Pastoral Manager - NEST Provision

What skills and experience we're looking for

Newhaven School is seeking an exceptional Pastoral Manager to join our NEST (Newhaven Education Support Team) provision, based at our Gardens site.

NEST is a specialist setting supporting secondary-aged students who are unable to attend mainstream education due to severe and enduring mental health needs. All students are supported by CAMHS, and our aim is to help them overcome barriers to learning and successfully reintegrate into education.

This is not a traditional pastoral role. You will play a key part in clinical and educational integration, supporting student safety, emotional regulation, and overall wellbeing while acting as a vital link between school, families, and external services.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for external agencies
• Take on responsibilities as a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
• Manage safeguarding processes including MASH referrals
• Lead and contribute to TAC/TAF and CIN meetings
• Use tools such as Talking Mats and Social Stories to support students
• Build strong, trusting relationships with families in crisis
• Support applications relating to SEN, including PIPs and transport
• Provide holistic, trauma-informed pastoral support to students

The ideal candidate:

• Is resilient, empathetic and passionate about supporting vulnerable young people
• Has a strong understanding of trauma-informed practice
• Can motivate and regulate students with challenging behaviour or school avoidance
• Is a confident communicator able to work with multi-disciplinary teams (MDT)
• Demonstrates creativity in developing visual supports and social communication strategies

What the school offers its staff

About Newhaven School

Newhaven School is a multi-site provision supporting young people whose needs cannot be met in mainstream education.

At NEST, we focus on:

• Supporting mental health and emotional wellbeing
• Developing social communication and independence
• Enabling students to achieve positive, fulfilling futures

Our staff are committed to creating a safe, structured and nurturing environment where students can rebuild confidence and succeed.

Commitment to safeguarding

Newhaven is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. All appointments will be subject to a satisfactory Enhanced with Barred List check through the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) plus additional pre-employment checks. Newhaven is committed to the journey of decolonising our school by becoming deeply reflective about our systems, processes and decisions, by sharing our lived experiences in a genuine way that means we have a much better understanding of each other and by developing our staff so that all have equity of opportunity.