Principal

Job description

Principal – Specialist Education

Location: Horsham

Salary: £79,460 - £85,547

Are you an experienced senior education leader looking for an opportunity to lead a complex and growing specialist provision?

I’m currently supporting a specialist education organisation with the appointment of a Principal to provide strategic and operational leadership across multiple educational provisions based on one campus.

This is a substantial senior leadership position with responsibility for the overall performance, quality and future development of the provision. The setting supports children and young people aged 3–19 with neurological motor impairments, including Cerebral Palsy, alongside associated medical and sensory needs.

The Role

As Principal, you will hold overall responsibility for the strategic direction, educational quality and operational performance of the provision.

• Provide strategic leadership across multiple educational provisions based on one campus, driving quality, performance and future growth.
• Lead school and college improvement planning, ensuring consistently high standards of teaching, learning, safeguarding and student outcomes.
• Ensure full compliance with statutory, regulatory and inspection requirements.
• Lead and develop multidisciplinary teams, creating a culture of accountability, development and continuous improvement.
• Hold oversight of budgets, resources, occupancy and operational performance, ensuring effective and sustainable service delivery.
• Work closely with the Local Governing Body and build strong relationships with Local Authorities, commissioners, families and external professionals.
• Recruit, develop and retain high-quality staff, with a strong focus on internal talent and succession planning.
• Ensure the educational, physical, emotional and safeguarding needs of students remain central to the continued development of the provision.

You will bring

• Significant senior leadership experience within SEND, specialist education or complex educational environments.
• Experience leading complex, multi-provision or multi-site services, with responsibility for quality and improvement.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding, education regulation, compliance, governance and risk management.
• Proven experience leading and developing large, multidisciplinary teams and building strong leadership capability.
• Strong financial and commercial awareness, including budget management, occupancy, service development and sustainable growth.
• Ability to build credible relationships with governors, Local Authorities, commissioners, families and external stakeholders.
• A strong track record of driving continuous improvement and achieving positive outcomes for children and young people with complex needs.

Package

• £79,460 - £85,547
• Free Online GP access
• Flexible pay with Wagestream

Contact Details:

To apply, or for more information and an informal confidential discussion please contact Jordanna Osborn at 02394211147 or josborn@compassltd.co.uk

Compass Recruitment Solutions Ltd is acting as a Recruitment Consultancy for this permanent vacancy; we offer £500 vouchers for each successful recommendation.

Extra information

Status

Open

Education Level

Secondary School

Location

Horsham

Type of Contract

Full-time jobs

Published at

20-08-2026

Profession type

Teaching / Instructors / Guides

Full UK/EU driving license preferred

No

Car Preferred

No

Must be eligible to work in the EU

No

Cover Letter Required

No

Languages

English