 
2. Opportunities for career development and support with development through Trust wide Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes 
3. Access to an Employee Assistance Programme and support from the Trust's Wellbeing Network Group 
4. Access to either Teacher's Pension or Local Government Pension Scheme, each with favourable employer contribution rates 
5. Employee centred policies that support you in and beyond the workplace 
6. Funded eye tests for DSE users (subject to T/Cs) 
7. Bike 2 Work scheme

For more information on why we think you should work for us see our Trust website, where you will also find videos of what our current staff think. 

The successful candidate will be welcomed into the Trust, so if this sounds like the role for you, please don't hesitate to apply.

Please note that all successful candidates will be required to complete an online pre-employment medical questionnaire.