Personal Development Lead

Personal Development Lead

School & Location – Bottesford

Reporting to – Amy Richardson- Head 

Working Arrangements – Full Time

Salary – £45,000

The Role

You will lead and strategically oversee all aspects of Personal Development, ensuring they are embedded throughout school life and contribute positively to pupil outcomes.

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance

You will lead the school's careers programme, ensuring full alignment with the Gatsby Benchmarks and statutory guidance. This includes developing employer partnerships, coordinating work experience placements, supporting careers education across all phases, and ensuring pupils have meaningful exposure to education, training, employment and enterprise opportunities.

Fundamental British Values

You will ensure Fundamental British Values are meaningfully embedded across the curriculum and wider school culture. Pupils will be supported to understand democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect, and tolerance through authentic learning experiences and participation opportunities.

Enrichment Programme

You will develop and oversee a diverse enrichment offer that broadens horizons, builds confidence, develops interests and talents, and enhances pupil engagement. This will include educational visits, leadership opportunities, community engagement, cultural experiences, and special projects.

After-School Clubs

You will coordinate an engaging programme of extracurricular activities that promotes participation, inclusion, wellbeing, personal growth and enjoyment. You will work closely with staff and external providers to maximise opportunities available to pupils.

PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education)

You will have strategic oversight of the PSHE curriculum, ensuring it is relevant, ambitious, age-appropriate and responsive to the needs of our pupils. You will monitor quality, support staff, and ensure the programme positively contributes to personal development outcomes.

RSE (Relationships and Sex Education)

You will ensure the delivery of a high-quality RSE programme that helps pupils develop healthy relationships, personal safety awareness, emotional wellbeing, respect for others and appropriate social understanding, whilst remaining compliant with statutory requirements.

Preparation for Adulthood (PfA)

You will lead our Preparation for Adulthood strategy, ensuring pupils develop the knowledge, skills and experiences required to achieve greater independence and successful adult outcomes. This will include pathways covering independent living, community participation, employment and health and wellbeing.

Post-16 Provision

You will work with colleagues to ensure our Post-16 offer prepares young people effectively for their next stage. This will include supporting transitions, progression planning, employability skills, independence development, further education pathways and preparation for adulthood outcomes.

About You

We are looking for someone who:

Has significant leadership and management experience within education or a related sector.

Has experience leading whole-school initiatives and driving improvement.

Has a strong understanding of either the Ofsted or ISI inspection framework.

Is willing and able to quickly develop expertise in both inspection frameworks where required.

Has experience of Careers Education, Personal Development, PSHE, pastoral leadership, safeguarding, inclusion or curriculum leadership.

Has excellent organisational, communication and stakeholder engagement skills.

Can analyse impact, monitor outcomes and drive continuous improvement.

Is highly motivated, resilient and passionate about improving life chances for young people.

Essential Qualifications and Professional Development

Applicants should:

Hold a relevant degree or professional qualification.

Have leadership experience within an educational setting.

Have either completed the NPQSL (National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership), an equivalent leadership qualification, or demonstrate a commitment to undertaking such a qualification.

Be committed to ongoing professional development and leadership growth. 

What We Offer

We know that great schools are built by great people. That’s why we want working at Edison Young People to be about more than just a job. Here are just some of the benefits we offer:

A competitive salary, recognising the skills, experience and commitment our staff bring to their roles.

Generous annual leave, either working term time only, giving you the opportunity to enjoy school holidays with your family and friends, or for non teaching staff, receive 5.6 weeks' annual leave plus bank holidays.

Additional dedicated paid wellbeing days to give you time to focus on yourself and recharge.

Further wellbeing initiatives including a fully funded cashback health scheme, helping you claim back costs towards services such as optical, dental, physiotherapy and other eligible health costs.

Free breakfast, lunch and refreshments all day. 

Free carparking. 

Staff socials paid for including Summer Festival, Christmas party and other team social events.

Opportunities to get involved in educational trips, including travel with young people on trips across Europe.

Invest in your future with our supportive workplace pension scheme.

Opportunities to develop and progress, with access to a wide range of training.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of working at Edison Young People is knowing that what you do matters. Every day, our staff have the opportunity to help a young person build confidence, overcome challenges, discover their strengths and take another step towards a positive future.

bout Edison Young People

Edison Young People provides specialist education and support for children and young people who may have experienced difficulties accessing and achieving within mainstream education.

We believe that a young person should not be defined by their past experiences or the challenges they have faced. Our aim is to provide the relationships, environment, education and support they need to overcome adversity, develop confidence and resilience, and achieve positive outcomes for their present and future lives.

Across our schools, we place strong emphasis on individualised teaching, positive relationships and high quality support. We work to create environments where young people feel safe, valued, understood and able to engage in learning.

About Us

The Place Independent School operates across two sites in Bottesford and Barkestone, Nottinghamshire, providing specialist education for young people from Year 2 through to Year 13.

The school provides a nurturing environment with small class sizes, individualised support and opportunities for outdoor learning. The school also incorporates therapeutic and experiential opportunities, including interaction with a range of school farm animals.

The Place is committed to helping young people feel safe, develop confidence and independence, and achieve their individual potential.

About the Role

We are seeking an exceptional Personal Development Lead to drive and lead our Personal Development offer across the school. This is a strategic leadership role for an ambitious, experienced professional who understands the importance of developing the whole child and can create outstanding opportunities that go beyond the classroom.

The successful candidate will be responsible for shaping, coordinating, and evaluating our personal development provision, ensuring every pupil benefits from a rich, meaningful curriculum that prepares them for adulthood, employment, independence, citizenship, and life beyond school.

You will have a strong understanding of either the Ofsted or ISI inspection framework and be confident and willing to rapidly develop expertise in the framework you are less familiar with.

This role would suit an experienced middle or senior leader with a background in education,  careers education, personal development, PSHE, , inclusion, or alternative provision.

Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

All employees have a responsibility to contribute to a safe environment and to follow safeguarding policies, procedures and reporting arrangements, which are regularly reviewed.

The successful candidate will be expected to maintain appropriate professional boundaries, identify and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns, and contribute to the creation of a safe and positive environment for all young people.

Employment will be subject to appropriate pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS, satisfactory references and the right to work in the UK.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion across our organisation.

We want our schools to be places where everyone feels valued, respected and able to contribute.

We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, skills and perspectives and are committed to providing equality of opportunity throughout our recruitment and employment processes.