Sheffield City Council is seeking an exceptional senior leader to join our Belonging Directorate as Assistant Director – Accessible and Inclusive Education Provision.
This is a pivotal strategic role with citywide responsibility for ensuring that all children and young people—particularly those facing disadvantage, exclusion, or disruption to their education—receive high quality‑quality, inclusive educational provision.
Discover Sheffield: A City Where You Can Thrive
Sheffield is a city that blends innovation, natural beauty, and a vibrant community spirit. Known as the “Greenest City in Europe,” Sheffield boasts over 4.5 million trees and more than 250 parks and gardens—offering the highest ratio of trees to people of any city on the continent. A third of the city lies within the stunning Peak District National Park, making it the only major UK city with a national park inside its boundaries. Sheffield’s proud industrial heritage, world-class universities, and rich cultural scene make it a fantastic place to live and work.
Why Join Sheffield City Council?
We’re committed to making a real difference for our residents and our workforce. We offer:
1. A supportive, inclusive, and flexible working environment
2. Generous annual leave and pension schemes
3. Opportunities for professional development and career progression
4. A strong focus on staff wellbeing, diversity, and work-life balance
This is a rare opportunity to:
5. Shape the future of accessible and inclusive education across Sheffield
6. Make a lasting difference to the lives of children and young people
7. Operate at the heart of system leadership, influencing policy, practice and outcomes citywide
About the Role:
As a member of the Service Leadership Team, you will:
8. Provide strategic leadership for accessible and inclusive education services across the city
9. Act as the Virtual Head, fulfilling all statutory responsibilities for children in care and other vulnerable cohorts
10. Lead services that include:
11. Virtual School
12. Elective Home Education (EHE)
13. Children Missing Education (CME)
14. Attendance
15. Section 19 provision
16. Alternative Provision and Inclusion Strategy delivery
You will be accountable for operational performance, statutory compliance, financial management and service improvement, ensuring strong outcomes for children and young people.
About You
You will be a credible, experienced senior leader with:
17. A strong track record at a very senior level within Local Authority Children’s Services or inclusive education
18. Deep knowledge of:
19. Virtual School statutory duties
20. SEND Code of Practice
21. Children and Families Act
22. Safeguarding and child protection
23. Experience of leading services through inspection
24. Proven ability to lead complex systems, manage risk, and deliver improvement at pace
25. Experience of working effectively in a political environment, including with elected members
26. Strong financial, people and performance management skills
27. The confidence to challenge constructively and drive system change
Ready to make a difference? Apply now and join a team that’s passionate about improving lives in Sheffield.
For further information or an informal discussion please contact: @
Interviews: – week commencing 20th April 2026
We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.